Strength building can be a frustrating process. But if you are looking to get stronger smoothly and safely, yoga is the ideal system for laying down muscle. There are three key factors to remember when building strength through yoga.
1.) Get Lean not Mean
Although it seems to be a contradiction that muscles can be both strong and slender, the basis of yoga is all about opposition. Yoga is different from weight lifting or other forms of strength training in that the actions connected to yoga alternate between lengthening and contracting muscle fibers. If you merely shorten muscle fibers through unopposed contraction, you will generate bulkier muscles. This brings to mind the typical muscle man who cannot lower his arms. These shortened fibers, although strong, are inflexible and unwilling to support the joints.
2.) Adapt
If you proceed in a yogic manner, building muscle strength through asana is safe. As you learn to support your body weight, you can adapt a challenging posture to make it more accessible. Use a chair or a bench to develop your plank or downward facing dog. Start on your knees when you begin side plank or use the wall to support more of your weight for any standing/balance pose.
Also, apply the “48 hour rule” as you progress through yoga. Take a more rigorous posture and gently work with it three times a week or every 48 hours. It takes approximately 24 hours to break down old muscles and another 24 to remodel new ones. With commitment, you will see a significant change in progress that leads to a strong, healthy and confident body.
3.) Play Dead
Every yoga session usually ends with corpse pose or Savasana. Although most of us love this pose for its relaxation factor, the posture is strategically placed at the end of practice for a reason. As the ultimate cool-down, Savasana gives the muscles the opportunity to completely relax so that blood can circulate more freely. When circulation increases, lactic acid can be released from the body alleviating future muscle soreness.
It’s time. I know it’s time. Oh, have you ever seen anything as lovely as this shoot, this root reaching out and down, drinking life in? To create a leaf worthy of being eaten is a full-blown miracle to me.
For myself, yogic discipline or tapas can be explained by one word, passion – the heat within our hearts formed from exuberance. Good, disciplined action should lead to a sense of purpose or empowerment; it’s what we encounter in a really great yoga class – a feeling of soaring above all else.