Yoga : how many times a week
At the beginning of this year, you have made the right resolution to take up yoga! As a beginner, it is quite normal to ask yourself questions. You probably know that yoga is a discipline that is practiced regularly. However, exactly how often should the sessions take place? Don't panic, we tell you everything in this article!
The Importance of Regularity in the Practice of Yoga
Yoga is an ancestral discipline offering many psycho-corporal benefits. Between stress reduction, muscle relaxation, elimination of toxins, ability to refocus on oneself, or even pain reduction, the virtues of yoga are numerous.
However, it is not a secret for anyone. Like any discipline, yoga must be regular. Indeed, it is only through assiduous practice that it is possible to obtain real results, and to maintain them over the long term.
Indeed, there is nothing magical about yoga. It is not by performing a single session that you will see a radical change in your condition. On the contrary, yoga is a profound work of the link between body and mind. The evolution is therefore progressive, and is done over time.
Finally, yoga could be compared to any sport. A single session, even an intensive one, does not allow you to see your body change in the mirror. However, regular exercises are the secret to success. It is exactly the same for yoga!
Of course, an isolated yoga session is not totally useless. It will allow you to relax, like a relaxation exercise. It is always positive to take a break during the day.
However, the benefits offered by a single session will not equal those of a regular practice.
How often should I do yoga?
First of all, know that you can't do "too much" yoga. Yoga is initially an art of living and a philosophy. It would therefore not be foolish to do it every day, and even, why not, several times a day, if you feel like it.
Yoga has absolutely no undesirable side effects. There is no such thing as an overdose. There is no risk to physical and mental health from doing yoga very often! The first advice to give is therefore undeniably the following: don't deprive yourself!
It is very important to follow your intuition. When your body or mind feels the urge for a yoga session, give it without hesitation. Even if this desire may sometimes seem inexplicable or even irrational or useless, you have to trust yourself.
Conversely, don't forget that yoga should be fun. It would be a shame to perceive it as a chore. In fact, if your heart is not in it, it will be more difficult to let go during the session, and therefore to obtain interesting results.
Therefore, one should not force oneself to do yoga at all costs. It is not dramatic to miss a session from time to time. The important thing is your long-term regularity. Making a small deviation once in a while will not reduce your efforts to nothing!
Varied recommendations
It is particularly difficult to give the same recommendations to the whole of humanity. For good reason, each person is different, and each person practices yoga for different reasons. All these specificities have to be taken into account.
Moreover, even scientific research on this subject offers very different data. These vary according to several criteria such as the targeted public, the problems to be treated, or the type of yoga practiced...
For example, one study showed that people saw their lower back pain decrease by practicing yoga once or twice a week for 12 weeks. Another says that practicing 10 minutes of yoga a day reduces osteoporosis.
Finally, there are probably different ways to practice yoga regularly! However, for those who are waiting for a more concrete answer, most yoga teachers recommend that their students do between 1 and 3 sessions per week.
Help, I'm running out of time!
We can say it, the lack of time is a real evil of the century! Yes, in our contemporary Western societies, we never stop running all day long. From a very young age, the system constantly pushes us a little more towards productivism.
So much so that we end up shutting ourselves up in an infernal "metro-work-asleep" routine. This overloaded schedule is a real obstacle to personal development. To the point where we can't even find a way to do what we really love.
We're always focused on the past or the future. We spend all our energy on repetitive tasks that we no longer even question the meaning of. Like a hamster on a wheel, we exhaust ourselves in a never-ending, aimless race!
Taking care of yourself is a choice
However, taking care of yourself is above all a choice! Of course, in 24 hours, we can't do everything. It is therefore a question of choosing our priorities. Ask yourself the question: what is really important to me? What is the profound meaning of my actions?
By questioning what sometimes seems "normal" or "obvious" to you, you will realize that you have not always chosen your life. This way, you will be able to react your daily life according to what you really want, and not according to society's injunctions.
Very often, when people say that they "don't have time", it's mostly because they don't want to take the time. In other words, we unconsciously prefer to devote this time to something else. This is why it is essential to question one's priorities in order to act consciously.
Yoga is much more than a simple relaxation technique. It is part of a true philosophical and spiritual process. It could be summed up as "a healthy mind in a healthy body".
This discipline can really accompany you towards a general well-being.
A little regularly or a lot from time to time?
There is, however, one point on which all yoga specialists are unanimous. It is always better to do a little yoga regularly than a lot of yoga from time to time.
In other words, it is always better to focus on regularity rather than intensity.
Doing very short yoga sessions every day is more useful than doing a very long one once a month. If you are short on time, it is better to practice yoga short but regularly, rather than intensely but occasionally.
This will allow you to integrate yoga into your daily life, without it taking up too much of your time. For example, if you decide to do 10 minutes of yoga a day, it will only take up 1% of the time of your day!
Yoga could be compared to running. There are those who start like an arrow, but run out of breath in just a few minutes. Then, there is the one who advances at his own pace, even if he is behind his opponents, but who will be enduring until the finish line.
In short, it is better to play the turtle than the hare! The "too much" is absolutely useless when it is not maintained over time. We will therefore opt for a tailor-made practice, which does not require a lot of effort from you, but which will know how to be consistent.
At what times of the day to do yoga?
Waking up in the morning
Some people enjoy doing yoga early in the morning. Indeed, yoga can be a great way to start the day! Yoga helps to fill up your energy, and to put yourself in an optimal state of mind to face the events to come.
If you're a morning person, don't hesitate to opt for a little yoga session before going to work. Just set your alarm clock a few minutes earlier to have time for a stress-free session in the best possible conditions.
In the evening at bedtime
Yoga is also ideal to end the day with serenity. Doing yoga in the evening, just before going to sleep, allows you to regain your calm and then more easily plunge into a deep and restful sleep.
At the end of the day, letting go and relaxing will be that much easier. In the evening, it is the time to relax, the moment when all the worries of the day are put aside.
For some people, the evening is the perfect time for a yoga session!
Doing yoga in unusual places: yes or no?
Few dare, and that's a pity. Doing yoga in unusual places would allow you to better optimize your time. In fact, if you are comfortable everywhere, don't hesitate to do yoga in places other than the house. There are no contraindications to this idea...
Not only will this allow you to vary your sessions, but also to save precious time. For example, why not have a little yoga session during your coffee break at work, or during a walk in the park on Sunday?
Note that you will still need to think about bringing your yoga mat, and possibly a comfortable outfit, as well as a bottle of water in your bag. It requires a little organization, but with time, these gestures will become real automatisms!
Be careful, however, yoga outside is reserved for people who are easy to let go. If you need absolute calm or total solitude to disconnect,
it may be best to stay on yoga sessions at home.
Yoga can be practiced once or several times a week. The important thing is not so much the exact number of times, but the regularity. This discipline must be long-term in order to offer interesting results! For yoga enthusiasts, how often do you practice yoga and why?
