Have you ever thought that yoga after your workout might be just the thing your body is craving to ease the soreness and aid recovery?
After a workout is one of the best times to do yoga because your muscles are already warm which makes it much easier to work on your flexibility. Yoga also promotes blood flow in the muscles which can help repair the muscles you were just working on. Lastly, it cannot be forgotten that yoga also creates a workout for the mind by releasing stress and leaving you feeling calmer and more focused.
These are some yoga poses that can be most beneficial after a workout:
- Child’s pose – stretches the spine, shoulders, ankles, hips, and neck
- Warrior II – strengthens the shoulders, quads, and hamstrings
- Crescent lunge – Strengthens the hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps
- Wide legged forward fold – Strengthens the ankles and lower back
- Pigeon pose – great for tight hips as it stretches hips, groin and leg muscles
Yoga does not need to occur directly after a workout to reap these benefits either. You could do yoga the day after an intense workout when your muscles feel too sore to do anything else. In fact, yin yoga would be most beneficial on your rest day because it involves holding poses for 3-5 minutes to target deeper than the muscles and work on your connective tissues. This increases circulation and helps with muscle recovery.
Not sure how exactly to incorporate yoga after your workout?
- You can start by checking out yoga how-to reels on my Instagram
- Download your Beginner’s yoga guide below for tips on where to start
- Try my yoga classes at Terminator Fitness and see the benefits for yourself – All my yoga classes run straight after Terminator Fitness’ bootcamp sessions so you can more easily work on flexibility, injury prevention and stress relief!