Let's first break this word down so we can better understand it .
Function - noun an activity or purpose natural to or intended for a person or thing.
Fitness - noun
the condition of being physically fit and healthy.
So if we put those two together, we are training and strengthening our bodies in positions and movements we use every single day. These exercises are designed to help prepare, strengthen and protect your body from tasks and motions you perform EVERYDAY. For example ; lifting heavy grocery bags from your cart to the car, cleaning your house, snow shoveling, gardening, painting etc... these are all activities that sometimes injure people. "Functional training allows you to strengthen those movements and learn how to move correctly. Like most workouts, functional fitness works to increase strength and flexibility, but it also creates crucial muscle memory that transfers to daily life. This improved mobility can also come with decreased joint pain."
What does all of this have to do with YOGA ???
Physical Yoga Asanas teach us how to move in alignment with our own unique body anatomy. I strive to teach you how to move your body in a safe and correct way in order to gain strength and flexibility. I also incorporate dynamic movement into certain static poses in order to increase functional mobility and balance. Yoga is in my opinion the most effective and efficient way to gain FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH, MOBILITY & BALANCE.
Listed below are my top 5 Favourite Functional Fitness Yoga Asanas :
Plank position - Targets your arms, shoulders, upper back, legs and core
Chair Pose - Targets your glutes, legs, lower back, shoulders and feet and core
Downward Facing Dog - Targets your wrists, shoulders, back, hips, calves and core
Warrior II - Targets your hips, legs, glutes, arms, shoulders, ankles, and core
Low squat - Targets your hips, legs, glutes, back, ankles, and core
If you noticed they all have one thing in common ... CORE
TATA for now -
Yogitheexplorer
Quoted text sourced from ; What Is Functional Fitness? Functional Training Benefits, Exercises (prevention.com)
Comments