Power Yoga’s Dirty Little Secret
August 6th, 2009 | 
Author: So, as you know I’ve been a power yoga junkie for years, I’ve argued for many of these years that the only way to inner peace is for me was to kick my own butt physically. Fast forward to 2009, I’ve had on again, off again, issues with my levator scapulea for years. After my most recent shoulder and neck issues I’ve taken a moment to look at what power yoga is doing to my body.
This isn’t a “look how big my muscles are” post, but that is part of it. As I looked in the mirror I couldn’t help but notice how large my anterior deltoids are becoming, along with well defined triceps, yet the posterior deltoids are almost non existent. Doing a little pondering I realized that once I made the transition from a good balanced flow to a power style with an emphasis on inversions, floating, and power arm balances, I lost the whole isometric toning benefits of a daily practice. I realized that “floating” was a mixture of a pushup and a military press. Thinking in these gym terms, I realized that everything we do in yoga would be what I would consider a “chest and tri” day at the gym. All activities are forward facing lifting and lowering the body against gravity, so in effect my crow to handstand was basically giving me a 170lb military press (great for the anterior deltoids and triceps).
I’ve asked my fellow yogi’s and teachers the same question: ”what in a power yoga class is the gym equivalent of a back & bi day”?
I can’t come up with anything that is the muscle building equivalent of these chest and triceps exercises. The great part of this question is that EVERY single one of the yogi’s that I asked first responded wholly and fully that the back and biceps were worked just as much as the chest and triceps… Then after thinking about it each came back to me and agreed, there is indeed nothing that builds these muscles the same way.
All of this is to get to two places:
1) Can anyone out there give me a better argument for what builds “back & bi” muscle (hint, holding the arms in warrior 2 does not build your biceps or back muscles, it tones, and strengthens them, but does not build bulk of any real measurable value)?
2) If power yoga is a great alternative for a “chest & tri” day, what about the “back & bi” day?
Think about it and let me know your thoughts.
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I can speak from the Forrest practice that we do things that hit bis & back like:
shoulder shrugs for the upper back; chaturangas with the shoulders blades pulled down the back & all cobras/up dogs from back strength pulling the chest THROUGH bent arms which also turns on biceps as well as tris; boat (known outside Forrest as locust) works the back brilliantly, as well as any other back bend if done lifting up & out of the pelvis while squeezing shoulder blades together… also turbo dog with wrapped shoulders (like a down dog with the elbows bent to the floor and shoulderblades broadened to activate serratus anterior).
Oh, and you relax your neck the whole time, which helps alot with the levator scapulae issue.
It’s all about different technique, rather than different poses, if that makes sense. Crow up into an inversion for me is about core/ab strength much more than arm/chest strength, eg.
Help at all?
all kinds of good wishes,
E.