Feb 24

Feb 24 Incorporating Yoga into Your Workout Routine

I am a CorePower Yoga Ambassador. All opinions are my own.

LMents of Style uses affiliate links. By clicking on certain hyperlinks and buying a product, you may help me make a small commission from your purchase. It's links like these that keep this site going. Thank you for your support!

As a dedicated yoga goer and being a CorePower Yoga Ambassador, I make it a point to cover at least one yoga practice topic a month on LMents of Style! I try to attend class at least 3 times a week if not more, so it is verrrrry much a part of my lifestyle. I polled you on Instagram the other day and asked if there were any new topics you’d like for me to cover. I’ve already shared how much CorePower costs, how to improve your chaturanga, what to expect from your first CPY class, and more; BUT, something I haven’t covered is how to incorporate it into your workout routine. Thanks for asking the question! I love hearing what you want to know.

Did you know that you can work out too much? As a recovering cardio bunny, I know this all too well. For starters, you can injure yourself. I myself didn’t listen to my body and strained my aductor (near the abductor) and developed severe runner’s knee. You can also mess up your adrenals to where working out doesn’t “work” anymore. Meaning that you start gaining weight among other things. CRAZY I KNOW.

incorporating corepower yoga into your workout routine, lments of style, low impact workouts, ellemulenos, la blogger, malibu, everlane perform leggings, bkr water bottle glass

Everlane leggings (c/o) | BKR Tutu Liter Big Water Bottle | Aerie Floral Bra (old, similar here)

I know I genuinely love yoga - it makes me feel mentally and physically wonderful; but, 1) I truly think everyone would be better off if they practiced some form of yoga and 2) Yoga is a wonderful low impact workout that won’t shoot your adrenals! You see, when I ran, I would go at least 3 miles a day, didn’t stretch much because I was naturally flexible, anddd didn’t really take rest days. All BAD BAD BAD. If you love running, I’m not saying stop. I’m just saying work a little low impact flex and flow into your weekly routine.

“How often do you practice yoga” is a question I get a lot. I live walking distance to a CorePower Yoga, so I pretty much have zero excuses not to go. My current cadence is to go every single weekday, so 5 days a week. If I’m traveling, I may or may not hit that goal, but I do try to do my favorite yoga stretches in the absence of class. On the weekends, I have been enjoying a run or a hike on Saturday and then try to take a rest day on Sunday. I’ve been doing pretty good with going to yoga every week day, but sometimes I swap a day for an outdoor run instead. Don’t get me wrong - I love a good weekend yoga class, whether it is Saturday morning or a Sunday night! Those days I just typically try to do something active with Nick and yoga isn’t his favorite. SHAME I KNOW.

Okay so how to incorporate yoga into your workout routine?! First of all, you know your body and what you are capable of. Don’t push too hard and end up hurting yourself. Most people I know who do HIIT classes or run, do this at least 3 days a week. I know you typically burn less calories in a lower intensity workout, but they are still good for you and 100% necessary! You are still moving your body, so just go with it. Your body will choose to slow you down eventually if you don’t. I typically burn over 300 in CorePower C2 and high 300s or over 400 in CorePower Sculpt. When I did OrangeTheory, I burned high 400’s or over 500, and when I did boxing, I burned north of 700 calories. Those number don’t matter to me. I just wanted to share them because I know some people are really fixated on that number and it should not be the focus. The point is that I feel healthier now than I ever have (besides my ulcerative colitis) and I’m not doing a lot of crazy high intensity stuff. Back to the question… if you’re doing your heavier workouts 3 times a week, try slipping in yoga or another low intensity workout 2 times a week. If you go every day, you should at least be taking a rest day, so try doing yoga on that day. Just 1 day a week. Your body will like it, I promise.

All this to say, do not hear me say that CorePower Yoga is easy. IT IS NOT. Some classes are easier than others, but that has more to do with how I’m feeling, not with CPY itself. If a teacher is easier for you than another, just modify poses to make them more challenging. DO YOU! My short and sweet answer to incorporating yoga into your workout routine is to just start! Look up some YouTube videos on flows and go from there. Find a good studio once you feel ready or just head to a local studio first! They are literally there to help you. If there’s not a CorePower Yoga near you, they also have online classes! You can get your first week of CorePower On Demand FREE and only $20 a month after that or $200 a year. You can save $40 if you choose the latter. When I began my yoga journey, it was not an everyday thing. It was a once a week thing. Then it became a twice a week thing, then a three times a week thing, and so on.! I gradually began to see the impact of practicing every day and grew to love the benefits, so making it more of my week just made sense! Remember, moving your body at all is better than nothing. Even it means you just do a quick downward dog before bed. Do the best you can and let everything else fall into place!