✅ Fact Checked
🧘 If you only got 30 seconds:
Moving your body will help you feel better, stronger, and younger. Yoga and its holistic approach toward wellness is a perfect activity to add to your daily or weekly routine to keep stress and diseases at bay. But how much yoga should you do and how much is enough?
Read on to learn:
- how much exercise you need to stay healthy
- how long you should do yoga weekly and daily
1/2 How much exercise is enough?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an adult person should aim for:
- at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity – when you’re breathing hard but you are still able to hold a conversation OR at least 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic a week – when you can only say a few words before having to takea breath;
- at least 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity – any activity that makes your muscles work harder than usual counts.
Keeping up with these goals will help you improve wellbeing and sleep, decrease the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart failure as well as keep your blood pressure under control.
Seems too much?
No worries, things that don’t really feel like exercise count as one. Gardening, dancing, walking the dog, and vacuum cleaning are all different ways you can get moving and they all add up toward your end activity goal.
My Favorite Yoga Gear Essentials
I’m picky about my yoga gear
I’m ready to blow some cash on high-quality ethically-made items that are eco-friendly and built to last 🌱 It supports my efforts for sustainable yoga practice and lifestyle.
2/2 So how long should you do yoga a day?
As much as I want to give you a clear guideline, there is no right or wrong answer to this question. How long you should do yoga every day depends on a variety of factors, including:
- if yoga is your only form of exercise
- what type of yoga you generally practice
- what your end goals are.
Here are a few guidelines that might help clear things up:
If you lead a sedentary lifestyle and yoga is your only form of exercise: practice strenuous and fast-flowing yoga styles for at least 30 minutes daily, for at least 5 times a week. The examples of yoga styles to focus on are: Vinyasa, Power, Ashtanga, Yoga with weights, Hot yoga, intense Kundalini. Alternatively, if you struggle to find time for practice every day, you can do yoga three times a week, with each class lasting at least 60-75 minutes.
If you’re active in daily life, but yoga is your only form of exercise: do at least 30-40 minutes of physically-intense yoga 2-3 times a week to hit your goals for muscle strengthening. Since you do lots of walking and/or are active in your daily life, you’ll likely hit your moderate-intensity activity without even incorporating additional fast-flowing yoga into your routine.
If you do other active sport/exercises apart from yoga: do at least 20 minutes of yoga twice a week to help release tension and decrease stress. If your exercise of choice focuses on both endurance and strength, you can go for relaxing and slower yoga styles, including Yin, slow Hatha, Iyengar, Restorative yoga.
If you do yoga to increase flexibility: do at least 10 minutes of yoga daily. Flexibility is all about “use it or lose it” approach. It’s always better to practice just a few minutes a day than to do a 1-hour yoga class once a week.
If you do yoga for stress relief: do at least 5-10 minutes of yoga daily. You don’t have to focus on asana and instead practice mindful breathing and meditation. Lying in Corpse pose Savasana for a few minutes daily will help you wind down and release the tension from your mind and body.
Daily consistent practice, even a short one, will more likely bring positive results than a long yet occasional yoga class. Building consistency will also help you build discipline and prioritize your well-being and self-care over other less important things.
Looking for an example daily yoga schedule? Check out this interactive 4-week yoga workout calendar for a well-balanced daily yoga plan.
How long should beginners do yoga?
An hour-long yoga class can sound intimidating when you’re just starting out with yoga and exercise. As a beginner, you should focus on building a habit and focus on consistency rather than worry about goals or time.
Try doing what you can DAILY, even if it’s five minutes. It all adds up and at the end of the week, you will have 35 minutes in total. Gradually, you will build up to the recommended 150 minutes a week or even more. Because the more you move, the better it is for your body and mind.
Source link
