How Often Should You Do Yoga?

Yoga is known for its host of health benefits. Still, like any form of exercise, it’s important to find a balance and avoid overdoing it. The good news is that most people can perform yoga more often than other exercises because it doesn’t put as much stress on muscles and joints.

You should do yoga for three to five days a week, totaling 150 minutes weekly. Keep your yoga sessions between 30 and 90 minutes, depending on how often you participate. Rest days are crucial for recovery, flexibility, and strength. Consider resting every other day, especially if you’re a beginner.

Throughout this post, we’ll discuss whether or not you should do yoga daily, the importance of rest, and how many times you should perform your yoga routine each week. Let’s get right into it!

How Many Times a Week Should You Do Yoga To See Results?

You should do yoga about three to four times weekly to see results. This frequency is within the perfect range for an array of physical and mental health benefits. If you can only do yoga twice weekly, consider stretching your sessions to one hour a piece.

How quickly you see results depends on three factors:

• What type of yoga you perform
• How often you do yoga
• The length of your sessions

Keep in mind that beginners might notice results a bit quicker. People who don’t regularly exercise may get much sorer with faster results due to the sudden lifestyle change.

Is It OK To Do Yoga Every Day?

It’s OK to do yoga every day if you don’t make your sessions longer than 30 minutes. Remember to listen to your body and reduce your yoga frequency if you’re always stiff, sore, or uncomfortable. Still, daily yoga can help loosen your muscles and joints, so it’s more than worth it for some people.

Here’s what you should know about doing yoga daily:

• It’s only recommended for people who’ve been doing yoga for several months or more. Beginners are much more prone to muscle fatigue and soreness, which can hinder performance, making daily yoga detrimental to people who are new to yoga.
• Everyday Health claims light to moderate daily yoga is healthy for most people. This, however, doesn’t include hour-long hot yoga sessions every day. Those determined to do yoga daily should stick to lighter sessions, although mixing in one or two more intense sessions per week is fine.
• Avoid doing strenuous yoga stretches daily, and don’t forget to mix up your routine. It’s important not to repeat the same stretches if you do yoga every day. Consider setting a schedule that you can rely on every other day if you want to stick to the same yoga poses and stretches.

Yoga usually only counts as exercise if you can increase your heart rate. While a regular yoga routine can still give you the same benefits as other forms of exercise, you may want to incorporate additional workouts that keep your heart rate up. 

You have to maintain around 140 beats per minute to improve your cardiovascular health. Read on for more information about planning the perfect yoga routine.

How Long Should Your Yoga Routine Be?

Your yoga routine should be at least 30 minutes, but many people do yoga for up to 90 minutes or more. Do your best not to exceed 300 minutes of yoga each week. Beginners should start with 15-minute sessions rather than hour-long sessions.

According to Eating Well, you should aim for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous exercise weekly. Yoga counts as moderate exercise when performed at a steady pace that keeps you sweating. This means you’ll have to reach for the same routine timeframe as walking and other light exercises.

Your yoga session lengths are directly tied to how often you do yoga. For example, those who perform yoga most days of the week won’t need to do longer sessions. People who prefer two or three weekly sessions will likely have to lengthen each session if they want to fulfill their weekly exercise needs.

Do You Need Rest Days From Yoga?

You need rest days from yoga because it requires a lot of muscle and joint activation. Overworking your muscles and joints can increase the chances of getting injured or remaining stiff. Rest every one to two days for best results: this timeframe ensures optimal recovery.

So, what happens if you do yoga too often?

• You’ll increase the risk of hyperextending your limbs. Doing yoga too often can mean doing multi-hour sessions or performing it daily when it’s beyond your body’s limits. Hyperextension happens when you stretch your limbs too often. As a result, the joints and tendons are weakened, making it harder for them to repair.
• You’re more likely to feel exhausted during your next session, so you won’t get the benefits. Recovery and rest allow your lungs and heart to work much better. If you’re always exhausted, you won’t be able to improve your results. You’ll also feel discouraged since your targets will feel harder to achieve.
• A lack of recovery reduces your flexibility, slowing your yoga progress. Those who perform yoga up to five times a week with two rest days are more likely to improve than those who do it seven days a week. Rest is non-negotiable for anyone doing yoga.

Bulldog Yoga reports that you can perform light stretches on your rest days to prevent your muscles from stiffening. Avoid holding demanding poses or those that make you sweat. You could also go for a walk or a run to keep yourself loose and limber for your remaining yoga sessions.

Final Thoughts

The best way to know how often you should do yoga is to start slow and try it a couple of times per week. Work your way up to 30-minute sessions, then try to get to five days weekly to meet your 150 minutes of exercise. Remember, some types of yoga can be more demanding than others.