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Namaste Yogis,
I hope you are doing well! I am excited today to talk about using resistance bands with yoga! I have to say I resisted the idea of adding weights or resistance bands to my practice for so long. I wanted to keep my yoga teaching to more traditional yoga, but if you read my post Strength & Mobility for Hips and Glutes you know I needed to shift my personal yoga practice into a more strength based practice so the resistance bands have really helped me gain more strength. I am super excited to be teaching a new class, Mindful Conditioning which will include resistance bands in each class!! You can check out our schedule page for more information!!
Benefits of Yoga with Resistance Bands
There are many benefits to integrating resistance bands into your yoga practice. Here are just a few I came up with!
•Helps Build More Strength
The use of resistance bands adds a load and extra engagement to help build strength into the body. When you practice the same way all the time, you body begins to adapt and the poses get easier. Not that we always want the practice to be challenging, but we want to change up our practice and do different poses in different so our muscles are always having to adapt. The resistance bands are great for that!!
•Develops Proprioception
Proprioception is essentially knowing how your body moves in space. If you were to extend your arms let’s say in warrior two, you may not to be aware exactly where you back arm is. However, when you are holding a resistance band and extending your arms it heightens your awareness of where you arms are as the band gives you feedback.
•Develops Motor Control & Coordination
When using a band, you have to be mindful when coming out of the poses so the band is not released too quickly hence controlling the muscles.
Starting Out With Resistance Bands
•Personally, I found starting out with resistance bands can be a little awkward. Sometimes it is hard to find the perfect about of resistance and you might have to make many adjustments to find just the right amount of tension.
•Be mindful when you are releasing the bands, you want to change your positions slowly to keep from having the band move you out of the pose too quickly.
•Start with a lighter resistance band. For my classes, I recommend starting with the red Theraband or the orange Flexvit Band I have found if you can stretch out the resistance band to your arms length with relative ease it is probably a good band to start with.
Which Resistance Bands?
There are so many resistance bands on the market today. I have not had the chance to try out very many, but here are a couple I recommend.
Theraband Resistance Band Set: https://amzn.to/330JkQC
I recommend starting with the red band. This set will give you options if you have never used the bands in the past and are not sure using resistance bands in your practice is for you.
Flexvit Resistance Bands: https://amzn.to/3kPzpni
These bands are a higher price point, but are really amazing! I recommend starting with an orange band. What I like about these is there are loops to hook your hands and your feet into for safety and comfort.
Let me know in the comments below your experience with using resistance bands in your yoga practice.
Be Well!
Nicole
