I wrote an article a few years back focusing on the question of, “How often should I practice yoga?” Back when I started teaching (in 2002) it was very common to see students coming to class 5 or 6 times a week. In fact, I used to say to students, “Yoga is really all you need for a healthy body.”
Well, I STILL believe that yoga is a fantastic system to create health in the body but I no longer say that it’s all you need. It really depends on what you’re looking to do in terms of several of the factors around health and fitness: strength training, flexibility, general range of motion/joint health improvement, balance training, core training, weight loss, healing from an injury, reducing stress and others that I might not have listed here.
So, to answer the question of “How often you should practice” I’d have to say: It depends on what your goals are (see list above), the style of yoga you’re practicing, your diet, other kinds of exercise you might be doing, any history of injury and maybe some other factors as well. So, what approach should you take?
Let’s go through this list one by one:
What are your goals for yoga? As I mentioned above, your goals could include things like increasing flexibility, improving posture, building strength, relieving stress, losing weight or any combination of these factors. Increasing flexibility is a direct function of how often you attend and what you do when you’re off the mat. The “off the mat” part is often overlooked in class and if you’re a teacher, it can be helpful to integrate not only anatomy into your cues but also tips for what students can be doing off the mat to improve posture and build strength and flexibility.
Another way to think of it is that you could go to yoga every day but if you’re sitting for 8 hours a day, running 5 times a week as well as weight training, it’s really hard to stay flexible. So, to increase flexibility, you’d have to look at the total picture of your activities, how your body is reacting overall and make adjustments to try to get more of what you’re looking for and less of the other factors. Losing weight is a function of not just how often you practice but what you’re eating and how cardiovascular your practice is (or you can supplement your practice with another activity that’s purely cardiovascular, like running). While all yoga styles emphasize deep breathing and have a relaxing effect on the nervous system, practicing meditation and regular restorative yoga classes are a wonderful way to focus on decreasing stress.
What style of yoga are you practicing? The style of yoga you’re practicing will result in different effects on the body. Heated power yoga classes can increase flexibility and also may result in weight loss due to the cardiovascular nature of the practice (and if you’re also eating a healthy diet). Restorative yoga or Hatha classes may increase flexibility and also aid in stress reduction (although, as stated, ALL styles of yoga will help with that). Unheated vinyasa flow classes will increase flexibility and power classes will help build strength. Having said that, ALL classes will aid in ALL of the benefits described above. In many cases, it’s a matter of finding a class, teacher and style that allows you to see the desired effect on the body. The other factor to keep in mind is how YOUR body is responding to yoga. Keep in mind that everyone is different so it’s hard to say that the results above are found in each person.
What are you eating? Sometimes when people come to yoga, they’re interested in losing weight and improving health. But yoga is not a magic bullet. Without looking at all the factors that impact your health (diet, stress level, exercise routine, etc.) and making positive changes in all areas, it’s hard to see the results you want. One of the wonderful things about yoga is that once you start to practice regularly, you’ll notice the effects of food and how eating different things can effect you physically. You’ll make better connections between picking up that unhealthy snack on the run and how light you’ll feel when making a better choice. You’ll savor sweet treats more, knowing that you’re taking good care of yourself overall. These kinds of shifts usually come from developing more presence of mind and making intentional choices.
What other kinds of exercise are you doing? I get a number of referrals from athletes (runners and cyclists) and bodybuilders frustrated by the lack of flexibility their primary sport is generating in their body. I had a student ask me why she was so sore after yoga and when I asked her what else she was doing for exercise, she said she was doing an online “Insanity†workout 6 days a week (in addition to yoga!) If you’re looking for certain results or are experiencing certain sensations in the body, look at what else you’re doing and see if there’s a connection.
History of Injury: A history of injury can affect the way yoga impacts your body and your ability to experience the kinds of results you want. If you’ve built up a lot of scar tissue and stiff muscles over years of holding your body in a particular way post-injury, you will need to modify poses and look for specific poses that stretch those parts of the body. If you’ve been injured and avoid using a particular part of the body, you may have developed a muscular imbalance that you feel when in certain poses. None of these things or any injury will prevent you from experiencing the value of yoga; it just may mean you need to do certain things more than others and practice more (or less) regularly.
So, now that we’ve covered some of the overall factors to consider, here are some general guidelines. Disclaimer: as with all guidelines, they are generally applicable and may require further customization to help you get the results you want.
- For weight loss, increased flexibility, strength building and stress relief: Yoga 3 times per week, cardiovascular exercise 2-3 times per week, healthy diet.
- To jump start a program of increased flexibility, strength building and stress relief: Heated power yoga, 4 times per week, restorative class once per week, two day of rest or alternate exercise like a brisk walk. Continue for 30 days. Assess results. Continue if desired or decrease yoga to 3-4 times per week.
- To build strength after injury and stretch and strengthen muscles weak from lack of use: Three private sessions with a goal of learning how to modify poses for greater accessibility as well as identifying poses that will strengthen and stretch the injured areas. Work with private teacher to find local classes that would be appropriate. Start with twice weekly yoga, assess results on the body and as long as there are no negative results, increase as tolerated.
- To build flexibility while continuing with aggressive weight lifting/running/cycling: At least 1 class per week focused on general stretching (heated or unheated power classes work well as the poses mimic functional movement and joints are worked along their regular range of motion) and an insertion before or after regular exercise of at least 5 poses that focus on hip extension, shoulder opening, lower back stretching and hamstring lengthening. If more than 1 class per week can be completed, even better but in the case of these kinds of students, exercise time is usually pretty extensive as it is.
- Look to have a balanced exercise routine that combines yoga with other forms of exercise: One of the factors I did not consider years ago were many of the common overuse related injuries that can arise if yoga is all one is doing for exercise. This can come from doing the same thing all the time without anything to counteract it. I see more of this now in students I knew from over 10 years ago who now complain of shoulder and neck issues. I hear it from teachers that they experience it in their bodies in different ways and I can say for myself all the “reaching up” and looking up has impacted my shoulders and neck.
The other thing that has shifted in my teaching is I focus much more on anatomy now and know a LOT more about how to integrate anatomy into cues and the impact of poses on the body from a muscular and joint standpoint. This is not always brought into classes and if students are practicing regularly without a lot of information about correct alignment but even more than that, what’s happening anatomically, it can be hard for them to approach the practice safely when it comes to long term health. This is why it can be quite helpful to do other things along with yoga: running, walking, going to the gym, cardio machines, cycling and other forms of exercise. Doing other things helps balance out the actions you’re taking and includes lots of other joint movements and body positions.
Overall, practicing 3 times per week may be the right amount for you but remember: A little bit of yoga every day is better than a lot of yoga once or twice per week. If all you can do is 15 minutes per day, do that. The best guide you have to what you need is to spend at least 5 minutes per day seated in quiet. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and notice the effects of your life on your body. Listen for the intuitive messages that arise and follow those. All the guidelines in the world won’t replace what you most likely already know.
If you’re a student or teacher and you want to learn more about anatomy in poses, take my “Learn Yoga Challenge.” This free video series will give you all the support you need through a series of video that walk you through key poses and discuss alignment and anatomy. You can download the guide for this here.Â
Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment below!