Is Yoga suitable for everyone?

Yoga is usually a very gentle but very intensive form of training, which is why it is suitable for all age groups and also for many clinical pictures. The exercises can be simplified for beginners or those with movement restrictions, so that people of a higher age can also find an introduction to the training. Since most exercises are performed on the floor, the yogi should be able to move painlessly on a mat.

If this is possible, actually everyone can do some yoga exercises in a graded way. Especially since there are no jerky, fast movements in most forms of yoga, yoga is also suitable for older people. The range of movement can be slowly increased and the exercises can be intensified.

Because of the low cardiovascular load, a training is also possible for untrained and elderly people. People who do yoga for many years can visibly improve their stability and mobility in old age. Yoga is also suitable for children.

The exercises are often described very pictorially (cobra, looking down dog) and can be taught in a playful and child-oriented way. Breathing can also be integrated into the training with children if possible. In spite of the playful aspect, children should of course also be taught the correct way of doing the exercises, so that the wrong or even harmful movements are avoided.

Yoga is particularly suitable for patients with breathing problems, as the targeted breathing instructions can help these patients and improve their breathing mechanics. Patients with osteoporosis or rheumatism should take care not to strain their joints and bones excessively by excessive movement. One should never train beyond the pain threshold.

Does yoga replace fitness training?

Yoga is a form of training that is increasingly focused on strength endurance, stability and coordination. The cardiovascular system is also challenged, but more in the aerobic (with sufficient oxygen, less tiring) area. Yoga cannot keep up with an endurance run in terms of endurance.

Here the cardiovascular system is challenged in a completely different way. The pulse rate is also much higher and there are always phases in which you train your anaerobic endurance (less oxygen supply, oxygen debt, tiring endurance training).Yoga is a good foundation and improves basic endurance and aeorbe endurance to a small extent, but it cannot replace a proper fitness training. Sports such as swimming, cycling or running are suitable for this. However, there are also modern forms of yoga that are more effective in improving fitness through a faster exercise sequence and slightly different training sequences.