The success of a wellness journey can be dependent upon choosing what works best for you and your lifestyle. Whether it’s picking healthy food that you like or finding the right workout environment, tailoring your choices can increase the odds of you sticking with it.
Fortunately, we live in a culture that offers countless options for getting healthy – especially when it comes to where you work out. But, the flip side is that it can be overwhelming to find the right environment for you. From boot camps to corporate gyms to home studios, you can experiment to find just the right option. In this blog, we’ll focus on the benefits of yoga, pilates, and mind-body studios to help you decide if this is the right place for you.
An Alternative to Traditional Gyms
While yoga, pilates and other mind-body options are not new (yoga has been around for thousands of years), they have emerged as wildly popular alternatives to more traditional gym environments and high-intensity workouts. These modalities not only offer increased flexibility, better core strength, and increased joint stability, they also focus on a mind-body connection that can reduce stress and improve mental clarity. Yoga and pilates can also produce transformational results through lower impact moves, making it an attractive option for anyone with injuries or joint concerns.
Additional benefits include:
- Easing of arthritis symptoms
- Reduction of stress levels and inflammation which can benefit your heart
- Promotion of better overall self-care
- Participation in a supportive community
- Boosts muscle which burns more fat
- Little to no equipment is needed
How to Choose the Right Studio for You
The mind-body connection is at the core of both yoga and pilates. Both practices include holding physical poses while leveraging the breath and deep concentration to reap the benefits. There is also a tradition of spirituality, particularly with yoga, that focuses on bringing together the mind, body, and spirit. Depending on what you’re looking for, you may want a studio that incorporates this spirituality as an added layer for your workout. However, as both practices have become more popular, many studios have reduced some of the spiritual aspects and now focus more on the physiological component. And other studios fall somewhere in the middle. The key is finding what suits you best.
Choosing the right studio is just as important as choosing the right gym and each location has its own ambiance, culture, and instructor quality. You can turn to referrals from friends and colleagues, online reviews, or take advantage of free or discounted trials to find the studio that resonates with you. However you decide to vet a studio, it’s important to take your time and pick the right instructor, class, and schedule that will work best for you. All of these factors can help ensure that you stick with your fitness routine.
Cost is another factor that is important to consider. Just like gyms, studios can range in price from medium to high, with costs reflecting the speciality and experience level of their instructors. But at the end of the day, if you like the ambience, instructors, and fellow participants, the cost can usually become the least of your concerns.
A Different Type of Workout
There is no doubt that yoga, pilates, and mind-body work can help you achieve your fitness goals, but it’s important to remember that it will be a different experience than you may be accustomed to. While programs can range from stretching to more aerobic moves, these modalities will typically be lower key and offer a quieter and more relaxing environment (no bright lights or yelling here).
But the important thing to remember is that you’re moving your body, which is always a good thing. And you may find that the benefits of yoga and pilates suit your goals and lifestyle, helping you move leaps and bounds down your fitness path.
At Forge Fitness and Nutrition, we have a team of coaches ready to support and guide you on your wellness journey, whether it’s in a gym or a yoga studio. Reach out today to see how we can help you achieve your fitness and nutrition goals.