Is Yoga Enough?

By Barbara Schuette on September 22, 2021

You may have asked yourself, “Is yoga all I need to do to stay in shape and be healthy?” “Should I do it every day?” The answer emphatically is YES! Now hear me when I say all types of yoga are wonderful, but obviously they can’t all take the place of cardio and strength training, i.e. restorative yoga.

What kind of yoga then CAN be all inclusive of what you need to have a full-rounded workout regimen?

If you’ve read our previous blogs about the Hot 26 Yoga series, then you guessed what my answer would be!—of course, the Hot 26! Preferably the 75 or 90 minute versions, but 60 minutes will do just fine! Couple that with a little walking and you have the perfect mix!

When I began practicing 7 years ago I was running an average of 30 miles and biking 75 miles a week. I considered myself in tip top shape! Whyyy then was I still, as the P90X guy says, “a little loose in the cage?!” I couldn’t get rid of the extra tube around my waist for nothing! I did push-ups and sit ups and of course a ton of cardio, rarely skipping a day!

I looked at my first yoga teacher, Cindy, standing up on the podium instructing the Hot 26 class (yes most instructors “instruct” only) and I said to myself, “I want to look that good!” She was older than me, had 5 children, and surgery to her spine (I could see the long scar on her back), and she had a rockin’ hot bod!

So I asked her one day after class what else she did to stay so fit. Obviously ONLY YOGA couldn’t produce that fit shape. She said the Hot 26 was all she did. Every. Single. Day.

Cindy said she took her first Hot 26 class a few years back and decided then and there she was going to teach it some day. For the next 28 days (I think that’s the right number) she took the 90 minute Hot 26 class every day. At the time I just could not imagine that—90 minutes in 105 degrees every day?! No freaking way!

I was addicted and kept taking classes as many days per week as I could while I kept up with my running schedule. Well, with time limitations while working full time and driving home on the weekends (2 hours away), I had to give something less attention. So running started to take a backseat to my newfound love, the Hot 26!

Nothing I had ever tried helped me to lose weight + feel this great! My carpal tunnel syndrome that I had dealt with for many years was slowly subsiding, low back pain was all but gone, and my stubborn knee pain that flared up from time to time was gone!

And the scale! Yes, I weighed every day after my class! I would sometimes lose 4-6 pounds in each class. Eventually the weight stayed off and my body composition morphed! I was no longer loose in the cage—I actually had abs under some of that insulation!

The feeling of elation after the Hot 26 yoga class actually rivaled my “runner’s high” I used to feel after my long runs. Do I still run + bike? Absolutely! But not near as often and not near as hard! I was pounding my body on the pavement—literally! Thus maybe the knee and low back pain? 🤔

All I can say is that I’m pain free and medication free AND in the best shape of my life in my 50s. That means the world to me.

So to answer your question, is yoga enough and should you do it every day? Yes! It’s like brushing your teeth and taking a shower. Try not to skip! Come back and see me in a year and let me know how it has changed your life!

If you would like more insight into this topic, I recommend this book by Bikram Choudhury!

Namaste 

**Pictured above, Barbara Schuette, age 52.