Yoga instructor Rodney Yee emphasizes that yoga is a way for men to enhance their abilities in other sports, as well as their overall mind and body health. While practicing yoga, keep your breathing smooth and your mind focused on the present.
Essentials
Yoga builds strength through the practice of vinyasa, which is linking poses together with each inhale and exhale or by holding poses that use your own body weight for resistance. You can combine the two methods into one workout for variety.
Vinyasa Routine
From standing, raise your arms overhead, then exhale to fold your upper body toward your lower body. Jump back into a plank pose. With your elbows pulled in close to your waist and your shoulders pulled back from your ears, lower yourself down to a hover above the floor for chaturanga. Raise your torso up by straightening your arms and pushing into your hands. Flip onto the tops of your feet, keeping your legs off of the floor. Move back into plank. Place your right hand on the floor directly under your gaze and turn your body out to face your left side. Reach your left arm straight up and maintain balance on the outside edge of your right foot. Keep your feet stacked. Move back to plank and do side plank with your left hand. Push your hips toward the ceiling as your body forms a mountain shape for downward-facing dog. Jump your feet up to your hands and rise back to standing. Repeat the sequence as many times as you like, breathing one breath for each movement.
Mixed Yoga Routine for Strength
Repeat several rounds of the vinyasa routine to warm-up. From downward-facing dog jump your feet to the outside of your hands. Walk your feet toward each other, then bring your knees up on your triceps, as close as possible to your armpits. Contract your abdominals as you lift your feet off of the floor, letting your toes touch in mid-air. Hold crow pose for seven to 10 breaths, then jump back into a plank position. Raise your right foot off of the ground and slowly lower down in chaturanga. Rise back up and repeat on the left leg. Move back into downward-facing dog and jump back to your hands, this time in a forward bend position--your upper body folded toward your lower body. Raise your right leg up as high as it will go as you keep your torso close to your left leg. Hold standing splits for seven to 10 breaths on each leg.
Stretching Out
Hold your forward bend for up to one minute after your strength routines. Move into a standing-on-knees position and place your hands on each side of your lower back. Draw your shoulders together behind you as you lean back into camel pose. Keep your knees close together. Rise back up, then take your knees wide apart. Sink your hips back onto your heels and reach your arms onto the floor away from your body. Rest in child's pose as long as you like.
Potential
Yoga instructor Sarah Powers highlights that downward-facing dog builds muscle strength in the upper body. Chaturanga, plank variations and crow target the core muscles along with upper body strength. When performed with the leg muscles engaged, planks can also build lower body strength. Standing splits contribute to leg and gluteal strength.
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