The Decades-Old Yoga Lie …
Yoga is widely recognized for its mental, physical, and spiritual benefits, but when it comes to cardiovascular health, recent studies suggest that yoga may not be as effective as we might think. While yoga certainly promotes flexibility, strength, and relaxation, it does not qualify as an aerobic exercise and doesn’t significantly impact cardiovascular fitness in the same way activities like running, cycling, or swimming do.
The Science Behind Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise is defined by sustained, rhythmic activities that elevate your heart rate and maintain it at a moderate-to-high level for an extended period. This type of exercise improves cardiovascular endurance by strengthening the heart and lungs, improving blood circulation, and enhancing oxygen delivery to the muscles. Examples include jogging, cycling, and swimming, which engage large muscle groups continuously.
What the Studies Say
Several studies have compared yoga to traditional forms of aerobic exercise, and the results are clear: yoga does not contribute to significant improvements in cardiovascular health.
1. A 2016 Study in The Journal of Physical Activity and Health found that yoga, while beneficial for flexibility and stress relief, did not increase heart rate or improve cardiovascular endurance significantly when compared to aerobic exercises like walking or cycling. The study concluded that yoga may offer moderate benefits for heart health, but it doesn’t qualify as an aerobic exercise.
2. Research Published in The American Journal of Cardiology (2014) highlighted that while yoga can help reduce blood pressure and improve stress levels, it does not provide the intensity required to stimulate the heart in a way that typical aerobic activities do. The study showed that participants who practiced yoga showed some benefits for heart rate variability and reduced stress markers, but it did not offer the consistent cardiovascular benefits needed for aerobic conditioning.
3. A 2015 Systematic Review in The European Journal of Preventive Cardiology also suggested that yoga could be a helpful adjunct to aerobic exercise for people with existing cardiovascular conditions, but it should not replace aerobic activities. The review emphasized that while yoga may offer psychological benefits and improve some risk factors like stress, its effect on improving cardiovascular fitness is limited.
Even in more vigorous forms of yoga, like Vinyasa or Power Yoga, the intensity is usually not enough to elevate the heart rate into the aerobic zone (typically 50-85% of your maximum heart rate). While yoga can improve overall health and contribute to stress reduction, muscle strength, and flexibility, it doesn’t provide the same cardiovascular conditioning benefits that aerobic exercises do.
This is just one of the key differences between yoga and our signature class style, Uprise. Uprise is an intensely aerobic class, which many students have noted (when they use trackers, such as FitBit watches) increases their V02 max (maximal oxygen consumption), HRV, and has much higher caloric burn rate than a yoga class (even the fastest, sweatiest ones!). Since heart size, V02 max, and aerobic health has been the greatest indicator of longevity and disease prevention for humans, we are passionate about bringing this often-missing aspect of exercise to the community in a class that is much, much more fun than jogging (☺).