{"id":4253,"date":"2017-04-30T22:30:57","date_gmt":"2017-04-30T22:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movementformodernlife.com\/blog\/?p=4253"},"modified":"2017-09-08T13:03:58","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T13:03:58","slug":"workout-or-work-in-kats-movement-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movementformodernlife.com\/blog\/workout-or-work-in-kats-movement-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Work Out Or Work In? | Kat’s Movement Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Movement for Modern Life\u00a0founder Kat Farrants\u2019 weekly column, where she shares her thoughts, tips and\u00a0tools for living a bigger, brighter life, moving and living more. Don\u2019t forget to tune in to our weekly facebook live chat with Kat every Friday at 1pm for more!<\/h3>\n

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I\u2019m not sure if you\u2019ve seen on our Facebook Movers Group<\/a>, but there\u2019s been a lot of discussion on late about the Transformation Challenge<\/a>, which is oh so fabulous (and we now have 200 of you busy transforming!) It\u2019s not too late to join in, it\u2019s our best challenge yet – if i don\u2019t say so myself!<\/p>\n

The other thing that we\u2019ve been chatting about is whether yoga is exercise and whether folks \u2018work out\u2019 as well as practice yoga.<\/p>\n

This is a great question. I definitely used to think of yoga as my exercise (but I was doing very vigorous ashtanga). But 2 decades later, and now my yoga practice is more of a stretch to feel freedom and\u00a0a keeping of the physical muscles and joints healthy. But much more than that, it\u2019s a work-in, not a work-out!<\/p>\n

Although the weight bearing exercises (such as plank\/downward dog) are really good for me, and sometimes my heart rate will increase and I know will help to strengthen me and reduce my risk of osteoporosis, yoga is now more of an ironing of the creases and creating length in my body. But more than a focus on my physical body, for me, yoga is a chance to check in with myself, how am I feeling, and it\u2019s a chance to re-charge my energetic and emotional batteries. I just know that after my practice, I will feel happier, more vital and have more energy, which is why my daily practice is an absolute \u2018must\u2019 for me.<\/p>\n

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My experience is that if I come onto the mat without having done any exercise, and I intend to \u2018exercise on the mat\u2019, my yoga experience is not as full, my breath-work will be lost and it is more likely to result in injury. When yoga is done fast, especially with fast and creative vinyasa classes, I think that the risk of alignment injuries increases, especially with fast transitions between poses. I also don\u2019t like the risk of shoulder injury of the chaturangas done repeatedly – so for me, the risk of injury, and the lack of connection means that I largely like a mindfully paced vinyasa, hatha, Forrest yoga<\/a> (with it\u2019s focus on core work and safe strengthening – which I do admit to loving as a form of exercise!), Yin or Restorative<\/a>. This type of yoga really is\u00a0not so much a work out, as a work-in.<\/p>\n

With love
\nKat xxx<\/p>\n

5 More Reasons Why Yoga Isn’t A Workout<\/a><\/h5>\n

Watch Kat’s weekly Facebook Live video below for more thoughts on this, and don’t forget to tune in this Friday at 1pm on the\u00a0MFML facebook page<\/a>\u00a0for the next\u00a0instalment! This week’s\u00a0is all about whether yoga is a work-out. Do you work-out when you practice yoga?<\/em><\/p>\n