Ten Secrets for Mastering Power Yoga
To really excel in your Power Yoga practice, you must be humble, have a positive attitude, and discover your connection with the energy you call life. Anyone can practice Power Yoga, have a great time in the process, and enjoy the many benefits of a regular practice. But if you want to gain the most from Power Yoga and savor the true essence of this ancient and magical system, you need to keep a few key words of wisdom in mind. Read and become wiser, grasshopper.
Be humble
Don't fight your Yoga practice: Don't try to control it, overcome it, or conquer it. You have to relax to find the connecting energy that runs through life. Humble yourself in the face of this powerful system and work with your Power Yoga, not against it. Take it slow and easy. Don't be competitive (with yourself or anyone else), and approach your practice with an open mind. Let your mind flow through your practice, and your body will follow. Respect the energy your body generates during practice and think of it as part of the energy of all life. Remembering this connection can make your practice more powerful — and more fulfilling.
Have patience
If you rush through your Power Yoga practice, don't expect to gain anything but a load of stress. Enough of your life is hectic and fast-paced; you don't need to add a stress-filled rush-rush Power Yoga practice to your schedule. Finishing first may be important in other aspects of your life, but your Power Yoga practice needs to be an exception to the norm.
Practice patience as you practice Yoga. Don't expect to accomplish everything the first day. If you practice regularly and moderately, your body responds more quickly than it does if you push it. If you practice patience and moderation, you succeed every time you sit down on your mat to enjoy a quality practice.
Practice with love and compassion
Focus your mind on peaceful, loving thoughts and embrace a compassionate outlook as you do your Yoga practice. Try to develop an attitude of love and compassion for the entire practice of Yoga. To gain the most from your practice, you really have to love to do it and be compassionate toward yourself. Don't force yourself to do your practice; wait until you want to do it, and then let it become your passion.
Power Yoga can be something very special — something that you look forward to and love. Think of every practice as a vacation. Use your practice as a means of developing love and compassion for everyone and everything that shares your planet.
Although Power Yoga is a complete fitness system, you can benefit by cross-training with other physical activities as well. If you want to succeed in Power Yoga, you need to practice non-Power Yoga activities, too. You can take long walks, dance, practice other forms of Yoga, participate in group sports, work in your garden, or incorporate any of your favorite physical activities into your regular fitness schedule. You don't have to practice Power Yoga every day without any breaks. Be balanced in your approach to fitness — enjoy your life and be as active as you can — and your Power Yoga will benefit. You'll look forward to your practice, have fewer injuries in your more active pursuits, and find ways to use your Yoga techniques in the other physical activities you enjoy.
Respect your limits
You have a unique body. Because everyone is put together a little differently, some folks have a harder time with certain activities than others. This truth carries over to practicing Power Yoga postures. No one is perfect at every Yoga posture, and you won't be, either. But don't let that get you down. Natural limitations are the reasons we use Yoga props and practice Yoga adjustments. Don't ever try to push yourself into doing a posture just because you think that you should be able to do it, or because that older woman beside you can do it. The true yogi or yogini knows his or her limits and works with those limits — not against them.
Listen to your body, and stop when it tells you to stop. Rest when it says it needs rest. Try to grow in your practice, but don't ever try to force your body into doing something that it doesn't want to do. An injury only adds to your physical limitations.
Set clear goals
Now, if your goal in practicing Power Yoga is just to relax and release a little stress and tension, that's fine. If your goal is to develop a lot of strength and flexibility, that's fine, too. But you need to be clear on what your goals are if you want to achieve them. If you want to practice at the highest level, you have to be clear about that goal, and you need to visualize yourself achieving it. As you practice, just keep telling yourself, "I know I can do this. I can accomplish this level of practice."
If you're practicing just to relax, keep that goal in mind, and remember not to allow yourself to become impatient with the pace or angry with yourself for not mastering a posture. When you practice with a specific goal in mind, your practice is more productive, directed, and beneficial in every way.
Visualize your success
Before you actually move into a Yoga posture, visualize yourself moving into the posture. When your mind flows into the posture this way, your body will follow. Positive visualization is a technique used by many great athletes, and it's a strong tool for Power Yoga students, as well.
Think positive thoughts and visualize yourself accomplishing what you're going to do before you actually do it. This process can benefit your Power Yoga practice as well as any other task you undertake in your daily life.
Relax and rest
If you want to succeed at building an effective Power Yoga practice, you have to have adequate rest. That means getting enough sleep and taking occasional breaks from your hectic schedule to slow down, enjoy a walk in the park, chat with a neighbor, read a book, or just stare at the world around you. Power Yoga can be a very powerful system, but you limit your body's ability to draw from that power if you limit its rest. Don't ever skip the relaxation exercise at the end of each workout; allow yourself at least 5 and as many as 30 minutes of rest in each deep relaxation session. Relax after each practice, enjoy a little recreation, and get plenty of sleep; that's an important prescription for building a successful Power Yoga practice.
Stoke your furnace with good nutrition
Okay, eating that sack of donuts won't kill you — today, at least. But you can get away with eating junk food for only so long. Yoga has its roots in nature, and part of succeeding in Power Yoga is becoming one with nature. A big part of being connected to nature is respecting your body. Regular Power Yoga practice demands a lot of your body, and if you want to develop — rather than deplete — your body's resources, you have to give it good fuel. By following a diet of healthy, natural food and large quantities of fresh, pure water, you help your body grow strong and healthy. The fact that you're practicing Power Yoga means that you want to have a healthy body. So don't fight your progress by crippling your body with bad food.
Never stop studying
You should always think about Power Yoga as a practice because, in reality, it isn't something that you ever finish finding out about — you never absorb everything there is to know about any aspect of Yoga. All yogis and yoginis remain students throughout their lives. And you can benefit from everything and everyone you encounter. Just as the ancient masters based the first Yoga practices on their observations of nature, so can you. You can discover gems by observing your friends, your dog, the stars, and the wind — everything that moves, breathes, or exists on this planet has some connection to the energy of Yoga. It's to your benefit to find these connections wherever you can.
Fitness Glossary
aeroboxing, kickboxing
A class that takes the moves of a kickboxer’s training and choreographs them to music.
Fitness Glossary
anaerobic threshold
The point at which your body switches from using oxygen as its primary source of energy to using stored sugar. When you’re in poor physical shape, you hit your anaerobic threshold while exercising at relatively low levels of exercise.
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barbells
The larger weights (for power lifting in a weight training program) that include a long bar with weights added to each end. You need to use both hands to lift a barbell.
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Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis BIA
A method of measuring your body fat in which you lie on your back while a signal travels from an electrode on your foot to an electrode on your hand. The slower the signal, the more fat you have.
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blood pressure
A measurement of how open your blood vessels are. Low numbers mean that your heart doesn’t have to work very hard to pump the blood through your blood vessels.
Fitness Glossary
body composition
How much of your body is composed of fat and how much is composed of everything else. Your body composition is also called your body-fat percentage.
Fitness Glossary
body mass index BMI
A way of relating your height and weight to estimate how fat you are. You can use a simple formula to determine your BMI.
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body sculpting
A non-aerobic, muscle-toning class, usually focused on core strength.
Fitness Glossary
BOSU
A domed, flexible apparatus that helps to improve balance and can be used in a step aerobics exercise routine. BOSU is an acronym for Both Sides Utilized.
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cardio
A term (short for cardiovascular) that is often used interchangeably with aerobic. Aerobic exercise is any repetitive activity that you do long enough and hard enough to challenge your heart and lungs.
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chi
Otherwise known as "life energy," this is the life force that pulses through your body and keeps you vital. Blocked chi can cause sickness or unhappiness.
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circuit training
A fast-paced class or exercise routine in which you do one exercise for 30 seconds to 5 minutes and then move on to another exercise at the next station. Combines cardio exercise with strength training.
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core
The abdomen, obliques, lower back, butt, and so on, that form the midsection. Many forms of exercise focus on strengthening the body's core.
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core conditioning
A non-aerobic, muscle-toning class, usually focused on core strength.
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cross-training
A method of varying your workouts to take your fitness to the next level by adding new forms of training to your current routine.
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Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry DEXA
A method of measuring your body fat that also determines where the fat is located on your body, a more relevant health indicator.
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dumbbells
Smaller weights (for a weight training program) that you can lift with one hand.
Fitness Glossary
elliptical trainer
The hottest trend in cardio machines, which is part stair-climber, part treadmill, part stationary cycle. Your legs travel in an elongated circular movement, and, on some models, you pump arm poles back and forth for an upper-body workout.
Fitness Glossary
exercise ball
A large plastic ball that is an excellent tool for doing challenging exercises (with or without weights) that require varying forms of strength and control.
Fitness Glossary
Fartlek
A type of interval training program that doesn't use an exact measure of time or distance. You just do your intervals whenever you feel like it. The term Fartlek means "speed play" in Swedish.
Fitness Glossary
fitness walking
A faster and more intense walking technique than casual (lifestyle) walking that burns more calories and helps you lose weight. When you fitness walk, you generally move along at a brisk pace of 3.5 to 4.3 miles an hour, covering a mile in 14 to 17 minutes.
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flexibility
The range of motion or distance you can move a joint through. Stretching is the key to maintaining your flexibility.
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free weights
Portable weights used in a strength training program.
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freestyle
The traditional type of swimming movement that uses the front crawl.
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heart rate
The number of times your heart beats per minute.
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high-impact aerobics
A traditional dance-inspired routine that involves jumping or hopping and moves at a slower pace than low-impact aerobics. High/low combines the two types of routines.
Fitness Glossary
in-line skating; Rollerblading
A type of skating in which you wear skates with urethane wheels that enable you to glide, sprint, curve, turn, and spin.
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interval training
A training technique in which you alternate short, fairly intense spurts of exercise with periods of relatively easy exercise.
Fitness Glossary
kickboxing; aeroboxing
A class that takes the moves of a kickboxer’s training and choreographs them to music.
Fitness Glossary
lifestyle walking
A casual walking technique that is low to moderate intensity and relatively slow paced. Most lifestyle walkers walk an average of 2.5 to 3.5 miles per hour, which means that they walk about 1 mile every 17 to 24 minutes.
Fitness Glossary
low-impact aerobics
A traditional dance-inspired routine in which you always have one foot on the floor — you don’t do any jumping or hopping. High/low combines the two types of routines.
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marathon
An organized 26.2-mile race for runners and walkers.
Fitness Glossary
maximum heart rate
The maximum number of times your heart should beat in a minute without dangerously overexerting yourself.
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meditation
A mental process involving focused attention, or calm awareness, which is also called mindfulness.
Fitness Glossary
mountain bike
A fat-tire outdoors bicycle with upright handlebars that is built to withstand rough terrain.
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multi-gym
A home gym contraption that looks like a bunch of health-club weight machines welded to each other.
Fitness Glossary
muscular failure
In a strength training program, the point at which your last repetition with weights is so difficult that you cannot perform another repetition.
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orthotics
Fitted shoe inserts designed by a podiatrist that correct weight distribution along the foot.
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periodization
A method of organizing a strength training workout program into several periods, each lasting about four weeks. Each phase has a different emphasis.
Fitness Glossary
Pilates
A form of exercise that emphasizes correct form using your body’s core. Pilates is named after its inventor, Joseph Pilates, who invented the technique for injured dancers.
Fitness Glossary
plantar fasciitis
An inflammation of the tough fibrous band of tissue that runs the length of the bottom of your foot.
Fitness Glossary
pulse
The number of times your heart beats per minute.
Fitness Glossary
Qigong
An element of a T'ai Chi practice that covers many different types of movements that involve using and feeling the body's energy.
Fitness Glossary
recumbent bike
A type of stationary bike with a bucket seat that provides back support so that you pedal straight out in front of you.
Fitness Glossary
repetition rep
One complete motion of an exercise, often used in reference to strength training.
Fitness Glossary
RICE
An acronym that stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation — common treatment methods prescribed for runners with training injuries.
Fitness Glossary
road bike
The traditional type of outdoor bicycle with curved handlebars that is built for speed.
Fitness Glossary
rolling stair climber
A cardiovascular machine that resembles a section of a department-store escalator. A set of stairs rotates in a circle so that you climb continuously, but never getting anywhere.
Fitness Glossary
rowing machine
A cardiovascular machine that increases stamina, upper body endurance, strength, and flexibility by mimicking a rowing motion. Also called a rower.
Fitness Glossary
set
A group of consecutive repetitions in a strength training program.
Fitness Glossary
Spinning
A popular group studio cycling program invented by ultra-distance cyclist Johnny G. and licensed by Schwinn, which manufactures the bikes used in these classes.
Fitness Glossary
stair-climber
A cardiovascular machine that has two foot plates you pump up and down to mimic the action of climbing stairs. Also called a stepper.
Fitness Glossary
stationary bike
A cardiovascular machine that comes in two styles: upright bikes and recumbent bikes.
Fitness Glossary
step aerobics
A choreographed routine of stepping up and down on a rectangular, square, or circular platform.
Fitness Glossary
strength training
A type of workout that uses any combination of weight machines and free weights (dumbbells and barbells) to build muscle strength.
Fitness Glossary
stride frequency
The number of strides that a runner takes over a certain time period.
Fitness Glossary
studio cycling
Group exercise classes that are taught on stationary bicycles.
Fitness Glossary
T'ai Chi
An ancient martial art focusing on smooth, slow movements that cultivate inward focus and free energy flow. T'ai Chi is properly pronounced tie-jee.
Fitness Glossary
target heart-rate zone
A range that is between 50 percent and 85 percent of your maximum heart rate that can tell you what heart rate to aim for during a workout.
Fitness Glossary
treadmill
A popular choice for a cardiovascular machine in a home gym if you enjoy fitness walking and jogging (or running).
Fitness Glossary
upright bike
The traditional kind of stationary bike, which resembles a regular bicycle.
Fitness Glossary
walk-run
A workout in which you alternate walking and running. By sprinkling running intervals throughout your walking workout, you can spike up exercise intensity and burn more calories.
Fitness Glossary
water aerobics
Aerobics classes that do traditional workouts in waist- to neck-high water in a swimming pool. The resistance of the water makes the workout feel far more intense, while the water cushions you from the impact.
Fitness Glossary
weight machines
Stationary equipment mostly found at gyms that are easy to use and help you to safely and quickly advance through a strength-training workout.
Fitness Glossary
weight-bearing exercise
A type of exercise in which your skeleton is supporting any sort of weight, as it does when you walk, run, or lift weights.
Fitness Glossary
Wushu
The “martial art” or traditional self-defense activities practiced with or without weapons (includes T'ai Chi).
Fitness Glossary
yin and yang
The terms for opposites that are opposing yet complementary. A concept used throughout all of T’ai Chi and Qigong.
Fitness Glossary
yoga
A series of poses (known as asanas) that you hold from a few seconds to several minutes. The moves — a blend of strength, flexibility, and body-awareness exercises — are intended to promote the union of the mind, body, and spirit.
