Ashtanga Yoga: Pros and cons

Yoga is undoubtably excellent for increasing flexibility, but one of the great ashtanga benefits is that this style also gives you a workout in the more traditional sense.

In this way, it is somewhat different to the more static styles of yoga such as iyengar and hatha.

Whilst they develop flexibility and improve overall body composition, they don't help with cardiovascular training and endurance, and unless you consciously choose to use more 'power yoga' postures, they don't necessarily develop great muscular strength.

On the other hand, the benefits of ashtanga yoga include the ability to become strong and muscular in a relatively short space of time.

Certain poses in yoga, called the 'power poses' for this reason, help train muscles. And ashtanga yoga has a lot of them incorporated in its' routines. For example, the salute to the sun sequences, which start each of the series, strengthen the deltoids, triceps and pectoral muscles.

A further benefit of ashtanga yoga training is that you won't build bulky muscles. However, you do develop an increase in the size and density of muscle fibers. This has a positive effect on both strength and endurance - good hallmarks of a rounded physical fitness program.

The very nature of the way the ashtanga series were designed mean that they satisfy the caveats every yoga practice should if your aim is also to be physically fit in the traditional sense. The constant movement, and the pace mean you build up a sweat and get a cardiovascular workout. This is an intensity you control, however, and easing up on the pace means less of a workout for your heart.

Ashtanga benefits extend beyond traditional fitness, however. The combination of the heat generated with the stretching allows the muscles to soften. You can thus go deeper into a stretch than you would be able to otherwise. The heat is also said to have a cleansing effect of the body. It certainly helps with circulation, and many of the poses also help with metabolism. The focus and breathing help develop concentration and coordination as well.


Here are some of the pros about ashtanga yoga.


•It's a system of yoga that involves synchronizing your breathing with a progressive series of postures, which is a process that produces intense heat, which causes you to sweat which is supposed to be used to detoxify the muscles and organs of your body


•The first series of poses, which is considered the primary poses in this style of yoga, are basically used for yoga therapy. This therapy is used to realign the spine, detoxify the body, as well as build flexibility, strength and stamina. This series of poses is known as Yoga Chikitsa.


•The second series of poses is known as Nadi Shodana, which basically translates into nervous system purification. These poses are used to clean and strengthen the nervous system, but they are also used to help strengthen the subtle energy channels within the body.


•This form of yoga is actually one of the most popular forms of yoga and has been around for many years. It is a secret and ancient healing practice that was passed down from various yoga instructors.


•This form of yoga is also a very good workout for your body, by raising your body temperature you are in turn raising your heart rate and you are burning calories, which all in turn will help keep you physically fit and can also help you to lose weight. And the longer you practice this form of yoga the better results you will have, as well as producing dramatic effects on your body.



Here are some of the cons to this type of yoga.

•One of the bad things about this type of yoga is that you can not move on to the second series of poses until you have become strong in the first series of yoga.


•While this is not power yoga this type of yoga will give you an intense workout, which means it is not for the light hearted. If you are looking for a more relaxing style of yoga this type of yoga is not going to be right for you.