Why Yoga is Good For You

about 758 days ago by
2
Yoga is Good for You

Yoga is Good for You

I would like to dedicate this blog post to Ian for keeping me in check and holding me accountable! Thanks Ian. A big shout out to you. By the way, my recovery drink and P90X bars arrive on Monday and I’ll be sure to talk about my experiences with that.

Topic: Why yoga is a good and productive workout

Today’s Workout: Yoga X (I was out sick a few days so I’m repeating rest week)

Inspirational Quote: ”Struggle is nature’s way of strengthening.”

Yoga X is probably one of the more difficult workouts in P90X. For me, it was the most difficult workout to get used to. I didn’t think much of it the first time I saw it. There were no weights, no cardio movements plus you put your body in positions I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing in public. I mean really…crane? Yeah, you won’t catch me doing that at the gym any time soon!

The first time I did Yoga X, I flat out quit before the moving postures were even over. I didn’t even think about going into the balance postures. It was just too different and too painful for me to continue. I was pretty discouraged because up until that point, I did not ever just quit in the middle of a workout. Again, I’m a big quote guy…I remembered reading this somewhere…”struggle is nature’s way of strengthening.” Therefore I rationalized that the more I struggle the stronger I would get. The next time I had Yoga, I forced myself to finish. I told myself that it didn’t have to be pretty but I had to finish and I did. It felt like the longest workout of my life. Then again, it is an hour and a half workout!

P90X Yoga Mat
P90X Yoga Mat
This thick, textured sticky mat will comfortably stabilize your yoga practice so you can focus on proper alignment and balance.
Yoga Block Set of 2
Yoga Block Set of 2
Increase your strength and flexibility with this high-density, closed-cell foam yoga block.
Yoga Booty Ballet
Yoga Booty Ballet
Gillian Marloth Clark takes you through an exhilarating routine that helps you get toned and slim as you enjoy classic yoga.

Two and a Half P90X Cycles Later…not only am I completing the workout but I am also doing advanced forms of several of the moves. I can do crane for about 10 seconds without falling, wheel instead of bridge and warrior three through twisting half moon on each leg without putting the other foot down. I knew for a fact my fitness had improved being able to do that Yoga pass.

Yoga has improved my posture, flexibility and strength. There was also a huge mental gain and personal feeling of achievement the first time I was able to complete Yoga X without taking a break. Here is a link to a website I found that lists the benefits of Yoga on the body. http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/beginnersguide/yogabenefits.asp

Tony Horton loves Yoga, you should too! I found a video on youtube about Tony Horton’s take on Yoga. Tony being the man when it comes to fitness, I take things he says pretty serious. He was asked if there was only one workout he could ever do for the rest of his life, he said it would be Yoga. Check it out!

Questions for the Audience:

  • What physical changes have you experienced by doing Yoga?
  • What other kind of Yoga workouts have you benefited from outside of P90X’s Yoga X?
  • Has anyone experienced any “mental” benefits of doing Yoga?
This entry was posted in Fitness Blog and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.
  • Julian Placino

    Hi Ian,

    Thanks for sharing your successes with me. It sounds like you are certainly on your way to achieving your fitness goals. As matter of fact, it sounds like you won already! Being aware of where you came from and where you are now is truly an inspiring thing. It’s one thing to hear about someone else’s success story, it’s something completely different when you experience this for yourself! I truly admire your dedication to P90X but more importantly, making yourself more fit.

    Regarding your advances with Yoga, I’ll venture out to say that Twisting Half Moon is the hardest posture of Yoga X. Tony Himself mentions that this is an advanced move. If you can do this and still improve, you are definitely becoming (if not already) more fit than the average joe.

    Thanks again for reporting your successes. I wish you good luck and look forward to hearing more about your improvements!

  • Ian

    I’ve seen the most gains (I’m just 40 days into P90X, keep in mind) in my flexibility as well as the amount of pull-ups I can do. For example, during the wide front hamstring stretch I can now put my whole palms on the floor, where as before I could just put my fingertips down. During moves like Twisting Half Moon, I can actually keep the leg that’s down totally straight, put my hand flat on a book (my yoga block substitute) and hold the pose. Again, it was fingertips before.

    As for pull-ups, well, now I can finally do them. I started P90X being very dependent on a chair in order to get my pull-up reps done, but just this week I felt like they were getting easy enough to try without. Sure enough, I can now knock out a respectable number of reps before I have to use the chair! This is partly a result of doing so many back workouts in the program, but all the twisting that Yoga X involves is definitely a factor.

    Mentally, Yoga X calms me down. The first couple of weeks I was cursing at my TV every time I’d “tumble and stumble,” which was often, but once I took a more focused and Zen approach to it the experience was much better. Also, I find myself getting very sleepy starting around the stretching section, so I do it before bed.