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As a health enthusiast, what would you choose – yoga or regular exercise?
If your goal is to build strength and endurance, weightlifting and cardio workouts may be your calling. And if we are looking for some flexibility and peace of mind, go for yoga, is the usual advice. However, there is much more to both yoga and regular exercises than what is popularly known.
Happiest Health spoke to yoga and fitness experts to gain clarity on all aspects of the two practices.
Yoga and exercise – for body and mind
Yoga is a holistic practice that gives equal importance to the mind as to the body. It has various breathing as well as meditation techniques that allow a person to foster self-awareness. This, in turn, leads to better control over our thoughts and emotions.
Regular exercises, conversely, are intended for physical fitness, muscle development and strength.
However, a 2023 study in Cureus suggests exercises can also positively affect our mental health to an extent. Another study published in The Primary Care Companion To The Journal Of Clinical Psychiatry, says exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative moods and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function.
Distinct goals
Yoga, with its various postures, aims to promote balance and flexibility. In addition, mindfulness practices like trataka (which involves gazing for some time at a focus point, often a candle flame) in yoga also help with mental clarity and stress reduction.
However, weightlifting and cardiovascular exercises like treadmill running aim to improve muscular strength, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness.
“Exercise typically focuses on physical goals like strength, endurance, cardiovascular health, muscle tone, and weight loss,” says Sergio Pedemonte, certified personal trainer and Thai yoga instructor, Your House Fitness, Canada. “In exercise, breathing is optimised for physical activity, whereas in yoga, it is synchronised with movements and focuses on alignment and balance.”
In contrast, exercises can also reduce stress but often involve more physically intense activities that release endorphins for stress relief, he adds.
Intensity matters
Traditional yoga involves gentle and meditative movements that are less intense and done at a slow pace.
Lauren Rudick, an international yoga instructor, based in Montreal, Canada and founder of Yoga Academy International, says, “Yoga is not a cardiovascular activity. We try to keep our heart rate relatively low and our breathing steady throughout the practice even with the most strenuous of postures. This trains our mind and body to stay calm in the face of challenges both on and off the yoga mat.”
There are some forms of yoga that can be intense. “Yes, they can also resemble intense gymnastics!” says Rudick. For instance, the Vinyasa style of yoga and power yoga are more dynamic and energetic.
Traditional fitness regimens often involve higher intensity but can always be toned down or customised according to our preference and ability. Pedemonte says that exercises are more suited for athletes focusing on performance, people with specific fitness goals like strength or weight loss, and those tracking their fitness progress.
While yoga involves static and dynamic postures that are not as repetitive, regular exercises often involve repetition.
Breathing with consciousness
Yoga encompasses different types of breathing techniques or pranayama, which encourage slow and deep breathing. It brings awareness to breathing. Slow breathing techniques enhance relaxation and energy flow, according to both the yoga experts.
A study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience indicates that slow breathing has positive psychological and behavioural outcomes including increased comfort, relaxation, pleasantness, vigour and alertness. In addition, there is also a reduction in symptoms related to anxiety, depression, anger, and confusion.
Gym exercises, however, involve breathing, which is often coordinated with exertion to increase oxygen delivery and endurance.
Tools or not
Yoga requires minimal essentials like mats and props (for beginners).
At the gym, people make use of a variety of equipment like weights, resistance bands, machines, etc. However, there are also easy-to-do home workouts one can follow.
Injury risks
Yoga has a low risk of injury as it emphasises body awareness. However, gym workouts risk injury, especially during heavy lifting and intense cardio workouts when one is not in form.
A few tips from experts
If you are going for yoga, Rudick has a suggestion. “It is important to find the style that best suits your lifestyle, goals and current overall fitness levels. The benefit of yoga versus other forms of exercise may lie in its inclusivity. In general, yoga classes are welcoming of all ages, all levels and all bodies.”
It is also great to incorporate both forms to get multiple benefits. Rudick says that one can do stretching, meditation, breathing exercises and some basic sun salutations as warm-up.
Despite the differences between yoga and exercise, their shared goal is to promote health. Always listen to your body and choose the fitness path that meets your body’s requirements.
