Yoga Sculpt: can you do yoga with weights?

On days when we want to take our muscles to the next level, we can grab a couple of light weights (two or five pounds) and try a dumbbell yoga workout. By adding extra resistance to poses, we give our muscles an even greater challenge to stabilize ourselves, especially through isometric positions.

Benefits

There are numerous positive health effects of practicing yoga with dumbbells. However, we must previously control the pose to be able to support an added weight.

Improves bone health and longevity

Bones are living tissues and respond very well to healthy stress. Adding hand weights increases the load we put on our bones and thus helps our bones in their ability to remodel.

As we age, our bones become more and more porous. In addition to walking, jogging, dancing, and stair climbing, weight-bearing yoga poses can help increase bone density. And adding more weight to these poses can help even more.

Strengthens the heart

To strengthen the cardiovascular muscle tissue of the heart and increase the efficiency of the cardiovascular system, thirty minutes of cardiovascular exercise three times a week is recommended: jogging, bicycling, rowing, dancing, or other aerobic exercises such as these.

In addition to strengthening muscles and bones, anaerobic resistance training (such as lifting weights) also offers many cardiovascular benefits. By increasing the weight that a joint has to push through space and time, the heart is challenged to increase blood flow to working muscles, which strengthens cardiovascular muscle tissue.

Increases core strength

As we age, we lose muscle mass. The good news is that by lifting weights we increase our muscle mass, which in turn increases our muscles’ ability to protect, support and stabilize our bones and joints.

Adding weights to yoga poses adds an additional challenge to our supporting/strengthening core muscles. It even challenges the strength of the muscles that stabilize the hip, knee, ankle, and foot joints, as well as the intrinsic connective tissue (tendons and ligaments) of these joints. If we are more stable we tend to stumble and fall less. If we are strong and flexible and still fall, our ability to contract eccentrically prevents the tendency to crash and injure ourselves.

stay nimble

In addition to all the other amazing benefits of adding weight training to our yoga practice, it’s a well-known fact that muscle burns more calories than fat.

Increasing your muscle-to-fat ratio can ensure that active muscles burn more calories throughout the day. This can help maintain a healthy weight. Adding weights to our yoga practice adds an extra challenge to the muscles if we are mindful of activating and lifting them as we practice.

Exercise routine

With this yoga routine with weights we will be able to reach a new level in physical demand. Before picking up the dumbbells, we must ensure that we are fully trained to do the movement with added weight. If it is difficult for us to grab dumbbells, we can choose wristbands to feel our hands free.

Dumbbell Tadasana

1. We will start in Tadasana Mountain Pose and lower our shoulders down our back. We will fix our gaze on a point in front of us.
2. With our arms at our sides, we will inhale slowly and deeply. Then we will stretch our arms in front of us and raise them above our heads towards the ceiling. The biceps should be next to the ears.
3. With your hands and weights facing the ceiling, exhale as you slowly bring your arms in front of you and bring them back to your sides.

Chair

1. From Tadasana Mountain Pose, place your feet hip-width apart. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, inhale as you raise your arms slightly above your head. They should be in line with the ears.
2. We will bend the knees and bring the hips back, bringing the thighs as parallel to the ground as possible. The knees will project slightly over your feet.
3. We will lower the shoulder blades down the back and shift the weight towards the heels.
4. We will exhale to return to the posture of the Tadasana mountain.

Warrior III

1. From Tadasana Mountain Pose, lower your shoulders down your back and hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
2. We will place the weight on the left leg, allowing the left foot to remain rooted in the ground. At the same time, we will lift the right leg out and up behind us. We will flex the toes towards the mat.
3. On an inhalation, we will extend our arms in front of us.
4. As we exhale, slowly spread your arms apart to form a cactus shape.
5. We will return to place the arms in front of us.
6. We will repeat with the opposite leg in the second round.

goddess pose

1. We will stand in a wide-legged stance with both feet facing the corners of the mat, and the heels slightly turned towards each other. We will hold a dumbbell in each hand.
2. We will slowly lower the body towards the mat, with the thighs parallel to the ground.
3. We will raise the arms towards the shoulders, bending the elbows to 90 degrees and forming goal posts with the arms.
4. On an inhalation, we will raise the arms towards the ceiling and exhale as we bring them back to the starting position.

boat

1. We will sit on the mat with our knees bent and our feet flat on the ground. We will hold a dumbbell in each hand.
2. As we inhale, we will lift the chest and tighten the muscles of the back and the inner part of the thighs.
3. We’ll lean back slightly and raise our feet to about knee height, with our toes apart.
4. As you inhale, place your hands behind your knees, and as you exhale, separate your hands and slowly bring your elbows together behind your back.

Savasana with chest flight

1. We will lie on a mat with our legs extended in front of us and we will stare at the ceiling. We will hold a dumbbell in each hand.
2. As you inhale, lift the dumbbells toward each other over your chest, palms facing each other.
3. As you exhale, slowly lower the dumbbells back to the mat, maintaining a slight roundness with your arms. We will stand when the back of the upper arms touch the mat.
4. We will raise our arms back to the starting position.