power yoga full guide beginner to advance in 2021

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 Introducing to power yoga

Power yoga is a general term used to describe a vigorous, fitness-based approach to vinyasa-style yoga. Though many consider power yoga to be superficial "gym yoga," this style of yoga practice was originally closely modeled on the Ashtanga method.

Power yoga incorporates the athleticism of Ashtanga, including lots of vinyasas (series of poses done in sequence) but gives each teacher the flexibility to teach any poses in any order, making every class different. With its emphasis on strength and flexibility, power yoga brought yoga into the gyms of America as people began to see yoga as a way to work

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Benefits of performing energy yoga

According to scientific evidence, power yoga provides a wide range of both mental and physical benefits. Here’s a look at some of the key benefits of this fast-flowing yoga style.

⦁ Cardiovascular health

Because of the fast pace and resistance training involved, researchTrusted Source shows that power yoga workouts can raise and sustain your heart rate.

Getting your heart rate up during exercise helps your body circulate blood and oxygen to your muscles and organs more efficiently. This, in turn, can help improve your fitness, stamina, and overall health.

Additionally, regular cardiovascular exercise, like power yoga, can benefit you by:

strengthening your heart and lungs
helping control high blood pressure
improving cholesterol levels
controlling blood sugar levels
building stronger bones and muscles
helping with weight loss
improving sleep
boosting energy levels
improving brain function
lowering your risk for chronic conditions like heart disease, stroke, and diabetes
Strength
Although a power yoga class is fast-paced, that doesn’t mean you won’t hold any poses for a length of time. You may hold some poses for a minute or longer.

When you hold your body in a particular position for more than a few seconds, it fires up your muscles and makes them work hard to keep you in a pose. This can boost your muscle strength and endurance in many parts of your body.

⦁ Motor control

In a 2016 study trusted Source published in the journal, Complementary Therapies in Medicine, people with Parkinson’s disease who participated in twice-weekly power yoga sessions had significant improvements in their tremors and muscle rigidity.

Researchers also found that power yoga increased muscle strength and power in the study participants.

⦁ Weight loss

Because it gives you a cardio workout, power yoga burns calories. Improved muscle tone and strength from power yoga also means you’ll burn more calories even when you’re not exercising.

According to a 2013 study, yoga may help you feel more connected to your body. This may make you more aware of when to stop eating, which can aid in weight loss.

Additionally, the study found that yoga can help reduce back and joint pain, which may encourage people with this type of pain to be more active.

⦁ Stress reduction

Yoga is well known for its ability to reduce stress and anxiety and promote feelings of relaxation and calm.

Even though power yoga is less meditative and more fast-paced than some types of yoga, a 2017 study found that power yoga can decrease levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, in your body.

The study suggests that even one session of power yoga may result in a noticeable reduction in stress.

⦁ Overall health

Power yoga is associated with other key markers of good health, such as:

better sleep
a stronger immune system
improved posture and balance
Additionally, according to a study trusted Source in the Journal of Women’s Health, Vinyasa or power yoga may be a helpful tool for helping smokers quit tobacco.

The participants in this study who took part in twice-weekly yoga sessions also reported reduced anxiety and improvements in their perceived health and well-being

Difference between yoga and power yoga

Yoga is a physical exercise that has been in existence for many decades. The practice is done with the motive of achieving internal, external stability, flexibility, and mental calmness. Yoga and power yoga are some of the common methods of exercising.

1. Speed of Practice in Yoga and Power Yoga

1. One of the primary differences between yoga and power yoga is the speed at which the exercise is carried out. In yoga, physical activities are carried out slowly where the moving of body parts is done with precaution while at the same time following a steady flow and a structured rhythm.

Although power yoga follows a structured and steady flow of rhythmical exercise, it is known to be quicker than regular yoga. Physical activities are done with speed and body movements involve moving the body parts faster to increase physical fitness.

2. Point of focus in yoga and power yoga

2. When one is undertaking a yoga session, the instructor focuses on the position of an individual where specific body parts are supposed to be positioned in a specific way. This means that the body shape and the shape of different body organs must adhere to specific to increase output.

Movements are slow such that the supervisor is in a position to view each person and ascertain whether they are following the required procedure.

Power yoga moves with a speed which means that it is difficult for any person the body shape of an individual and positioning of specific body organs. Therefore, this type of yoga focuses on body movement.

3. Mental stability in yoga and power yoga

Yoga focuses on slow movements and a steady rhythmical structure where one must focus on the body shape and the positioning of specific body organs. This means that the mental aspects of an individual are highly involved which increases the mental stability of a person.
Power yoga does involve a rhythmical structure and a steady flow of physical activities of an individual. However, this method of yoga involves rapid movements of the body parts which means that individuals highly concentrate on movement rather than mental aspects. Therefore, power yoga does not improve the mental stability of an individual. Participation in yoga and Power Yoga

3. The membership of yoga is open to all individuals irrespective of their medical conditions because the physical exercises are carried out with ease. Yoga involves simple steps that help one to improve his or her breathing process. Additionally, it is a simple procedure that does not require supervisors.

Power yoga is a complicated physical exercise that is not open to all individuals, especially those with medical conditions. For example, it cannot be undertaken by expectant women. Power yoga requires a supervisor

4.General Stability Of Yoga and Power Yoga

The other difference between yoga and power yoga is the general stability of the body. Yoga gives internal as well as external stability to the body organs. Internal stability means that internal organs achieve physical wellness while external stability helps external body parts to remain physically fit.

Power yoga does not help or benefit the internal and external stability of the body. However, this method of physical exercise helps in stabilizing the cardio output. This means that an individual’s blood flow reaching the body organs remains consistent.

Some Simple Steps To Perform Power Yoga

Step 1

Start with standing well. Stand strong and be powerful.
Stand tall, close your eyes, and spread your toes. Feel the earth beneath you whether you are outside on the grass or your yoga mat on the floor. Draw energy from the earth and let it strengthen your body. Find your strength in your foundations.

Step 2

Close your eyes and simply begin to breathe. It’s not complicated, it is just breathing. Use your regular normal breath, just deepen it. Start with deep inhales and deep exhales. Imagine letting go of all that stands in the way of true happiness by exhaling it away. Maybe imagine the breath having a color or texture as it enters your body or as it leaves your body. Envision the breath illuminating your body with life and healing because that’s exactly what it’s doing.

Step 3

Refine the breath. Close your lips and breathe in and out only through your nose. Breathing out through your nostrils is the most energy-efficient way to breathe. The lungs harness our primary source of energy, breath. Breath equals prana. Prana is our powerful life force that transcends all cultures, genders, and colors. Prana is the force we all share. The breath is so powerful. The best way to harness the power of our breath is through our nostrils. Inhale and exhale through your nose when you practice yoga. Our nostrils are excellent at controlling the amount of air we release on the exhale, so lungs have more time to extract the oxygen. It creates a better balance of oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange and maintains a more balanced pH level in the blood.

Step 4

Move. Movement is the key to living. If we stop moving we get tight, stiff, and angry. Let’s start to move slowly and mindfully. Inhale arms up overhead and strengthen your legs by squeezing thighs and lifting your knee caps. With soft knees bend at the waist and touch the floor with your fingertips. In lifting your head and your heart forward and the fold again. Inhale and make your legs strong. Reach both arms up to the sky. Slowly circle your arms back to prayer hands at the heart center. Repeat 5 times. Feel Better?

Step 5

Observe. How do you feel? What is different about how you feel? How can this make your life better? Now incorporate these actions into your everyday life.
Yoga can be as simple as Stop, Breathe, Move, Feel and Observe. It doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated. It can be simple and life-enhancing. Asana and breath is a powerful tool for wellness.

Power Yoga Poses For Beginners with Benefits

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1. Easy Pose — Sukhasana — to Relieve Stress

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Sukhasana
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1. Sit cross-legged on a yoga mat with your hands on your knees, palms up. Keep your spine as straight as you can. Push the bones you're sitting on down into the floor — your "sit bones" in yoga-speak. Close your eyes and inhale.

"This is a great pose for beginners to use as an assessment," says Gwen Lawrence, yoga coach for the New York Knicks and other sports teams, athletes, and celebrities. "Just sitting on the floor gives you a perfect way to see and feel the external rotation on the legs." This pose also boosts back flexibility and can help relieve stress.

2. Cat-Cow to Awaken the Spine and Ease Back Pain

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cat cow pose
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2. Get on your mat on all fours with your hands directly below your shoulders and your knees directly below your hips. Distribute your weight equally between your hands and spread your fingers wide. Inhale and round your back, arching it up as you lower your chin to your chest; feel the stretch from your neck to your tailbone, like a cat. As you exhale, lower your back down to a scoop shape as you lift your head, and tilt it back.

“Cat-Cow stretches and awakens the spine, which helps ease back pain,” says Baptiste Yoga teacher Leah Cullis. “It also opens and increases the flexibility of the whole spine, neck, chest, and shoulders. I recommend repeating 5 to 10 times or more.”

3. Tree Pose — Vrksasana — to Improve Your Balance

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Tree Pose
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3. Start by standing straight for this pose. Bring your hands together in the prayer position and lift them over your head. Balance on your right leg. Bend your left knee out to the left side and press your left foot to the inner thigh of your right leg. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch legs and repeat.

"This pose helps to stretch the body long, from the heels to the tips of your fingers," says Shea Vaughn, wellness and fitness expert and author of Breakthrough: The 5 Living Principles to Defeat Stress, Look Great, and Find Total Well-Being (and mom of actor Vince Vaughn). It will also help you improve your balance.

4. Downward-Facing Dog — Adho Mukha Svanasana — to Enhance Flexibility

In Downward-Facing Dog, your body forms an inverted V-shape. Start by placing both hands on the mat in front of you, palms down; your hands should be slightly in front of your shoulders. Place your knees on the ground directly under your hips. Exhale as you lift your knees off the ground and lift your buttocks and hips toward the ceiling. Push the top of your thighs back and stretch your heels down toward the floor. Keep your head down between your upper arms and in line with them, not hanging down. If you notice your lower back rounding, try
bending your knees to help lengthen your back.
“Downward-Facing Dog calms the nervous system, works on overall flexibility, decompresses the spine, tones the arms, sculpts the legs, and opens the shoulders,” says Cullis. The pose is often held for five breaths between sides, or longer for more strength-building benefits. Lengthen from your wrists to your hips on your inhales, and deepen your roots from your hips to your heels with each exhale, suggests Cullis.

    5.Legs-up-the-Wall Pose — Viparita Karani — to Restore and Revitalize

This is a great ending pose for beginners and those experienced at yoga alike. Lie on the floor with your butt right up against a wall. "Walk" your legs straight up the wall so that your body is in an L shape with your torso flat on the floor and perpendicular to the wall. You may want to place a rolled-up blanket under your lower back for support; keep your elbows out to the sides on the floor for additional support. Flex toes to feel a stretch in the backs of your legs. Breathe deeply and hold the position for as long as you like. To release, bring your knees to your chest and roll over to your side.

Avoid Performing Power Yoga If

1.
One does not feel very fit. Performing this form of yoga requires a minimum amount of fitness. If one does not even feel moderately fit one should not do power yoga. This is because the physically intensive asanas can end up doing more harm to your body on the contrary.

2.
Pregnant women must avoid doing this yoga form. For them, traditional yoga is a better option to go for. Even in traditional yoga, there are certain asanas that one must avoid doing as pregnancy advances.

3.
If you are particularly looking for meditation and calmness of the mind and soul through yoga, then doing this yoga is not a good option. This is because power yoga involves strenuous physical exercise which focuses more on body movements than on chanting or meditation.

However, again it depends on the yoga expert who is supervising how they would like to incorporate meditation along with power yoga.

4.
One should also avoid doing this form of yoga when one is suffering from a chronic physical ailment. And if you still want to do it, go for a doctor’s consultation before you head out to be so physically active.

In case you are suffering from any such or other kinds of physical concerns, it is always a better option to consult with your healthcare provider first before plunging into trying power yoga or perform any other kinds of strenuous physical exercise.

Conclusion

What you bring to your yoga class is what matters most importantly. No matter what yoga you choose to perform, it is always better to start from where you are right now. And then, you may look for more.

All you need to do is to hear yourself from inside. Going deeper, harder and faster is not the solution while practicing yoga or power yoga. On the contrary, find the contentment that your body is offering right now. Moreover, we all know how if we try and overdo things, we end up missing out on the subtleties of life, and similarly, for yoga too, our ambition should be the practice of doing less.

So, before jumping right into it, take it slow, relax and consider bringing balance and harmony to your body, mind, and soul.