Today - YogaX

Today's workout is yoga.  A lot of people avoid programs with yoga in them thinking that it is just a bunch of stretching and it isn't in alignment with their goals of slimming down or bulking up.  They envision something like this

or this

not this (but I thought it was funny)

I looked up what yoga is.  The word yoga means unite.  To unite the body with mind and the mind with the soul. Yoga is an entire lifestyle philosophy which includes exercise as one part of it. Training your mind and body and connecting with your spirituality to achieve a balanced life are the main goals of the yoga lifestyle.  Active forms of yoga that are included in many exercise programs, like P90X, improve strength, flexibility, balance, and stamina. Many people who do yoga say that it reduces anxiety and stress, improves mental clarity, and even helps them sleep better.

Yoga Baby

That's what I read, this is what I know. During the first 30 days of P90X yoga was the most difficult of all of the exercises.  I didn't have the strength or the flexibility to do a lot of the poses.  As I continue with the program I have noticed a tremendous difference in my strength and flexibility that carries over into my other training and has improved my running.  Each time I push play on the YogaX dvd I am able to do more.  The sense of accomplishment doing each exercise is incredible and gets my day off to a perfect start and I have so much fun doing it everyone wants to join in.

Yoga Kitty
 

To read more check out this article Why Every Athlete Should Do Yoga