Yoga has been around for centuries and is now a common exercise practice pretty much everywhere in the United States.
When most people think of yoga, they think of New Age spa music, quiet instructors, and maybe even incense or candlelight.
But this kind of yoga experience is not for everyone. Yoga is a personal experience, and that means you need to find a yoga environment that matches your personality.
There are approachable, no-judgment full body workouts available to change everything you thought you knew about yoga!
The environment is very important, one that focuses on your individual goals and ensures that you enjoy your yoga practice. And you also want to get results, of course.
Even if you’re a beginner to yoga classes in Boulder CO, this workout routine helps you get a great workout while enjoying yourself.
Just remember not to take this yoga thing too seriously and have some fun with it.
Boulder yoga classes for beginners to expert yogis
Trying new yoga classes in Boulder is a great way to learn all the types of yoga out there and build a solid workout routine schedule.
There are a lot of benefits associated to switching up your workout like:
When you’re a beginner, in-person classes will teach you the poses as well as help you with your breathing techniques and make sure you’re doing the poses properly to get maximum benefits from them. Plus, the energy in a Boulder yoga class is a good way to get added benefits of yoga.
Yoga is not just about exercise or flexibility; it’s an alignment of your mind and body.
The atmosphere in a yoga class contributes to the mentality you need for your yoga practice to be successful.
But even if you have experience with yoga, whether at home or in other classes, the yoga Boulder classes are a great way to build your practice. You can continue learning with an instructor to build on what you already know.
Whether that means getting new insights about using yoga for your health and wellness goals or learning new poses to continue pushing yourself, an in-person class is great for anyone, even if you’re an expert yogi.
And, like with beginners, the atmosphere of a yoga class is a good way to align your mentality with the physical practice of yoga Boulder.
Remember – Variety is the spice of life!
What makes this yoga studio unique
Yoga has become more and more popular over the years. But not all yoga studios are equal. And finding the studio that matches your goals and personality can make a big difference in helping you get the results you want.
Bulldog Yoga is different from any other yoga Boulder studios you’ll find in the area. We focus on your goals and recognize that if you’re enjoying your experience, you’ll be more likely to keep at it.
So we want to create a happy, healthy atmosphere (with great music!) that will be the place you want to be when you think about your next exercise session.
This is a great Boulder yoga studio for anyone who wants to bring their personality into their yoga practice and really make it their own!
It’s important not to focus on being perfect, but more so on improving.
Who are you?
How often should you do yoga?
The frequency of your yoga practice depends on a lot of factors. These can be what you want to accomplish for health and wellness and your abilities.
With full body yoga workouts, it’s a good idea to feel out how your body feels. Seriously, listen to your body.
It’s all about figuring out your style and the intensity you prefer.
A minimum of once a week is a good start, and as you get more comfortable with yoga, you can increase your frequency. Some people get up to doing yoga every day of the week!
There are a lot of predictable benefits of regular yoga workouts like increased flexibility and added muscle strength but here are 10 Benefits of Yoga That Make The Workout Totally Badass from Shape.
Regular practice, whether it’s once a week or multiple full body workouts, is important to get the full benefits of yoga in Boulder.
If you only do yoga every now and then, your body won’t start to change the way it does with regular practice.
So as you start doing yoga to achieve your health and wellness goals, it’s a good idea to develop a schedule and stick to it. But if you’re new to Boulder yoga, don’t try to do too much too soon. If you do, you might get discouraged and not keep up with it.
Easing into more frequent practice will help you become more comfortable with yoga and learn the poses so that you can build your practice.
As your flexibility improves, your overall yoga Boulder experience most likely will as well.
Wanna give it a try? Only $25 for 25 days
What can I expect in terms of yoga poses?
Yoga is a great full body workout. By building your core, it also strengthens your arms, shoulders, back, and lower entire lower body.
The yoga poses you can expect will range from more beginner yoga Boulder poses to a little more advanced.
The great part is that you only have to do what you’re comfortable doing 🙂
Yes, we do encourage our Bulldogs to always push to improve and get better. However, it is most important to trust your body as well.
Below is a great step-by-step breakdown of a common yoga pose for both promoting flexibility and building strength:
Chair-Twist Lunge-Twist (Lunge Focus)
- Start your flow in Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana).
- Step your right foot between your hands and make sure to keep your back knee lifted.
- Stack your front knee over your front ankle and engage your muscles in the back of your leg.
- Engage your core to lift your torso, stacking your shoulders over the hips.
- From here, bring your hands to heart center and hinge slightly forward, keeping your core engaged.
- Then, bring your left elbow to the outside of your right knee, and continuously lengthen your spine by drawing the crown of your head forward.
- Work towards aligning your thumbs with the middle of your chest and hold for 5-7 breaths on each side.
Pretty cool, right?
Check out some more of experienced yogi – Morgan Casavant’s great spinal twists for beginners and advanced poses.
Use yoga for flexibility and strength
Yoga is a great exercise regimen to improve your flexibility. The slow movements and held poses work with your body gently to make positive changes.
One of the many advantages of yoga is for flexibility is that different poses work to stretch your muscles and improve your stretching. You can even focus on poses that work certain parts of your body to achieve the results you want.
You’ll find that regular yoga practice will improve your flexibility and because yoga is gentle, you won’t even notice it happening right away!
In addition, as you improve your flexibility, you can keep learning new, advanced yoga poses to continue building flexibility. Though there are basic poses frequently used in Boulder yoga sessions, there are a wide range of poses that appeal to people at different skill and ability levels.
That means that, if you become more flexible, you can keep pushing yourself to the next level with more advanced poses and techniques.
This yoga Boulder practice is also very useful for its weight loss advantages.
Benefits of yoga for weight loss
Even though you might focus on the flexibility and mindfulness of yoga, there are other physical benefits, as well. Yoga is a good way to work toward weight loss goals using an exercise regimen that is low-impact and sustainable.
A 2016 study suggested that people who develop mindfulness through a yoga practice may be better able to resist bad foods and unhealthy, habit-forming comfort eating. They may also become more in tune with their body so that they don’t overeat.
Since yoga is low-impact, you’re also less likely to be injured during sessions. In fact, many people use yoga as a form of exercise if they’re recovering from an injury due to exercise!
With a lower likelihood of injury, that means you can keep doing yoga and don’t have to take time off to recover or keep your body from getting overworked.
It’s also sustainable for long-term exercise. This goes hand-in-hand with being low-impact.
You can keep doing yoga, even every day, for the rest of your life. Whether you’re trying to work toward a specific goal or you’re just maintaining the goals you’ve already reached, you don’t have to worry about yoga being “too much” for you.
While there are many physical benefits, you must keep in mind the psychological impact.
Meditation-minded
Yoga is an alignment of your body and your mind.
This full body workout shouldn’t impose anything upon you, but more so be an outlet to your very own personal comfort zone.
Put simply, find what works for you and use the music to guide your path.
While lots of people use it for exercise, the meditative aspect of yoga is also important. When you take a meditation-focused yoga class in Boulder, you can start to see the mental and spiritual benefits of yoga alongside the physical benefits.
This new yoga Boulder experience is great for stress relief as well as easing symptoms of anxiety and depression.
But, both yoga and meditation aren’t so alternative anymore. About 14% of adults and a growing number of kids now practice yoga and some form of meditation, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.
You can get these results by focusing on your full yoga Boulder experience as a whole. Our personal meditation approach gives you the choice of how your meditation will go. And that can be a class-to-class basis – it’s completely up to you.
It will help you understand the mental focus of yoga so that you can achieve mental and spiritual benefits while you achieve your physical goals.
We also add in the bass-bumping music and fun new movements!
Just remember to breathe.
Yoga Boulder breathing techniques
Because there is a meditative element to yoga, breathing techniques can make a big difference in your practice.
If you have experience with yoga, you probably find yoga breathing easier and more natural. You may even know the best times to inhale and exhale as you move from position to position.
But even if you’re new to Boulder yoga, you can learn breathing techniques that will give your body the oxygen it needs to do yoga and maximize your experience.
The first thing to remember is that you should take full breaths. Inhale deeply and exhale fully when you breathe. This will ensure your body gets the oxygen it needs and will help you with the timing of your movements and poses.
Your yoga instructor may make suggestions about when to inhale or exhale during the session. These are the typical breathing patterns for yoga practice.
Even though there are certain times it’s recommended to inhale or exhale, the most important part of your breathing is that it’s natural to you.
Don’t stay so focused on breathing “right” that you don’t allow yourself to relax and enjoy your very own yoga practice.
It’s all about finding that nice balance between comfortability and continuing to push yourself.
Yoga poses for two
Yoga doesn’t have to be lonely!
Along with the socialization of an in-person class, there are yoga poses designed for two people.
These poses allow you to develop a connection with another person and get the benefits of yoga practice at the same time. An added benefit of yoga poses for two is that your partner can help you hold a position or make sure that your posture is correct so you get the maximum benefits from the yoga practice.
One of the most common yoga poses for two people is the bound angle pose:
- Sit back-to-back with your legs crossed.
- As one person leans forward, the other person leans back, keeping your backs together.
- Then move the other way, with the first person leaning back and the other person leaning forward.
- Additionally, you may want to hook your arms together as you do this pose to help keep your backs together.
If you’re interested in Boulder yoga poses for two people, it’s a good idea to go to an in-person class and also ask a class leader.
Your skilled yoga Boulder instructor can help you with the poses to make sure that you’re both doing them properly so that there’s no risk of getting hurt.
If you’re not a beginner to yoga and want a real challenge, you can aim for more advanced poses.
More Powerful Yoga Poses for Two People >
Try advanced yoga poses when you’re ready
As you become more comfortable with yoga, you’ll find basic poses easier.
However, one of the big advantages of yoga is that there are more advanced poses you can use so that you’ll keep challenging yourself no matter how long you’ve been doing yoga.
That’s one of the many reasons that Boulder yoga is a great exercise regimen for people and can be maintained no matter what your health and wellness goals are.
An example of an advanced pose is the upward facing two-foot staff pose:
- Start by lying on your back, feet on the floor, heels under the knees, and step your feet a little wider than your hips.
- Then, bend your arms and place your palms on the floor by your ears, fingertips facing the shoulders, shoulder-width apart. Hold for a moment to focus and remember to focus on your breathing.
- Exhale and press your knees away from your torso and lift your hips, shoulders, and head from the floor as you straighten your arms. Try to widen and draw your shoulder blades toward your tail bone to lift your shoulders and lighten the load on your arms.
If you’re still with us, continue here to complete this advanced yoga pose.
If you’ve been doing yoga, whether you’ve been practicing at home or in a class, it’s a good idea to try more advanced poses at an in-person class.
Advanced poses are meant to be challenging by nature. By trying them in a class setting, you’ll have the support of an instructor to help you with the pose. They can also offer advice to make it easier and spot you, such as if the pose is inverted or requires strong balance.
But once you learn the poses, you can take them home and continue to practice and get better!
See if this new yoga Boulder experience is up your alley
Whether you’ve never tried yoga before or you’re looking to take your regular practice to the next level, the fitness-fueled and fun yoga experience at Bulldog Yoga may just be the thing you’ve been looking for!
Along with helping you achieve your physical health goals like losing weight and improving flexibility, regular in-person yoga classes in Boulder can help you improve your mental health and wellness, too.
Don’t let what you think you know keep you from trying something new.
It’s your health. It has to be a priority.
Why not have more fun doing it?
Which class type is best for you?
***Check out our Fun Lifestyle Blog for more guidance on this path we call life.
Can’t make it in? Get the bulldog experience anywhere, anytime with our online classes or via our app (App store | Google Play)