Fit Perfection: Clearing Misconceptions in Yoga

Is yoga the only exercise you need to be “fit”?

Before I answer the specific question, let us enumerate some of the study made about Yoga:

1. According to the study made by scientists at Duke University Medical Center, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a top institution for biomedical research, who studied forty-eight men and
forty nine women, stated that the aerobics group improved its VO2 max, raising peak oxygen
consumption by 12 percent while yogis showed no increase. However, the yogis reported enhanced sleep, energy, health, endurance, flexibility, better moods, self- confidence, and life satisfaction. They described a wide range of social benefits that include better sex lives, social lives, and family relationships.

2. According to the Journal of Preventive Cardiology through Davis Team concluded, Hatha
yoga “would meet the objectives of current recommendations to improve physical fitness and
health…the results of this investigation indicate that eight weeks of Hatha yoga practice can significantly improve multiple health-related aspects of physical fitness.”

3.The scientists from New York concluded that the yoga session failed to meet the minimal
aerobic recommendations of the world’s health bodies. However, Hagins, the lead researcher, remarked in a university news release that the discipline had “positive health benefits on blood pressure, osteoporosis, stress and depression.”

4. The 2010 paper examined more than eighty studies that compared yoga and regular exercise. According to the analysis, by health specialists at the University of Maryland in 2010 who examined more than eighty studies comparing yoga and regular exercise, found that yoga equaled or surpassed exercise in such things as improving balance, reducing fatigue, decreasing anxiety, cutting stress, lifting moods, improving sleep, reducing pain, lowering cholesterol, and more generally in raising the quality of life for yogis, both socially and on the job.

5. Yoga Journal continued its claims, hailing vigorous Hatha in 2008 as “a good cardio workout.” Looking at the various results, I don’t think that Yoga is the only exercise that I need to be “fit.” It may or may not be the best exercise for raising oxygen consumption. But findings assured that yoga improved mental health, flexibility, and well-being of the person.
This class equipped us in dealing with exaggerated claims and the unabashed gurus. Being
taught about the risk and informed about contradicting and similar findings would prevent students from experiencing injuries. As a result, the student would be able to maximize the benefits of yoga. Good to know that Alan Jaeger, a baseball pro with a passion for yoga, runs a school in Los Angeles for big-league pitchers. His stars run, stretch, meditate, listen to music, do yoga poses, and meditate again—doing that kind of routine for hours before getting around to throwing a ball.

All of my trainers from Taekwondo, Ballet, and Contemporary Dance had used Yoga as a warmup exercise before moving to our regular routine. I was unaware that it was Yoga until I enrolled in this class.

References

Broad, William J. The Science of Yoga: the Risks and Rewards. London: Simon & Schuster, 2013.