Healthy body, healthy mind - How yoga can help with that

Asanas, Pranayamas, Mudras and Co. Those who are not yogis or yoginis themselves often have no idea what to make of these terms. Regardless of whether and to what extent the philosophical aspects are taught, most providers have established yoga as a fixed course, because it offers holistic relaxation like hardly any other form of training. It is therefore no longer a trend or a niche offer.

The "Key Data of the German Fitness Industry 2022" show it in black and white: at 71%, yoga and Pilates make up the largest share of so-called special offers for the group of individual studios (less than five facilities per association). For the chains, this figure is even significantly higher (90.4%). The number of specialised yoga studios is also increasing more and more. It is therefore inevitable to take a closer look at this concept, which has become an integral part of the daily training routine of many people.

44 per cent of women and 40 per cent of men in Germany over the age of 18 do not meet the minimum requirements for exercise per week (WHO, 2022). In light of this current and alarming data, any physical activity - whether on-site at the gym or else in the form of digital courses in one's own living room - that fitness and health facilities motivate people to do is worth its weight in gold.

A study from 2021 (Hadaye, Shastri & Salagre) showed that yoga contributes to a significant reduction in stress levels. In addition, it could be proven that the relevant mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure values are also lowered. Accordingly, yoga is a potentially useful supplement to strength and endurance training with a preventive or therapeutic background for people with elevated blood pressure.

Yoga can also help with everyday complaints. For example, the causes of migraine or tension headaches can be counteracted by regular yoga sessions.

Muscle length training offers an attractive way to integrate the positive effects of flexibility training into the members' training schedule. Examples of this are (deep) lunge exercises such as the warrior 1 or side tilts. Here, the position is held statically with long muscle length, which can have a positive effect on mobility.

For ambitious strength athletes, a detour into yoga training is definitely advisable due to the "flexibility training" component, to reach the full range of motion and enable new exercises or technique improvements.

It is not only since yesterday that the fitness and health industry has understood its role in workplace health management as an opportunity for additional income. Many companies that focus on a good work-life balance and offer workplace health promotion therefore already often work in cooperation with studios and offer so-called health days. The broad portfolio of the studios can be presented under the motto "stress management", "mindfulness" or simply "exercise". Group fitness offers such as yoga are a low-threshold offer to attract companies and interested people to the studios. In the form of taster courses (approx. 20 to 30 minutes), interested parties can be introduced to the training and potential new members can be acquired.

Group fitness offers have proven to be "home-tested" at the latest during the lockdown. Yoga in particular was a winner, as it does not require much equipment to conduct a class via livestream. It is therefore not surprising that many providers continue to have digital classes in their portfolio. Target groups that only have a small time budget or have to travel a lot due to their job cannot always attend fixed course dates in the studio. For precisely these members, a digital offer can be of great advantage. As an add-on to regular membership, it can also generate additional income.

Those who want to expand the (course) programme even without digital offers will find further options. For example, yoga is also suitable for personal training, which allows for an even more individual approach to the trainees. Small group training in particular offers the possibility to compile the content according to the respective target group or to deliberately mix it. Depending on the conditions in the studio or the size of the team, special offers can be made for beginners, for people with complaints (e.g. back or pelvic floor training) or with a stronger philosophical focus. But also a change of location to outside - especially in the warm months - provides variety.

It is now well established that exercise during pregnancy has positive health effects for the expectant mother and the foetus. Yoga in particular is often recommended for this target group, as there is no high risk of injury or falling as with contact or martial arts, for example.

Nevertheless, some "exercises are unsuitable for pregnant women because they put more strain on certain joints or require a lot of balance. In a course specifically for pregnant women ... [such exercises should be] omitted or modified." (Ferrari, 2022). For this, it is worthwhile to carry out special further training measures for this target group in order to be able to offer an adapted and safe training.

Sources:

DSSV e. V. – Arbeitgeberverband Deutscher Fitness- und Gesundheits-Anlagen (Hrsg.). (2022). Eckdaten der deutschen Fitness-Wirtschaft 2022. Hamburg: Hrsg.

Kummer, J. (2022). Klassisches Dehntraining war gestern. fitness MANAGEMENT international, 4 (162), 110–112.

Mächler, A. (2022). Praxistipp: Gesundheitstage. fitness MANAGEMENT international, 2 (160), 108–110.

Rosenberger, F. (2022). Frakturrisiko im Training. medical fitness and healthcare, 01/2022, 72–74.

For a complete literature list, please contact [email protected].

The article was previously published by Fitness Management.