I Want To Be Strong - Part 2

“I want to be Strong” 

“I want to feel Strong”

I’ve heard this said so many times. I’ve said it myself. I’ve had interesting conversations about Strength and what it really means. And Strength is a key component of my Wellness.

This is the second part in a mini series of blogs about Strength. 

You can read Part 1, where I share some of the science behind why Strength is important. 

In this blog I’m going to explore how Yoga can help us build strength.

And if you’re wondering why you should carry on reading…

Then the real purpose of this mini series of blogs about Strength is to help us keep showing up on our mats for our Yoga practice and to practise with intention. Some days we need to tap into the Why, to help us get on our mats to practise. And Strength is a key part of it.

I’ll start with the statement:

‘Not all Yoga will help you build strength’

And follow up with;

‘Strength is relative. What will feel like a strong workout for some will feel for like a stroll in the park for another’

Let’s explore.

‘Not all Yoga will help you build strength’

So firstly, some Yoga is not designed to build strength. An example is the Yin Yoga I teach. This tradition of Yoga is designed as a deep soft release. There will be some poses where some muscles are active to help support the body and specifically support the area of the body that pose is targeting. But the purpose of Yin Yoga is to soften and release in the target areas. It can be a deeply relaxing and restorative practice. 

Some Yoga is designed to focus on flexibility and stretching. Again there is likely to be an element of strength as we often activate some muscles to help others release, e.g. we engage through the core to help the back release in a forward fold. But the primary focus is the stretch and release.

So not all Yoga will help you build strength, it’s not all designed too.  

For me, from my own journey and yoga practice and from my experience as a Yoga teacher, and what I want to put out into the world, Strength is a key part of the way I teach. 

The only exception is my Yin Yoga classes; I really believe (and need) that place for us to find the deep soft release. 

‘Strength is relative. What will feel like a strong workout for some will feel for like a stroll in the park for another’

In one Yoga class you may have someone who looks like they stroll through Warrior after Warrior, and another who takes the options to drop a knee in Crescent Lunge, to keep their knees bent in Boat, or come out of Downward Dog to Childs Pose earlier. 

Now for that person who is taking the options to drop a knee etc, they can and will build strength. They listen to their own body and come into the posture that safely challenges them, so they can find the alignment so they can work on their strength. By learning, listening to their teacher, and their bodies, they can find those places where they feel the sensation, they feel their muscles working. They WILL feel their strength improve. 

And as their strength builds then they might keep the knee lifted in Crescent Lunge, and build onto their strength from there.

Now for that person who looks like they’re strolling through Warrior after Warrior. They might be a seasoned Yogi, or have a lot of strength already. So for this person, they need to find ways to activate more muscles, those small tweaks to build more strength. This could be a subtle ‘magnatising’ of their feet in a lunge, or what I call stacking poses, where we flow through a sequence of poses all on one side, building that endurance and strength. Or the taking of adjustments to load more strength into one area, or to engage muscles in other areas of the body for more full body strength. 

Let’s add in a third person, the person who hangs out there. They come into the pose quickly, they take some breaths, it feels pretty easy, or maybe a bit challenging for a couple of breaths, then they quickly come out and move onto the next pose. They might build and maintain some strength. But they’re missing out on opportunities to really develop their strength.

When I’m teaching, it’s about helping people build strength, whether they realise it or not!

It’s about offering the options, giving the cues so Yogi’s can build their strength at their own pace. And also so that we don’t stagnate. Strength building is about applying the progressive-overload principle; increasing the challenge on your muscles periodically as they adapt. Through options, varied movements, stacking of poses, and awareness of the Yogi, we can find that progressive-overload principle in our Yoga practice.   

Now there is a view that Yoga isn’t really enough for building strength. I found this article by Nike. I agree with most of what they say, they make some interesting points, and it’s worth a quick read. But… there’s one sentence:

‘But yoga will take you only so far when it comes to serious strength gains. Primarily because even if you continually add difficulty, eventually you’ll tap out in even the most advanced poses’.

Now I do agree if you are serious about building strength to take on big sporting goals or are a professional athlete, you would definitely benefit from strength training with a PT in a gym type setting as part of your training regime. But for the rest of us, I haven’t yet found in 23 years that I’m tapping out thinking I can’t find more strength yet from my Yoga practice. Maybe I’m not working hard enough (said as a joke!). There are what feels to me like infinite possibilities, variations, sequencing, to help us keep moving forward with our strength. 

I Want To Be Strong, and Yoga helps me Be Strong.

In the next blog in this mini-series; I Want To Be Strong, I explore beyond the science, to get to my personal Why. Why I really want to be Strong. Check out I Want To Be Strong - Part 3.