How long does it take to see progress from yoga?

Now, let's take that question even further:

What kind of progress are you seeking?

Is it physical strength and physique? Is it a sense of embodiment and calm with emotional and mental strength? Is it to be more flexible or to get into poses with more understanding? Is it to nurture your cardiovascular and heart health?

If any of those jumped out at you, read on...

 

Progress in yoga can mean so much because the word “yoga” is not just a physical practice but rather, a way of living - breathing, moving, caring, thinking, being. In our western society, we have a tendency to associate “yoga” with movement. Really, what we are referring to is “asana” which is the physical practice and the postures and poses they entail. 

 

So, if we’re talking how you can become more *insert goal here* in the asana practice of yoga we can break it down into a few categories: 

 

Deepening the pose & flexibility

To see vast shifts in your poses prepare for 3 to 6 months. Simultaneously, one class in general can help you see visible and visceral shifts in your current state. By learning how to lengthen and soften areas of the body in poses, your alignment becomes stronger and healthier as well as coordination, range of motion and gait. 

Try our Yoga for Flexibility or Yoga Flow classes if this sounds like you!

 

Finding more comfort with understanding the poses themselves

In about 1 to 3 months and with a practice of either a few times a week or just a couple minutes a day, you can embody the poses more consistently without having to go through a massive mental checklist every time. For example:

Warrior 2 goes from

“Okay how do I align my feet again? Oh yeah. Now open up through the hip, bend into the knee, pull the mat apart with my feet - but don’t forget to lengthen the tailbone down and the crown up! Shoulders melt down, but keep arms strong and aligned with energy. Oh! Time to move to the next pose.” 

To

“Warrior 2 - Inhale and Exhale. Take a body scan and adjust. Nice! I've got this.” 

Or something like that. 

Try our Intro to Yoga Workshop or Yoga Fundamentals class to understand the breakdown of poses and become more confident in them, or our Yoga for Flexibility to get into those connective tissues and deepen your poses further!

 

Strengthening the physical body

With consistent practice, studies have shown that you can tone and gain muscle within 6 to 12 weeks. As with any habit building, you need routine and repetition to rewrite your habit structure. Holding poses will increase your strength and certain poses are forms of weight training supporting our own body weight in gravity. Yoga can and will tone muscles, prevent injuries (as long as you learn the poses correctly and listen to your body), boost the immune system and metabolism. It can improve your muscle memory and spatial awareness, allowing you to strengthen your balancing abilities as well. 

Once again, our Sunrise Yoga and Yoga Flow in the afternoon and evening (ranging from 45 minutes to an hour) would be great classes to help with this!

 

Cardiovascular & Heart Health

Yoga helps you to sync up with your parasympathetic nervous system - which encourages your body to come into a state of rest and digest, rather than the sympathetic nervous system -  which causes fight or flight and increases inflammation in the body and stress. Different inversions can dramatically boost your circulation in addition to a healthier spineand improvements can be experienced in just after one class. Long-lasting effects can be seen after a few months. 

Any and all yoga classes we offer is the name of the game here!

 

Stronger Mental Health and Calm within the Mind

You'll see progress in just one class and more. A yoga class can help challenge your mind and spirit, while bringing a sense of awareness, focus and calm within you. In one class you may find you can breathe better, be more open, and have intentional thoughts and movements. It improves your sense of gratitude within and can even change the way you speak to yourself and others. Imagine what a more regular practice could bring to your everyday life! 

Check out our Deeply Relax Yoga or Yoga Slow Down class for a deeper dive!

 

Overall, whether you spend a few minutes in your asana practice a day or take a full class multiple times a week, you will see progress. It depends on being committed to meeting yourself where you're at rather than only trying to get to a certain goal. Everyone is on a different part of their journey and meeting yourself is truly where the real growth lies. Guarantee you’ll surprise yourself with how much growth is possible if you just lean into the moment.