What are the benefits?

According to scientific evidence, power yoga provides a wide range of both mental and physical benefits. Here’s a look at some of the key benefits of this fast-flowing yoga style.

Cardiovascular health

Because of the fast pace and resistance training involved, researchTrusted Source shows that power yoga workouts can raise and sustain your heart rate.

Getting your heart rate up during exercise helps your body circulate blood and oxygen to your muscles and organs more efficiently. This, in turn, can help improve your fitness, stamina, and overall health.

Additionally, regular cardiovascular exercise, like power yoga, can benefit you by:

Strength

Although a power yoga class is fast-paced, that doesn’t mean you won’t hold any poses for a length of time. You may hold some poses for a minute or longer.

When you hold your body in a particular position for more than a few seconds, it fires up your muscles and makes them work hard to keep you in a pose. This can boost your muscle strength and endurance in many parts of your body.

Motor control

In a 2016 studyTrusted Source published in the journal, Complementary Therapies in Medicine, people with Parkinson’s disease who participated in twice-weekly power yoga sessions had significant improvements in their tremors and muscle rigidity.

Researchers also found that power yoga increased muscle strength and power in the study participants.

Weight loss

Because it gives you a cardio workout, power yoga burns calories. Improved muscle tone and strength from power yoga also means you’ll burn more calories even when you’re not exercising.

According to a 2013 study, yoga may help you feel more connected to your body. This may make you more aware of when to stop eating, which can aid in weight loss.

Additionally, the study found that yoga can help reduce back and joint pain, which may encourage people with this type of pain to be more active.

Stress reduction

Yoga is well known for its ability to reduce stress and anxiety, and promote feelings of relaxation and calm.

Even though power yoga is less meditative and more fast-paced than some types of yoga, a 2017 study found that power yoga has the ability to decrease levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, in your body.

The study suggests that even one session of power yoga may result in a noticeable reduction in stress.

Overall health

Power yoga is associated with other key markers of good health, such as:

  • better sleep
  • a stronger immune system
  • improved posture and balance

Additionally, according to a studyTrusted Source in the Journal of Women’s Health, Vinyasa or power yoga may be a helpful tool with helping smokers quit tobacco.

The participants in this study who took part in twice-weekly yoga sessions also reported reduced anxiety and improvements in their perceived health and well-being.

Are there any drawbacks?

Power yoga classes move at a fast pace and require a certain level of strength and fitness. Without a basic understanding of standard Vinyasa poses and movements, you may find it challenging to keep up.

As with any workout routine, using proper form is essential to avoid straining your muscles and joints. If you’re not familiar with the yoga poses, you may risk injury by trying a pose with the incorrect form.

Power yoga classes are often 60 to 90 minutes long. The time commitment could be a drawback, especially if you’re not used to exercising or working out for that length of time.

Is it right for you?

If you’re comfortable in an intense fitness class environment (think CrossFit), power yoga may be a good fit for you.

It may also be a good choice if you have a decent level of fitness and are accustomed to working out for 60 minutes or longer. Having some familiarity with other forms of yoga and yoga poses is helpful, too.

How to get started

Power yoga classes are typically taught at fitness centers or yoga studios. When starting out, look for beginner or introductory classes, and ask your friends or co-workers for recommendations.

You may not see classes listed as “power yoga” courses, but instead they may be called Vinyasa yoga classes.

Before signing up, talk with the instructor or people working at the fitness center or studio to learn more about the power yoga class and what it includes. Also find out what level of expertise or fitness is needed for the class.

If you’re new to yoga, you may want to consider an introductory class in Hatha yoga. This can help familiarize you with a variety of yoga poses and how to do them correctly.

If you’d prefer to practice power yoga on your own at home, there are many online videos you can stream and follow along. You may also want to try out a yoga app that you can download to your phone or tablet.

If you have a chronic condition such as heart disease or arthritis, have an injury, or you are pregnant, check with your doctor about whether power yoga is safe for you.

The bottom line

Power yoga, which is also known as Vinyasa yoga, is a fast-paced style of yoga that’s focused on building strength and endurance. It is also an excellent form of yoga for burning calories.

Although it requires mindfulness and focus on your breathing, power yoga is more dynamic than meditative forms of yoga, and provides a good cardio and strength-training workout.

You don’t need weights or other equipment, but it helps to have a certain level of strength and fitness for this style of yoga.