There’s nothing better than yoga that can keep you physically and mentally healthy. There’s always a question that comes to our mind about how long a person should hold a certain yoga pose. We did a lot of research on it, and here’s what we found.
Many things determine this, so let’s get started without further due.
How Long to Hold Yoga Pose for Beginners
In the beginning, holding a yoga pose for 1 to 2 breaths is enough. Always consider your body’s feelings about doing a particular pose.
We advise you never to practice a complex yoga pose initially, as this is when you are getting into a habit of practicing yoga daily. Starting with a challenging pose will fade your motivation and fall you into a muscle injury.
Things That Determine How Long Do You Hold a Yoga Pose
You always need to consider certain things while going for a specific yoga pose and holding it for a certain number of breaths. Let’s see what these are:
1. Physical Condition
Always ask yourself how you are feeling. If you have any pain in your muscle, joint pain, or any kind of soreness, then choose a yoga pose accordingly. Most yoga poses require extensive exercise from your muscles. Always notice what yoga poses your body needs this time.
For example, you can’t have the same energy from doing yoga every day because you are not a machine and external factors affect your health. So when feeling tired or even not motivated to do yoga, try doing it for significantly less time or just a few breaths. You will feel energetic even doing it for just a few seconds.
But if you are pregnant or have asthma attacks, always ask your doctor before practicing any yoga pose.
2. Fitness Level
If you are a beginner, you will not be able to hold the yoga steps for a longer period. Of course, your body is not used to having yoga steps. This doesn’t mean that you cannot do yoga or your body is not meant to hold a pose. The key is to start by doing yoga poses for just 1 to 2 breaths and then finding out variations and going deeper.
3. Age
Age matters while holding a yoga pose, so if your body is not used to yoga and your age is 50+, you may find difficulty holding a pose. For example, it’s hard to keep a posture for longer. So prefer doing another pose or doing it with the assistance of a wall is recommended.
4. Intensity of Pose
Practicing a challenging pose from the start is never a piece of good advice. It will drain your energy and make you breathe heavily, so the chances are that you will leave doing yoga even after a day. Always start from smaller and easy yoga steps and then accept challenges.
5. Time of the Day
The best time for practicing yoga is in the early morning or at the end of the day. Doing it in the early morning is always recommended as it gives you the energy to utilize in your daily tasks. Also, it is easy to practice yoga in the morning because, at that time, you have the highest energy level.
Goals and Advantages to Hold Yoga Pose for Longer Time
Holding a yoga pose for more than three breaths is a good practice, and it brings a lot of advantages. Whether you do yoga to maintain your physical health or mental health, yoga has the most benefits. Let’s see them:
1. Enhances Muscle Power
Different yoga poses serve other purposes, and many are for enhancing muscle strength. When you hold a specific yoga pose, your muscles stretch and help maintain the posture. When you keep practicing that particular pose, your muscle adapts to that shape and improves your pose holding stamina.
Not only that, but the muscles start strengthening and being flexible over time. This keeps them working, and you become less tired doing the regular daily work. Muscle strength gives flexibility, and your joints stay moving for a more extended time. Thus, yoga poses help in having strengthened, healthy, and happy muscles.
2. Enhance Stamina
When you practice a pose daily, your breathing starts stable over time. You learn to maintain a specific posture for a more extended period, and that gives you a sense of balance as well.
3. Know Your Body
Practicing different yoga poses helps you in knowing your body. You will get to know which pose your body is most comfortable with. It also tells about the proper alignment of your body. Knowing this, your curiosity is enhanced, and you can find a new variation in the pose and learn about which pose your body can handle efficiently.
Goals and Advantages to Hold Yoga Pose for Brief Time
There is a complete difference between holding a specific yoga pose for a short time for a more extended time. You can differentiate between the two based on the number of breaths. For example, holding a yoga pose for two breaths is a brief time.
But still, it comes with mental and physical advantages. Let’s see what these are:
1. Enhances Energy
The body gets heated when you do yoga practice. This heat makes the metabolism process a bit faster, i.e., converting everything in your body into energy. This helps your body stay energetic and active to do the other daily tasks.
2. Upgrade Your Cardiac Health
Holding any yoga pose makes you breathe heavily, so your heartbeat gets fast. Your blood cholesterol level and sugar level get down, increasing your cardiac health.
3. Reduces Fat
Doing yoga is the best practice that helps lose excess weight or fat. If you are doing yoga to lose fat, try practicing different poses that take extra strength. Your body considerably loses fat when you switch between various poses.
4. Enhances Endurance
Yoga directly depends on your breathing. In the beginning, you will get tired in a few seconds, but doing daily yoga practice will help you increase your stamina and endure more.
5. Mindfulness
The message behind doing yoga is to stay mindful or stay in the present. It makes you forget everything and helps you live in the moment. It makes you energetic, and you can utilize the energy to make your today the best one.
How Long to Hold Yoga Pose Based on the Pose?
A body can withstand a particular yoga posture for about an ideal five breaths in most cases. But, if you are a beginner and can hold a position for about 20 to 30 seconds or 2 to 3 breaths, then that’s alright too.
Holding a particular yoga posture for a specific time also depends on the kind of yoga pose you are practicing. There are specific yoga practices that you will not be able to keep up for even a breath.
Holding a yoga position for a particular amount of time is necessary to gain all the pose benefits. Let’s talk about the specific time that you need to hold yoga exercises depending upon the type of yoga:
1. Yin Yoga – At Least 5 Minutes Per Pose
Yin Yoga helps your joints to keep up the healthy movement. Its poses target the lower spine, inner thighs, and hips. If you are practicing any pose of Yin yoga, then you must practice it for at least 5 minutes. Yin yoga helps to calm you down and give you relief. To balance your mind and body, you must try this yoga!
2. Vinyasa Yoga – At Least 5 Breaths Per Pose
To keep your large muscles in motion, vinyasa yoga poses help a lot. We recommend you practice this yoga daily as it helps maintain a stable and healthy heartbeat rate and blood pressure. This also helps to lose weight. You must hold each Vinyasa yoga pose for at least five breaths.
3. Lyengar Yoga – At Least 5 Minutes Per Pose
For controlling your breath, Iyengar yoga is best to observe. Not only that but these yoga poses also help in maintaining a perfect alignment. Apart from its benefits related to your body, this yoga gives a sense of relief and elevates your concentration power. Try to hold Iyengar yoga poses for 5 minutes to gain all the benefits.
4. Ashtanga Yoga – At Least 6 Breaths Per Pose
Like Iyengar yoga, this yoga also helps maintain breath control and movement. It enables you to stay in the moment and increases your ability to remain disciplined and confident in daily life.
5. Bikram – At Least 1 Breath Per Pose
Bikram yoga consists of almost 26 same poses and takes you nearly half an hour to go over. It elevates your mental endurance and balances your hormones and chemicals in the body. We recommend you to run through each pose for at least a minute and see the change in your body and mind.
Remember, while holding any yoga position, you must see if you feel pain in your joints or anywhere while holding it. If the pain is real, then leave the carriage. Bearing the pain and still doing that yoga posture can make you injured. Moreover, as a beginner, you may feel a little discomfort when you start doing yoga, and that’s perfectly alright.
Conclusion
Now you know it depends on your body and how much time it feels comfortable holding a particular pose. Also, certain yoga practices must be done for just one to two breaths, while others can be held for more than five breaths.
For some yoga practices, it is recommended to hold them for more than three breaths as they have considerable benefits to your health.
Moreover, leave any kind of yoga pose if you feel pain in your doing while holding it. If your body feels comfortable, try to find a variation in that pose and practice it daily.
A fervent champion for holistic well-being, graces this community with her expertise in health and fitness. With a solid educational foundation in physical fitness and a commitment to empowering others, Sara distills her extensive knowledge and experience into actionable insights. Her writing, firmly grounded in evidence-based practices, aims to demystify health complexities and inspire readers to cultivate sustainable habits for a balanced life. As a certified fitness trainer, Sara offers a well-rounded perspective on wellness. Join Sara on this transformative journey towards a happier, healthier, and more vibrant you.
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