Arm exercises - Yoga

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi all,

I am taking a yoga class which I ended up in completely by chance and have attended about 4 sessions. I’m really amazed by how nice it is and how different it is from my preconceived notions. Anyway, I’m finding the exercises involving the arms to be the most difficult and would like to improve my arm strength.

My question is, are any of these good to be held indefinitely? I did some searches to find out how long one should stay in poses and the responses I have seen have ranged from 10-30 seconds. Is there any harm in staying in any of these for longer? I would like to stick with 1 and gradually increase the amount of time I can hold it. My other question is, would this be the best use of my time or should I do other exercises like push-ups? I am planning on doing it for a little bit each morning.

Thx for the responses!

#2

Really only you can say what is the best use of YOUR time.

As for the question of arm strength, there are several elements of reply.

When ONLY looking at the physical it is endurance in the muscle that is built over time, not strength. Of course some strength would be gained.

Muscles like several things. They like to have the load increased, they like to go till failure, they like a varied diet of challenge, and they like to have the appropriate rest and nutrition to repair. Think of this as an algebra formula. It’s tough to solve when the variables are missing.

In asana (yoga postures) alignment prevents injury. For begining students (and some intermediates) holding poses over time leads to degradation in the integrity of the pose alignment. If you can remain in the pose AND maintain all of the safety elements and do so without an ounce of frustration, without clenching your jaw, and maintain a smooth, even breath, explore away.

If you are interested in arm strength I personally would pursue different postures which require different demand on the muscles and hold them for about 90 seconds (assuming smooth breath and relaxed jaw etcetera). Then find an excellent teacher to convey the actions in the pose so you are NOT just doing pushups.

Bear in mind that “strength” in asana comes from the ability to use life force not from the muscles. The use of (only) muscle in asana is for students i the early years of their practice until they cultivate a deeper understanding of what they are doing and how they are doing it.

gordon