5 Benefits of Power Yoga for Self Care
May 10, 2021
Self care is all the rage right now, and for good reason! As our society becomes increasingly aware of the negative side effects of non-stop work and lack of boundaries, I’ve come to realize how harmful it can be to pour from an empty cup.
For years I worked at a company that believed if your mental wellbeing was on the fritz, you were doing your job right. The number of hours I worked each week became like a badge of honor. Over time, I began to recognize the effects of burnout on my overall health and long term performance. I started seeing the same trend in society, as we all seemed to collectively realize how important it is to prioritize our own wellbeing over our workload.
If you Google “self care”, the first search results might be: light a candle, take a bath, get a massage, practice restorative yoga. Don’t get me wrong, these are all great ways to practice self care! But I find that people often forget about the benefits of a power yoga practice when it comes to truly taking care of ourselves.
So here are five reasons that power yoga is great self care:
- “Exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins makes you happy. Happy people don’t kill their husbands!”
Elle Woods was not lying! Endorphins are wonderful chemicals that your brain naturally produces to help decrease feelings of pain. There are many benefits to practicing yoga, but one of the reasons I love power yoga so much is that it is truly a great workout where students can burn anywhere from 300-500 calories in a 60-minute class. The more consistently you practice power yoga, the more consistently your body will remain in an easeful, feel-good state thanks to those powerful endorphins.
- Get out of your head and into your body
Power yoga is a type of vinyasa class, and vinyasa means “flow.” It focuses on connecting breath & movement in order to create a beautifully fluid practice. Focusing on breath is the number one way to keep you in the here and now.
When you’re in a power yoga class, things can move quickly as the teacher leads you from one pose into the next. There’s not a lot of time to let your mind wander, start thinking about what you have to do after class, or to ruminate on that thing your boss said to you earlier in the day. When you spend so much of your day planning, rehearsing, and making decisions, this becomes an hour to not have to think or get trapped in your own head.
- Notice your reaction patterns
You may have heard the saying, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” Our mental suffering is directly related to how we choose to respond to the circumstances or situations we encounter.
When you’re drenched in sweat and pressed up against a challenging pose, you have the opportunity to confront whatever reactions may surface. Whether you find yourself giving up, pushing yourself far beyond what your body can handle, or just getting frustrated in general, these reactions are typically a reflection of what happens when you get pressed up against a challenge off the mat as well. This gives you a chance to notice the reaction before it comes to the surface, and practice choosing a new and better response.
After a while, you’ll find yourself in a meeting or a difficult conversation with a loved one, and rather than responding in the same old patterns as before, you’ll find that you can pause, breathe, and then consciously choose something new.
- Connection
The word yoga means to “yoke”—to bring together, to connect. This applies to the connection between mind and body, the connection we feel with others in the room, and most importantly, our connection to something bigger than ourselves.
For many of us, 2020 really reinforced our need to connect with others. There are endless studies that link feelings of loneliness with depression and anxiety.
Whenever I’m feeling alone or disconnected, I know it’s time to get to the studio and roll out my mat. When I hear my breath synchronize with the breath of those around me and feel my energy contribute to the greater energy of the room, I’m immediately reminded that I am not on this journey alone.
- Trust your intuition
Intuition, gut-feeling, inner knowing. Whatever you want to call it, we all have it. But it takes practice to tune into it. Whenever we feel out of touch with ourselves, or start to lack trust in ourselves, it’s usually because we’ve stopped listening to our intuition.
Power yoga is all about exploring our fullest expression in each pose, and that looks different on each day. We practice listening to our bodies’ intuitive knowledge so that we can go right up to our edge without holding back and without pushing too far. It’s a practice of letting go of doubt, and saying “yes” to your own growth.
In each pose you get to ask yourself, “Am I moving from fear, or am I moving from love?” Our intuition doesn’t operate from fear of failure or fear of rejection. It only operates from love of self and confident exploration. As you practice this more and more on your mat, you’ll start to see love and confidence radiate in your everyday life.
Author: Carrington Kilgroe with SunState Yoga
