With time, yoga has transitioned from an ancient art to a global phenomenon. The reason behind this big change are the numerous physical, mental, and spiritual health benefits it offers. It is also a great workout that focuses on developing strength, endurance, and mobility to help you stay fit. However, there is one rumor among yoga practitioners and that is yoga is not a good cardiovascular workout. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

 Have you heard about cardio yoga for beginners? As the name suggests, this combines yoga with cardiovascular exercises. It takes the classic yoga movement and mixes them to form a rapid sequences to help you break a sweat. Also, the continuous movement gets your heart pumping and burns muscles. It is the best workout to give your cardiovascular system a massive jolt of energy and reset.

 With that said, let us find out a bit more about the link between yoga and cardiovascular conditioning.

 Yoga & Cardiovascular Conditioning – The Link

The traditional yoga workout focuses on breathing, Prana flow and body postures. You practice slower body movements, which means your heart and lungs never get a good workout. However, with cardio yoga, things go up one-step.

In cardio yoga, your body movement is sped up to the point where your cardiovascular system has to work hard to keep up with the pace of practice. Since, you do a non-stop movement, your muscles have to work hard to support your body. Your heart has to pump more blood and lungs have to pump more oxygen, which means you get a great cardiovascular workout.

What makes cardio yoga a great option is it fits the programs set by many fitness studios and gyms. Moreover, you can also create a sequence of your own to become more active and get those feel good hormones flowing.

That said, yoga experts from around the world have come up with three yoga asanas that you can turn into a great cardio workout.

Cardio Yoga Poses

Let us start with the simplest of yoga poses!

1. Plank Pose

The best yoga asana to strengthen your core, arms, and glutes. Plank Pose is itself a full-body workout. To turn this yoga asana into a cardio workout, you would have to incorporate plant jacks and mountain climbers.

Tips For Alignment

• Bring your shoulders over your wrists.

• Engage your core. Keep your head, shoulders, heels, and hips in a diagonal line.

Now, we slowly move onto mountain climbers from the Plank Pose.

Steps For Moving From Plank Pose To Mountain Climbers

• From the Plank Pose, you draw your right knee to tap your right elbow.

• Bring your feet back together and change to tap your left knee to the left elbow.

• Do this at a slow pace or you can move fast to get the heart pumping.

• Make sure to practice at least 10 rounds to feel the effect.

Finally, now we will move from Plank Pose to the Plant Jacks

Steps To Transition From Plank Pose To Plant Jacks

• Remain in the Plank pose.

• Hop both feet away from each other and then bring them back together.

• Keep your shoulders over your wrists and engage your core.

• Practice 10 of these to feel the positive impact.

To know the best cardio yoga poses, you should look for the best yoga retreat for beginners.

2. Chair Pose

The Chair Pose strengthens your back, quadriceps, and glutes along with giving your chest and shoulders a good stretch. Yoga experts recommend you should go as low as possible while simultaneously lifting your chest for a stronger variation of this yoga asana.

Tips For Alignment 

• Sit with your hips back till you are able to peek over your knees and see your toes. 

• Engage your lower abdominal and slightly tuck in your pelvis to safeguard your lower back. 

• Bring your hands to the heart center if you feel a strain while stretching your chest while lifting your arms up. 

Now, to make this cardio yoga for beginners pose a bit challenging, we are going to add one-legged squat and squat jumps. 

Transition Steps From Chair Pose To One-Legged Squat

• From the Chair Pose, bring your right foot forward and flex it.

• Start to lift and lower your hips an inch in each direction.

• Keep your core strong, and start doing it with some speed.

• Practice 10 squats with both legs.

Now, let us move from Chair to Squat Jumps.

Steps To Move From Chair Pose To Squat Jumps

• In the Chair pose, squat as low as you can.

• Jump as high as you can. Extend your entire body and keep your legs and back straight.

• Jump down and back into the Chair Pose.

• Practice 10 jumps.

Conclusion

Do you want to get the heart pumping with yoga? Try these cardio yoga for beginners pose to give your body a massive jolt of extra energy.