How To Build Strength Through Yoga In 7 Proven Steps
Do you want to build strength, but you're unsure weather you can do it with yoga? Well, you can, and let me tell you how with 7 simple steps.
Curious whether you can build up your bodily strength by practicing yoga?
Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or a newcomer eager to harness the transformative potential of yoga, you’re in the right place.
Let me share the 7 simple steps I use to adjust my yoga practice when I want to focus more on building strength in my body.
In this article, you’ll discover how yoga can be your most potent tool in the pursuit of not only physical but mental strength too.
Strength awaits—let’s begin!
Is it possible to build strength with yoga?
This question is very common, and to be totally honest, it’s kinda expected. Whenever you hear the word yoga you primarily think of calmness, stretching, and creating some pretzel-like shapes with the body, right? So because most people associate yoga with the words flexibility and zen, I’m never surprised when they don’t believe that going to a yoga class can be considered as strength training.
While it is absolutely possible, it fully depends on you whether you’ll build strength or not. If you want to and know how to use the yogic asana practice towards building a more powerful you, then getting stronger through a yoga practice is completely doable.
Before I go on tho, let me be completely clear that you can’t really grow muscles and bulk up with yoga. Why? Well, simply because yoga is a bodyweight type of training, which is not enough to create such a tear in the muscle required for it to grow. However, yoga can help you get lean and structured muscles, which will be strong and functional.
So, if you’re striving for the ‘bodybuilder’ look, then, by all means, skip this article, hit the gym, and start lifting weights! But, if you’re looking for a more sculpted, sensibly defined, and healthy–looking body, then don’t give up on your yoga mat just yet. 😉
Why even work on strength?
Do I really need to explain this?!
A weak body doesn’t do anything but dishearten your spirit. Every physical daily task you do gets extremely tiring and more stressful when you don’t have a strong body. Simply put, to lead a healthy and fulfilling life you need a strong body. So, we should all want to work on our strength.
Putting the obvious, basic, daily life reasons aside, if you’re someone who wants to deeply improve flexibility, you need to work on your strength too. I’ll leave the details of that topic for another time, but just remember that strength and flexibility are a pair, and they go hand in hand.
Why choose yoga for strength building?
Yoga is all about balance, in every sense and aspect.
Whenever you step on your mat to practice, knowingly or unknowingly, you incorporate and work on a lot of little things – from engagement to letting go, to breathwork.
So why exactly should you start building strength through a yoga practice?
First, the nature of yoga asana is such that it always strengthens and lengthens at the same time. When executed correctly each asana helps you increase strength and flexibility in parallel. And flexible muscles are always far less prone to injury than tight, stiff muscles.
Second, the breathing techniques in yoga help the body improve the way it utilizes oxygen. Your muscles rely on oxygen to function, which is why making that process more efficient lets you stay active longer without becoming fatigued.
Lastly, yoga improves your concentration. Getting into, holding, or getting out of certain poses requires being fully focused, in tune with your body, and knowing how to release the tension instead of resisting it. All of that trains your mental strength, which you’ll quickly find is, if not more, then at least just as important as training your physical body.
Now you see, building strength with yoga ultimately combines the best of both worlds, body, and mind.
7 Steps to a stronger body with yoga
Okay, we’ve cleared up that it’s possible to build up your strength by practicing yoga. But, considering there are so many contrasting styles of yoga out there, opposed opinions, and distinct teachers, what exactly should you do in your yoga practice to improve your strength?
Depending on what my intention is at the time I step on my yoga mat, I make a decision on what kind of practice I will do. So each time my practice looks different, and it’s always according to my needs. While constantly adapting my personal yoga practice, I noticed that these 7 steps are constant whenever I want to work more on my strength and stamina. They are actually very similar to the principles used in traditional strength training, so you can be sure that they are effective.
Regardless of whether you want to only do yoga or you’re trying to squeeze more muscle strengthening out of your practice to boost your body’s performance, these 7 tips can help.
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- ACTIVE MOVEMENT
Practicing active movement is something I do and teach regardless of whether the goal is strength or flexibility. What it means is that you should be fully present and mindful about your movement. No matter which asana you perform, you should consciously activate all affected and supporting muscles, and not rely on gravity or pulling with the arms. For example, when you do a Forward Fold, instead of using the strength of your arms and pull to bring the torso closer to the legs, you should actively use your core and quadriceps to do the folding. - DYNAMICS
This might sound obvious, but to build strength you need a lot of movement. So it’s best to let those slow-paced Yin Yoga flows for another time. If strength-building is your goal then always choose a dynamic flow, that includes active transitions and builds up the heat in your body. And no, I don’t mean you should always choose Power Yoga. Simply choose a flow that is at an intensity and pace that is challenging for you and your body. Here’s one example of beginner friendly strength-focused flow I created to especially targeting the obliques. - ASANA CHOICE
Just like you’d practice different exercises at the gym, the set of asanas you choose to include in your yoga practice makes a difference. Naturally, to build strength you should choose poses that are heat-building and require more strength than flexibility. Think of poses like Downward Dog, Chaturanga, Planks, the Warrior poses, etc. A very common yoga pose that’s also done a lot in fitness, is Chair pose – take a look here for some tips on proper alignment to get the most out of it, or here if you need some ideas to spice it up. If you’d like a specific list of strength-building poses, let me know! I’d love to create a separate blog post for you, dedicated specifically to that. 🙂 - LONGER HOLDS
The pose that feels challenging, is exactly the one you should hold for a longer time. Similarly to traditional strength training and weight lifting where you start small and gradually increase your weights, in yoga, you should gradually increase the length of time you hold a pose. That way you will keep it challenging, but also realistic, and avoid injury. I suggest starting with a hold long 5 to 6 breaths then working your way up. Just make sure they are real deep breaths, not shallow rushed ones! 😉 - ADD PULSES
As you hold your poses, a great step up is adding pulses. For example, in Warrior 2, you can pulse your arms up and down, and lift the hips just a bit higher then lower them down again, this time maybe sinking deeper. Naturally, as you pulse don’t forget about your alignment and the first point I mentioned above. 😉 - REPETITIONS
Another obvious one right? Strengthening requires stressing our muscles at one go as much as possible, so that we bring them to their limit, and eventually push that limit further away. One way to bring more stress and tear your muscles is repeating the same challenging asana multiple times during one yoga practice. The most basic repetitions that are building strength (and I honestly do them every day!), are doing several rounds of the Sun Salutation or adding a Vinyasa (Downward Dog – Chaturanga – Upward Dog – Downward Dog sequence) between each pose. - CONSISTENCY
Just like with anything else in life, consistency here is key. Showing up on your mat regularly is what’s going to bring you visible and long–lasting results. While you’re at it, also pay attention to your frequency. If yoga is your only source of exercise, then aim to practice at least 4 times per week.
So, now that you know my 7 simple, yet effective steps, nothing is stopping you from using your yoga practice to build a stronger, more powerful you!
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Conclusion
As you can see, yoga can definitely be adjusted to suit all of your needs, from finding inner balance and peace to increasing flexibility and building strength.
Let these 7 steps be your roadmap, and use them to unlock your inner warrior, sculpt your muscles, and nurture a radiant sense of well-being along the way.
And if you’re thinking about starting your yoga journey, just like me, at your own home, then I believe this will be very helpful.
Yours,
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