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The Difference Between Athletic Yoga and Yoga for Athletes

By Amanda Kohr, Wanderlust, 01/23/19, 12:00PM PST

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“Athletes need that constant reminder that they aren’t there to be the best at yoga but to use yoga as a tool to help them be better at their sport and their health to support that,” 

Many of us (myself included) head to a yoga class for a workout as challenging physically as it is mentally. Programs like Power Sculpt, HIIT Vinyasa, and Cardio Flows are rapidly populating yoga studio schedules everywhere. In a world that celebrates productivity and “killing two birds with one stone”, the possibility of getting a mental check-in as a well torching some calories seems like a pretty sweet deal.

And so it’s not surprising that yoga has shifted from being a form of physical therapy to being straight-up exercise. But let’s not neglect to explore the therapeutic benefits of yoga—especially in regarding to assisting body pain or helping to move along injuries.