Is Yoga Aerobic Exercise?
While yoga consists of a lot of stretching, breathing and balancing poses, there’s no denying that there are aerobic exercise benefits to the practice. Aerobic or cardiovascular exercise is any sustained or vigorous physical activity that improves the body’s metabolic and energy-generating processes with the use of oxygen. Aerobic exercise should elevate your heart rate 60 to 80 percent of its maximum rate, and it will deliver oxygen to your major muscle groups.
Certain styles of yoga that are more active, such as ashtanga or vinyasa yoga, can burn as many as 300 calories per session because of the constant flow of movement. Hot yoga, or Bikram yoga, can also burn as many as 650 calories in a session while flushing out toxins from your body.
