Combining Yoga With Weights

Yoga with weights combines two forms of traditional exercise: yoga and weightlifting. Weight training is the core of many physical fitness programs, and yoga is well-known for its beneficial conditioning and life enhancing effects. The history of yoga goes back literally thousands of years, and very much of the practice is mental as well as physical. Combining yoga with weights was conceived to enhance the physical benefits of resistance training while retaining the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of yoga.

The amount of weight used is small. 1-, 2-, 3-, or sometimes 5-pound weights are used on your wrists or ankles, or held in your hands. The weights provide a little bit higher level of physical conditioning than yoga alone. The yoga approach of staying in the present and paying attention to your body, mind, and emotions adds a level of awareness, or mindfulness to traditional weight techniques. The result is even better physical conditioning combined with the numerous positive effects of yoga.

Adding weights to yoga accelerates the effects of yoga training. Small weights increase your focus on correct positioning in the poses because of the slight additional challenge of controlling the weights. The idea is that your poses get better sooner. Weights also challenge your balance a bit more than regular yoga.

One of the most beneficial physical effects of yoga is flexibility and suppleness. Integrating yoga into weight training adds a higher level of sustained focus on flexibility to traditional weight training. It is not uncommon to spend an hour or more lifting weights, and then do a couple of stretches and quit. One of the things I have always sensed was missing from my weight training was the benefit of working on flexibility. Of course, you can always stretch more, but yoga and weights form a system whose whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts compared to simply stretching more.

This article is intended to introduce the idea of combining yoga with weights rather than explore all of the details and techniques. An easy way to try out the concept for yourself is two get a couple of very small weights and simply go through some of your poses. See if you like it. If you do, there are numerous resources available to delve deeper. Please pay careful attention to safety and listen to your body. Of course, seek professional assistance you feel you may need for special requirements or circumstances.

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