Yoga Compared To Other Exercises

The value of yoga compared to other forms of exercise largely depends on your fitness goals. Yoga's purpose is to integrate the body and mind, while people who engage in cardiovascular or strength-building exercise are typically focused on the development of the body: They want to lose weight or bulk or tone up their muscles. You don't have to choose one over the other -- yoga can complement an exercise regimen and vice-versa -- but as you develop a plan of action for getting in shape, it may help to understand what each involves and has to offer.

Yoga vs. Exercise

Aerobic exercise involves raising the heart rate to improve cardiovascular efficiency, burning calories in the process, and for many is a preferred method for losing weight. Strength-training exercise focuses on developing specific muscles by making them exert repetitive force against resistance in the form of weights, resistance bands or your body's own weight. Yoga -- in its many varieties -- basically involves contorting the body into various positions, called "asanas," and breathing in certain ways. Yoga also disciplines the mind through meditations designed to heighten your awareness of your body, your thought processes and your responses to the world around you.

Health Benefits

When practiced properly and regularly, yoga and regular exercise have many of the same beneficial effects, including the reduction of stress, a lowered risk of disease or injury, lowered blood pressure, and increased energy. In a 2010 comparative study published in the "Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine," researchers found yoga was "as effective as or superior to exercise on nearly every outcome measured," including increased quality of attention, better sleep, relief from symptoms of menopause and reduction in symptoms of mental illness.

Building Strength

If building strength is your goal, yoga's effectiveness is limited compared to resistance exercise. Some forms of yoga involve difficult poses that may force your muscles to expand, contract, tear and heal in a way that will promote greater strength. After you grow accustomed to the poses, however, yoga will no longer build your strength, though it can help you maintain the muscle tone you've achieved. Resistance exercises like weightlifting are the best way to build your muscular strength.

Considerations

Your body is designed to move. Any form of physical activity that engages you and that you'll be motivated to perform on a regular basis will benefit your health. Kripalu yoga instructor Lori Batcheller, of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, suggests that you use yoga as a form of stretching before engaging in regular exercise. Doing so "may enhance your performance and help prevent injuries to joints and soft tissues."