In recent years, there has been a trend towards a more active lifestyle and engagement in sports, particularly in developed countries.
First off, people now are more aware of the many health benefits that sport brings, including a lower risk of chronic diseases, such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. And second, sports have become much more accessible, with many mobile apps and fitness programs encouraging people to join for a small subscription fee. Of course, yoga has become quite popular, too.
The catch is? Many people wrongly view yoga as a physical exercise. While they are not completely wrong, and yoga does involve as many as 84 physical postures (asanas), physical activity comes as an auxiliary part of the practice. The main focus has always been and remains to be spirituality. Ultimately, the effects of the practice are slightly different from exercise.
Let’s look at where yoga is different from physical exercise and who it can benefit the most.
Yoga and Exercise Goals Are Different
Why do most people go in for sports? The most common reasons are:
- To get into a better physical shape;
- To lose weight;
- To improve their physical appearance.
However, these aren’t the goals of yoga. The ultimate goal of practitioners is to connect with the higher inner self, and the postures and techniques they execute are designed to help them achieve this purpose.
No Need for Equipment
What is also typical of the gym is that it has certain equipment required for exercising. Dumbbells, mats, weights, or even a skipping rope are just a few examples of the gear you’ll need to get going. When it comes to yoga, however, it’s self-sufficient. Even if you don’t have a mat, you can still execute asanas, making use of a towel or a blanket as a substitute.
Different Caloric Consumption
Gymgoers often feel hungry after their workouts, due to the high caloric consumption associated with most exercises. After all, this is what most people go in for sports – to lose calories and tone up! Yoga, in contrast, doesn’t burn this many calories, and it is not typical to feel famished after practicing it.
The Effect of Yoga and Exercise on the Human Body
Looking closely at the effect of yoga and exercise on the human body, you’ll be surprised to learn that even from the inside, they act on people in different ways. Intrigued? Let’s quickly brush upon the physiological effects.
- Muscular System;
Most gym exercises are tailored to building muscle mass. The thing is, when it happens, the muscle actually shortens, leading to decreased flexibility. As you have guessed, yoga does the complete opposite. Through regular practice, yogis develop their muscles evenly and increase their bendiness, often reaching a level of flexibility that they never thought possible.
- Cardiovascular System;
Asanas can be rather difficult and require many approaches before you master the pose. However, unlike exercises, they don’t contract blood vessels or put any stress on the heart, making them safe for people of all age groups.
You wouldn’t be able to say so about exercises, at least not about all of them. Most workouts, from Pilates to weight lifting, cycling, or running, put a strain on the muscles by increasing blood flow and blood pressure, which makes them unsuitable for people with certain health conditions.
- Respiratory System;
As stated earlier, exercises are meant to get your heart rate up, which results in increased oxygen requirement in the muscles. In addition, as the heart beats faster, the speed of breathing also increases, and our lungs have to work harder to make up for the shortage of air. This part of exercise makes it somewhat restricted to people with respiratory problems.
When it comes to yoga, you never get to the state where you are out of breath or have a burning sensation in your lungs. By following the proper breathing techniques, you can seamlessly move from one asana to another without straining your respiratory system.
- Nervous System;
Anyone who has been to the gym would describe their experience in much the same way. At first, you feel like your heart is jumping out of your chest, and then you can hardly walk because your legs are shaking and hurting. However, not everyone knows that this is due to the fact that gym workouts affect the sympathetic nervous system.
Yoga, on the other hand, involves the other part of the nervous system, called the parasympathetic. Effectively, people who practice it experience all the opposite symptoms, including a slower heart speed and a feeling of complete relaxation at the end, with no tiredness to follow.
- Immune System.
It’s also worth noting that yoga is a helpful way to strengthen your immune system. Not only does it increase the number of cells, but it also helps toward improving their functioning ability. In addition, postures such as twists, inversions, and forward folds help stimulate lymphatic flow, enhancing the body’s ability to fight off infection and illness.
Of course, exercise is also beneficial for the immune system, but most often, it would come up to the regularity of exercise, intensity, and duration.
Conclusion
To recap, although yoga is considered a sport by many people, you can’t compare it with exercise. Not only is it not what it’s focused on, but it actually affects the human body differently, making it wrong to put the equation between them.
Hopefully, with this guide, you’ll find out what goals you want to achieve and decide whether to pay a membership fee at the nearest gym or delve into the world of asanas and spiritual practices.