Power Yoga

Today I tried out a much-hyped studio that offers power yoga. Power yoga is a hybrid form of vinyasa yoga that grows out of the Ashtanga tradition, cultivating the physical benefits of yoga.

Typically, one of the primary purposes for doing yoga is the focusing of the mind. Beryl Bender Birch, one of the first proponents of power yoga says, "the idea behind the physical practice of yoga is to encourage a deeper mind-body awareness ... [improving the] physical body helps bring clarity and focus to the mind as well."

However, at this studio, top 40 pop and R&B music blared from the speakers while we practiced, preventing any clearing of the mind. While the music was fun to listen to, it distracted the focus from the breath and perhaps inhibited body awareness, as our minds were on the music rather than our actions on the mat.

One of the main differentiations of this type of yoga from traditional yoga was the pace. The teacher led us through the sequences at a tempo significantly quicker than even Ashtanga yoga, a very athletic form of yoga. Although the instructor cued the breath, if a practitioner were breathing at that rate, she would likely hyperventilate. As a result, movements were not linked to an inhale or exhale, which usually typifies most vinyasa practices.

Another disadvantage to this faster rate of movement is the sacrifice in alignment. Most practitioners (this was a mixed-level class) cannot achieve proper alignment when their bodies are changing shape at such a rapid pace. Safety is a huge concern. Unfortunately, in this class, the teacher practiced along with the students, with her back to the class. She was not monitoring the students for good form, or even able to make verbal corrections as she could not see the students.

Moving at such a quick pace made for a good aerobic workout, however. Our heart rates increased, and we were definitely burning calories. Yoga is still a low-impact activity with a moderate intensity, so the calories burned are going to be less than a high impact activity like running for the same period of time.

Power yoga does have some strength building components to it as well, leveraging our body weight to perform planks, push-ups and balance work. These exercises will certainly make a difference in your body over time, especially compared with a sedentary individual, but the strength gains are going to be less than doing a traditional strength training program with resistance.

Lastly, the room was heated to approximately 90-95 degrees, increasing the flexibility of the muscles. Warm muscles are more relaxed and have increased range of motion. However, it is unclear to me to whether significant gains in flexibility can be sustained after the class since the poses were not held for any length of time.

For me, power yoga was enjoyable as an aerobic workout, an alternative to using the elliptical or going for a run on a "rest" day. I really don't consider it true yoga, since to me, one of the primary goals of yoga is relaxation and focusing on the breath, which was completely absent from this practice. Still, power yoga is a fun way to burn calories and maintain muscle tone.Follow @catherinederrow