In my late teens, having been exposed to yoga through my mother, but not having practiced this ancient art myself, I did not view yoga as a form of fitness. Other types of exercise seemed to suit that picture better, such as jogging, swimming laps, bicycling, and tumbling. No, to me, yoga was more of a mystical “thing” that my mother practiced to stretch and relax.

These days, when I get asked about yoga and what it is, again, fitness is not what most people have in mind. We commonly relate a way to fitness with sweating, panting, muscle aches, and pushing oneself to reach a certain goal. There is certainly no problem with setting physical goals or exercise that makes you sweat or raises your heart rate. Yoga can simply be a more gentle approach to gaining greater total body fitness. Consider yoga an alternative or addition to other kinds exercise.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), four types of fitness help to bolster health.

Cardio-respiratory fitness: This refers to the fitness of your heart, lungs, and blood vessels. The better your cardio-respiratory fitness, the better your stamina. Plus, it lowers your risk for a host of diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Muscular fitness: This refers both to muscle strength (how heavy an object you can lift) and muscle endurance (how long you can lift it.)

Flexibility: As most people age, their muscles shorten and their tendons, the tissue that connects muscles to bones, become stiffer. This reduces your range of motion, preventing optimum movement of your knees, shoulders, elbows, spine, and other joints.

Body composition: Body composition refers to the percentage of your body made up of fat instead of muscles, bones, organs, and other nonfat tissues.

As various forms of Hatha yoga gain respect and popularity, so research increases on health and fitness related to yoga. The following is an example. Researchers at the University of California at Davis tested the muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, cardio-respiratory fitness, body composition, and lung function of 10 college students before and after eight weeks of yoga training. Each week, the students attended four sessions that included 10 minutes of breath work (pranayama), 15 minutes of warm-up exercises, 50 minutes of postures (asanas), and 10 minutes of meditation.

After eight weeks, the students' muscular strength had increased by as much as 31 percent, muscular endurance by 57 percent, flexibility by as much as 188 percent, and VO2max (Your ability to move without feeling winded or fatigued is measured by your VO2max, or maximal oxygen uptake.) by 7 percent.

Webster’s Dictionary defines fit (fitness) as being “sound physically and mentally; HEALTHY.” This definition doesn’t stop at just the physical level of fitness, but also includes a person’s mental state of health. Thus, it is adding another dimension into the world of fitness.

Yoga is a system of mind-body exercises. It is known to reduce tension, help to free the mind from mental disturbances, and aid in the treatment of anxiety and depression. There are many times when I ask the yoga students to notice their thoughts; to “watch” what’s going on in the body; to watch any arising emotion; to follow the breath; to feel for gripping in the inner body. Besides tuning into the physical aspect of their body, yoga also takes their mental state into account.

It truly takes your mind off of the day’s stresses while physically exercising the body. Yoga leaves one mentally refreshed while building greater body strength, stamina, flexibility, and improved posture, to just name a few benefits.

Most importantly, however, is that you find some form of exercise you enjoy doing several times per week, so exercise itself becomes part of your life for improved total body fitness. Keep in mind, that greater long-term results come from exercising some on a daily basis, rather than exercising a lot just once per week.

Martina Maxfield