Can Yoga be a Cardio Workout?

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I’m convinced. After only a week into the Yoga90 adventure with my best friend Meg, I’ve confirmed that yoga really does cover all five bases of my 5-Fold Fitness Plan. In doing yoga seven days a week, I’ve designed a yoga regimen that includes a few styles of yoga to make sure I’m covering all the bases with my practice.

To recap my September 2009 article, Mindful Fitness, a well-rounded exercise routine should include:

1. Strengthening
2. Flexibility
3. Detoxification/De-stressing
4. Cardio
5. Balance

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I think everyone would agree that all the above is covered through a regular yoga practice, with one exception: cardio. Most people have been convinced that a good cardio workout has to be at least 30 minutes of endurance aerobics, where the heart rate is elevated for a long, steady duration.

Newer research, though, is showing that cardio-vascular workouts don’t have to be endurance-based. In fact, for many people, short bursts of cardio training does the trick better, as well as burns fat for longer periods after the workout is over (1). This is called “burst training”, a new science of exercise based on quick bursts of power and periods of rest.

Anyone who has a regular yoga practice knows that there’s certainly an elevation in heart rate when doing yoga. In many classes, the first 15-20 minutes is dedicated to getting the heart pumping, circulating blood and warming up the tissues. Throughout the course of a class, the heart rate goes up and down in spurts (or “bursts”) as students hold hard, deep poses and work the large peripheral muscles.

Of course, you’ll have to get into the right class in order to get a good cardio workout through yoga. Here are a few yoga styles I recommend if you want the benefits of a good cardio workout:

Vinyasa Yoga (Flow Yoga) - Vinyasa means “breath-synchronized movement”, or simply “flow” (2). So in these classes, expect to move! In many cases, this movement will include Sun Salutations, moving through a series of flowing movements that specifically gets blood pumping. Yoga styles that incorporate vinyasa are Ashtanga, Power Yoga and Anusara.

Kundalini Yoga – While I won’t attempt to explain what kundalini is here, this practice incorporates challenging and interesting movements to raise energy up the central axis of the spine (3). In my limited experience with this form, many of these poses require physical effort and 5-10 minute “bursts” of the fast-twitch muscle fibers, which induce an increase in heart rate. This is a powerful form of yoga and will always include deep meditation to help integrate the energy generated in the body.

Bikram Yoga - Bikram is a form of Hatha Yoga where the room is heated to make you sweat out toxins, elevate heart rate and move oxygenated blood to the muscles, organs and glands (4). Although the 26 postures do not include a “flow style”, the heat and the challenging nature of this class will surely make your heart start pumping.

For week two of my 90 days of yoga, my schedule will include at least a few styles of yoga so to be covering all five of my 5-Fold Fitness bases. Kundalini, Anusara and Ashtanga cover all five; Yin Yoga and Restorative for detoxing, destressing and flexibility.

Article References:

1. The X-Iser. Sprint Smarter: Science. 2009.
2. Ask.com. What is Vinyasa Flow Yoga? 2009.
3. International Kundalini Yoga Teacher’s Association. 2009
4. Bikram’s Yoga College of India. About Bikram Yoga. 2009.