CorePower Yoga
ByAs you may well know if you've ever hurt your back or had abdominal surgery, you move your core and rely on core strength with almost everything you do - walking, standing, sitting, laughing - all these activities rely on core muscles in your body. The importance of a strong core for good posture and good health is a large part of the reason behind the development of Corepower Yoga. You can not be strong if you do not have a strong core.
Where Are CorePower Yoga Classes Taught?
Corepower yoga is a new brand of yoga being taught in five states nationwide: California, Colorado, Oregon, Illinois and Minnesota.
How Much Does CorePower Yoga cost?
Your first class is free and you can sign up for a series of more sessions for just $5/class.
Developing Core Strength with CorePower Yoga
There are many power yoga DVD's and classes that teach students how to develop their bodies using simply their body weight and different poses which are held for a certain length of time. These poses help to develop core strength and strength in the limbs as well. Core strength is an area of particular emphasis for CorePower Yoga students - they want the foundation of the body to be strong. CorePower yoga develops these core muscles especially because it incorporates movements and philosophies from fighting martial arts, not just traditional yoga. There are a surprising number of ways to strengthen the core, Whether the pose is sitting, standing or balancing, when the stomach and back muscles are engaged, they grow stronger by the minute.
Is CorePower Yoga Good For Your Health?
Developing the core with power yoga helps individuals who enter the class with back problems. Developing the stomach muscles helps the body to support the torso through the use of the stomach muscles rather than using the back muscles so much. It allows the students to maintain better posture, whether sitting or standing, so that the back is kept in better alignment throughout the day. In addition to the core's development in corepower yoga, the flexibility that is gained in conjunction with the core development allows individuals with back problems to have looser muscles in the back and hamstrings, which also helps to alleviate pain.
In addition to these looser muscles and developing the core in power yoga, there are other health benefits as well. The individual is taught how to relax all other muscles in the body other than the ones that are being used to hold a particular pose. In this way, the individual can apply these skills in other areas of his life so that the neck muscles are not tensed while typing or in the middle of an important meeting. The students are also taught to breathe properly so that they can breathe deeply even in the midst of strenuous exercise, when panting and shallow breathing often become instinctive. These breaths are controlled and are taken in and out through the nose. The breaths are drawn from the diaphragm so that they are slow and full, supplying much needed oxygen to the entire body. These breathing methods are important life skills as well since they can be applied to any high-stress situation to help create a sense of inner calmness and peace.
There are other skills that are helpful in real life, such as the poses that allow individuals to completely relax the body and maintain that relaxed state in body and mind. These relaxation and breathing methods can be applied at any time during the day when there are stressful situations. Granted, you won't always be able to find a quiet space for a relaxing asana, but some deep breathing and mental re-focusing can still do you a world of good.
To my mind, the chief benefits of CorePower Yoga are improved strength, circulation, breathing and relaxation techniques and flexibility. While you may experience significant improved lung and heart function, yoga, even CorePower Yoga, tend not to be an aerobic exercise in terms of keeping your heart rate at a consistently elevated level for 20-30 minutes or longer. I believe a cardiovascular fitness activity, such as walking, running, or swimming, is an excellent compliment to a 3 times per week (or daily!) Core Power yoga exercise program.
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