Dear yogi, cardio is your friend.
How and why to incorporate cardio into your yoga practice. And how NOT to be scared.
Dear yogis,
It is a well known fact that yoga helps to strengthen and enhance a cardio (running) practice. However, it is not very well known or accepted, that the reverse is true as well. Having a regular cardio regimen will enhance your yoga practice. Here are some ways how you and why you should start.
First, some science
A regular cardio practice, like walking or running impacts your Fascia. Your Fascia is a saran wrap like connective tissue that holds together all your muscles. When we are sedentary or inactive for most periods of the day, over months and years, that connective tissue becomes like dry leather - tough and immobile. One of the functions of Fascia is to release a gel like substance that lubricates the movement of our skeleton muscles. When the fascia gets tough and leathery, it stops secreting that lubricant and that is why we feel ‘stiff’. That is also the reason why sometimes, we have lower back, hamstring pain after some physical exercise - our fascia is not allowing out muscles to move as they should. And over time, if our muscles get more and more immobile, there is atrophy and ‘cross linking’ between connective fibers that make us unable to move like we used to when we were young.
Doing cardio also increases oxygenation through out our bodies and increases endurance and core strength - two factors that are very important to deepen a yoga practice.
It is a huge myth that with age your mobility decreases. The only reason your mobility decreases, is because we don’t put our fascia to use. Imagine never putting oil in your car - there will be a time it will creak, stall and stop working. That is exactly what happens to us. The fascia secrets the natural oils that keep us nimble. When we don’t put it to use, there is no oil secreted and we become like old cars - we creak, stall and stop working.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Cardio and Yoga: The Mental Game
A lot of people get scared of starting a cardio routine. Cardio, specifically running, is seen to be done by super fit people. It seems almost alien to put on your shoes and go for a run. When you do cardio for yoga, it is important to understand and deeply be mindful of WHY you want to start a cardio routine.
Your motivation behind starting a cardio routine is almost as important as the routine itself.
Mindful cardio - a moving meditation
It is helpful to see your new routine as an extension of Yoga and not something done in isolation. It helps if we yogis see cardio (running or walking) as a mindful practice of moving meditation instead of just getting up and running to burn calories or look a certain way. Walking or running is time to yourself. It is time to become one with your body without typical distractions of family, work or other routines. When we start seeing running or walking as time, we are taking to go deeper into our mindfulness practice - it becomes less about how much or fast you ran or walked and more about how you FEEL. This makes it easier to continue and build a practice.
Tip #1: Take the pressure of the cardio - make your cardio routine about mindfulness and meditation.
Regularity
Like any practice, it is important to stay regular. In our busy days, sometimes it is impractical to stick with one time over many days. So, ensure regularity within a flexible framework.
By being mindful of WHY you started your cardio practice and then starting to LIKE your time to yourself, you will realize that over time, you will crave that time alone with your moving body and you will find a way to incorporate it into your day or week. Being open, flexible and loving towards yourself is key.
Tip #2: Regular routine, within a flexible framework. Start to fall in love with spending time with yourself and the routine will happen automatically.
Prioritize yourself
One of the biggest hurdles for women who want to start any practice is that they have to prioritize themselves and their time over that of their family or work. This is hard. And some of us wake up crazy early or sleep crazy late so that we get that time to ourself. It doesn’t have to be that way. Slowly but steadily, your prioritization will become easy. People around you might resist for some time or notice how you seem to take off on your own - but use that to get into a deeper mindful state about how you feel within and over time, your routine will be accepted and even encouraged.
Tip #3: Prioritizing the self is very hard for women. Starting small and sticking with it will make is more accepted and encouraged. Stick with it! You deserve it!
Get moving
Take back control - Our brain builds itself on habits. If we don’t have had a regular cardio routine, the biggest resistance you will get is from your own brain. Listen to that resistance and deeply feel it in your body. What does that resistance feel? What does it want you to do? When you watch your own resistance, it loses its power over you. You retain control and take over the power.
Start small - Decide your total mileage for the day. I recommend to start with a 2-3 KM fast walk or slow run. The idea is to do that distance. The idea is not how fast you did it. You can stop, you can slow down, you can do anything but give up and turn around. Start with a short mileage and build. For a regular cardio routine, is it important to stick with a certain distance for some months and see how you grow into it. Remember, it should always be about your mindfulness while you run or walk and not about how fast or how long.
Don’t expext to run non-stop - If you are starting a running based cardio - don’t expect to run the whole distance. You can try the 5-1 run-walk ratio - where you run for 5 mins and walk for 1 min. You can reduce or increase this number as you please. The idea is to find a balance that works for you.
Do the yoga - When you start a cardio practice, ensure that you are complimenting with the yoga asanas. If you practice yoga 2 times a week, then have a cardio routine 2 times a week too. Over time you will see, that yoga makes your run/walk better, and the run/walk make the yoga better.
Expect pain - It will be unwise to think that you can start a regular physical routine and not feel any different. As I mentioned in the science section, you are fundamentally changing your fascia structure and that can hurt. No practice should cause extreme pain, but some pain is natural. It is then, important to rest well to give your body time to recalibrate.
Stretch to avoid injury - It is ok to have some pain, but pain that makes you immobile is not ok. To avoid that, it is important to stretch after your cardio or walk. Follow this sequence to stretch after a run or walk.
Keep a log - Where ever our focus goes - grows. When we are mindful of our new intention - it is important to take time to incorporate strategies to notice growth and constantly improve. Keep a log, either on your phone or notepad how much you walked/ran, what days and for how long. With consistent practice, your log will give you the encouragement you need.
Forgive yourself to restart - It is ok to keep failing. It is not ok to stop and quit. Your practice does not have to look like anyone else’s practice. You might fail again and again, you might not be consistent, you might feel you don’t have the discipline, that your routine gets in the way etc. etc. It’s ok. It is most important to be gentle with yourself and restart. Start with a compassionate heart and hold yourself in a space of loving kindness where you are allowed to fail. And allowed to restart.
Don’t compare - Everyone is on a different life journey. Your yoga and cardio speak to your journey. To compare yourself is unfair to that journey. A rose cannot be compared to a sun flower. Each is beautiful in its own right. And so is your journey. Your unique journey will blossom in its own unique way.
Be kind to yourself - Women can be tough on themselves. Especially when it is starting a new routine which is physical. Allow yourself kindness and space to feel uncomfortable. Be slow. Be patient. And above all, slowly start to like the time you have with yourself. The journey is not where you are running towards but is within - if you keep that mind then the running or walking becomes a creative force for self exploration.
Your journey into a mindful practice of yoga and cardio is a means to go deeper into your unique and true self. Each walk you take, each run you go to, every time you get on your yoga mat, is time for you to discover a little about your own self and let go of the parts of you that don’t speak your truth or don’t serve you any more. Come to your yoga and cardio practice with a spirit of adventure and inquiry. Seek understanding the self above and beyond any other end goal. See yoga and cardio as your means or tools to navigate that understanding and see the time that you have with yourself as the fertile soil that will enable you to bloom.
May you see within you with open and loving eyes. And may you allow whatever you see to exist in peace.
In gratitude, love and sweetness,
Happy trails,
Niyati
