Power Yoga: Basics, History and Health Benefits

You may be familiar with the term 'power yoga', which is undoubtedly starting to gain popularity online and in the fitness community. You may have heard about Power Yoga's benefits and that it presents a significant cardiovascular challenge.

What could power yoga bring to the already potent activity that is yoga to give it more gravitas and impact?

Power yoga is among the most famous styles of yoga in the US. It was created to meet the needs of athletes who would greatly benefit from challenging physical yoga poses.

It puts a lot of physical strain on the body by requiring practitioners to repeat a series of subsequent motions, but the end result is significantly increased strength and flexibility. All that you need to learn about power yoga, including its history, advantages and more, is covered below.

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History of Power Yoga: How it started?

Power yoga is a subset of yoga that is based on the Ashtanga system, which Sri K Pattabhi Jois popularised.

Jois attempted to develop a yoga routine intended to cleanse people's bodies through forceful movements (vinyasas) and poses, stating to have learnt the principles of Ashtanga from his guru (asanas). Ashtanga's ultimate objectives are mental calmness and improved physical control.

Beryl Birch and Bryan Kest, two of Jois' pupils, went on to create their own workshops in New York and Los Angeles, respectively. They are both regarded as the movement's founders, as they developed the idea of power yoga around the same time.

Although Birch and Kest invented power yoga, Baron Baptiste is mostly responsible for its sharp rise in popularity. Baptiste was able to advertise the idea of power yoga as an extremely competitive and athletically focused practice by creating what he named Baptiste Power Vinyasa yoga.

Power yoga has gone through numerous stages of development and is now a very broad phrase that can refer to a wide range of activities. Nevertheless, there are some features that all power yoga systems have in common.

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Basics of Power Yoga

The more spiritual components of traditional Hatha yoga, such as breathing exercises and meditation, are significantly less stressful in power yoga. It's more important to have a decent all-around workout.

Power yoga provides the same cardiovascular workout advantage as Hatha yoga, but at a slower pace and with other yoga styles that focus more on relaxation.

When practising power yoga alone or with an instructor, the class follows a prescribed sequence. Power yoga has less structure and more variation.

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Benefits of Power Yoga

Power yoga has a wide range of advantages for the mind and body, according to scientific research. Here are some of the main advantages of this quick-moving yoga practice:

1) Weight loss

You can burn calories with any type of cardiac exercise, and creating a calorie deficit is a crucial step in losing weight and reducing belly fat. Power yoga is no exception and will undoubtedly make you perspire.

However, a qualitative study from 2016 found that yoga also has a variety of additional impacts that go beyond calorie burning and may help with weight loss too.

2) Full body workout

Power yoga, which counts as a full-body workout, is a fabulous technique to develop muscle in both the body's core and in often ignored areas.

Many power yoga programmes are comparable to typical gym activities, as some positions can call for a significant amount of body weight to be applied to certain muscles.

3) Improved posture

Power yoga also offers plenty of opportunities for people who want to lose weight and/or improve their posture. The intensity of the exercises and the resulting muscle-building helps burn fat quickly while toning the muscles that support balance.

4) Stress reliever

Another important advantage of power yoga is stress reduction, which not only enhances overall health but can also lessen the harmful impacts of mental health issues, like depression or anxiety. Yoga has been shown to provide advantages in some situations that even outweigh that of psychotherapy.

The challenging aspect of power yoga also helps to discipline and focus the mind. Your ability to perform challenging tasks under pressure is honed by having to shift about regularly in demanding, challenging and stressful roles.

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Is Power Yoga for everyone?

Power yoga has numerous advantages, but not everyone should engage in the practice. It's a style of exercise that is intended for people who want to push their bodies to the limit. If not practised properly, it might result in injury or other problems. It's not for those who prefer to do leisurely, peaceful yoga.

For expectant women, power yoga is strongly discouraged. Certain positions can make things more difficult and even dangerous during pregnancy. Prenatal yoga, for example, aims to provide all the benefits of yoga without the risks related to pregnancy.

Power yoga should not be practiced by those who have recently had surgery or physical ailments, like torn hamstrings.