How many of these situations sound familiar to you?
You wake up with your body feeling stiff at least a few days every week.
It’s not as comfortable as it used to be for you to do your favorite activities.
You have trouble finding a comfortable way to sit down or lay in bed.
It’s a struggle to touch your toes. (Were they always so far away?)
If you can relate to one or more of these statements, it’s likely that you’re experiencing a decline in your flexibility. But don’t panic! You know what can help? The best online yoga workouts out there!
We like to be solution-oriented around here and we can’t wait to fill you in on all of the flexibility gains you can make by giving the best online yoga workouts a try. First, let’s chat a little more about this flexibility business.
According to UC Davis Health, flexibility is the ability of a joint or series of joints to move through an unrestricted, pain-free range of motion. A baseline, minimum level of flexibility allows us to do everything from getting out of bed in the morning to rocking a power yoga class… and everything in between!
CNN notes that flexibility is affected by activity level, gender, and age. If you’re in your thirties or forties — not that we’re asking you to share your age! — you’ve probably started to notice a little extra slowness and creakiness in your joints. While that’s definitely a pain, it’s totally normal — as our bodies age, flexibility continuously decreases, especially in the shoulders and trunk. Men tend to lose flexibility more quickly than women, too. (Don’t worry, guys — our best online yoga workouts can help get you back on track. It’s one more benefit of yoga for men!)
Aside from the fact that it makes you feel achy and limited, UC Davis Health notes a few other effects to decreased flexibility. As your flexibility dwindles…
- Your cartilage and joints will become less healthy.
- There will be less blood and nutrients circulating in your joints.
- Your muscles will get tired more quickly than they used to.
- You’re more likely to suffer muscle injuries, since your joints will be less protected.
- You’ll experience muscle tightness and pain in your joints, especially your hips and knees.
Obviously, we don’t want any of this for you. And we know you don’t want it for yourself!
So let’s talk about how the best online yoga workouts can help!
A consistent stretching routine is often the go-to prescription for anyone experiencing decreased flexibility. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! Getting a good stretch in on the reg should absolutely be part of your health and self-care regimen. We are here for the stretching.
But here’s the thing: a yoga class — and more specifically, one of the best online yoga workouts you can get — goes a step further. We happen to think that bulldog online classes are up for the task. Here’s why…
Let’s start with the studies. There are plenty of studies out there that prove how great an online yoga workout can be for your overall fitness, especially your flexibility. Harvard Health notes one such study, in which after eight weeks of practicing yoga at least twice a week, participants experienced greater flexibility. An article in the International Journal of Yoga cites another, in which college athletes worked yoga into their workout routines for ten weeks. At the end of those weeks, the athletes demonstrated “significant gains” in flexibility, as well as balance.
(And can we just say that none of the participants in either of those studies had access to the best online yoga workouts from bulldog? Can you imagine if they did? They’d be getting those workouts in at home, plus feeling generally awesome.)
According to Yoga Journal, flexibility in yoga is more than just an increased range of motion. It’s a mindset! The more yoga you do, the more comfortable you’ll be releasing tension from your body so you can move through different flows and into various positions. In yoga class, your leader will guide you through those poses in a way that makes sense for your body and leaves lots of room for stretching. You can pause in certain poses to really get the stretch you’re looking for.
When you show up for the best online yoga workouts, you get yourself into a really great positive cycle — the more yoga you do, the more comfortable you’ll be in more poses, and the more flexible you’ll feel off your mat. Sounds pretty great, right? And since the best online yoga workouts will also give you a better understanding of how to stretch the parts of your body that tend to feel the stiffest, you’ll be able to more effectively love on those tight joints and muscles even when you’re not actually doing yoga.
Here are some of the very best online yoga workouts out there to help promote flexibility…
- Invigorate Classes: Invigorate classes give you a full-body power flow. They’ll get your heart rate up and those joints moving, too. If it’s your lower body that needs a little extra flexibility, give this Hips & Hammies class a try! This Slow & Steady flow will give you a chance to give the tight parts of your body the TLC they need.
- Exhilarate Classes: Want to get a little sweatier while you work on your flexibility? This is the perfect level for you. There are options focused on both upper body and lower body.
- Custom Workout Plans: If you want to target your yoga routine even more to your body’s specific needs, you should definitely check these out. You can choose the plan that will give you your best online yoga workout and help you improve your flexibility.
According to Harvard Health, prioritizing exercises that promote flexibility — like yoga! — will allow your muscles to more easily fulfill their full range of motion so you can go about your daily routine with less pain and discomfort. You’ll feel better when you’re doing everything from unpacking the dishwasher to swinging a golf club! And wouldn’t it be better to feel better?
Yeah. We’re pretty sure it would. Let the best online yoga workouts help!