Many amateurs and top athletes of various disciplines have discovered the benefits yoga can bring to their chosen sport. However, Yoga requires just as much dedication as any other form of physical activity you want to master, so what other pursuits can help the serious yoga practitioner with their practice? If you’re serious about yoga, you’ll already be benefitting from improved stamina, flexibility, and agility, so crossing over into another sport to aid with your yogic pursuits can be greatly beneficial.
Pilates
While these two activities are often seen as related, they have less in common than most people think. Despite this, many yoga practitioners also take Pilates classes. This is because Pilates is great for strengthening your core and working opposing muscle groups at the same time. The conditioning provided by Pilates can help you to increase your strength while moving beyond your normal range of motion.
Free Weights
Many people are put off by these words, but the traditional associations aren’t strictly true. There are many workout routines that use a free weight or kettlebell that are fast-paced and help your cardio too. Obviously, the main benefit of these workouts are still strength related, which can be great for holding those poses for prolonged periods.
Swimming
Swimming is an excellent exercise for people practicing yoga. Not only is it a great physical workout, but the rhythmic breathing can help to improve their general breathing discipline for meditation and yoga. Being in the water limits your senses, which is great for helping with concentration. The overall strength and cardio benefits of swimming will help your yoga regardless of your level, and all while performing an exercise with zero impact.
Kickboxing
If you feel like you want a pursuit that’s completely different from your yoga practice, then kickboxing might be for you. It can be a great way to blow off excess steam, reducing stress and anxiety in the process. Whether you’re performing a kickboxing workout routine at home, or have an instructor, releasing any pent-up feeling in a controlled way can be beneficial. Not everyone wants to maintain the chilled out persona yoga gives them, and kickboxing is great for building your overall strength and stamina.
Yoga-Related Workout
If you love yoga so much you want your workouts to all have an element of it, then there are some great classes that get their inspiration from yoga. While the health benefits of yoga are well documented, not all yoga classes provide much of a cardio workout. Trying a yoga fusion class can help you to improve your overall fitness and stamina in a setting that’s familiar enough to still be comfortable.
Spinning
For those out there just looking for a pure cardio driven workout that will push their limits and get their hearts racing, a spinning class could be the perfect choice. They are usually between 45 minutes and one hour long, fast-paced, and guaranteed to work up a sweat. As spinning classes are performed on resistance bikes, you can expect to see an improvement in your leg strength, which will help with all your standing poses in yoga.
Cross-training is a great way to improve your fitness, so take it off the mat sometimes!
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