How Are Yoga Exercises Different From Stretching Exercises?

While stretching exercises aim to lengthen specific muscles, yoga has a much broader meaning. From the Sanskrit word "yuj," which means "to unite," yoga aims to rejuvenate your body, clear your mind and bring you in harmony with the universe. The physical poses, called "asanas," are one aspect of yoga and are meant to stretch and strengthen your muscles, enhance posture and bring awareness to your breath. Other aspects of yoga exercise include meditation and breathing techniques.

Yoga Paths

Ancient sages presented four different pathways of yoga: jñana yoga, the path of knowledge and wisdom; karma yoga, the path of action through selfless service; bhakti yoga, the path of devotion, faith and love; and raja yoga, the royal path, which includes the asanas, breathing exercises and meditation. Most likely, anyone doing yoga touches on more than one of these paths. For example, one example of bhakti yoga is chanting "aum," which is usually done at the beginning and end of an asana practice.

Yoga Exercises

A typical yoga class might include meditation, asanas and, sometimes, specific breathing exercises called "pranayama." The asanas can be held for a few moments, or moved through in a flowing "vinyasa" form from one pose to another. Each pose has a Sanskrit name. For instance, "adho mukha svanasana" is downward facing dog pose, "vrksasana" is tree pose and "adho vrksasana" is downward tree pose, better known as a handstand. The asans are done in various sequences of standing, balancing, inversions, hip openers and back bends. Depending on the style of yoga, the teacher may give specific alignment instructions for asanas so the student is both well-grounded and extended at the same time. Balancing two opposites is what makes the practice yoga, or the act of uniting.

Stretching Exercises

The goal of stretching is to improve flexibility. Basically, there are two types of stretching: static and dynamic. Static stretching means holding a position without movement, and dynamic includes stretch as part of a movement to gradually increase your reach. Asanas can qualify as static stretching, while vinyasa is dynamic. A study published in 2009 in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" suggest that dynamic stretches are good as part of a warm-up and static stretching is better for cooling down.

Benefits of stretching include increased mental and physical relaxation, enhanced development of body awareness and reduced risk of injury to joints, muscles and tendons, all of which can be attributed to yoga.