After doing the P90X I was in the best shape of my life. I was the leanest I have ever been, my abs looked great and overall I was really toned and cut. Having said that I think there is something even better then getting into the best shape of my life that came out of my trying the P90X and that was being introduced to Yoga.

Before I started the P90X I had never done Yoga, and frankly I thought it was kinda weird and not worth my time. I figured why would I waste my time doing Yoga if I could be lifting weights or doing a cardio workout, it just didn’t seem all that beneficial to me. I will admit I hadn’t researched it much either or really tried to look into the benefits that it provides. Well after I bought the P90X I knew there was a Yoga routine in the program and I was actually looking forward to trying something knew, but I still wasn’t sold that it was all that beneficial. After doing the Yoga X routine just one time, I was sold that Yoga is something I should be doing more often going forward.

Yoga is very beneficial for many different reasons. First off it can help to reduce muscle soreness. After doing a long workout that includes any type of weight training your muscles are filled with lactic acid. Doing Yoga will help to release this lactic acid by the numerous stretches and poses. Getting ride of this lactic acid build up will also help your muscles to recover faster.

Another great thing about Yoga is that it increases blood flow and improves your circulation. When doing any Yoga routine there is a lot of focus on proper breathing and that is because it increases the flow of oxygen rich blood. Many of the poses and postures in Yoga help to relax the sympathetic nervous system, which increases the blow flow by relaxing the muscles around the sympathetic veins. Getting more oxygen to the muscles is only part of the good news, not only will your muscles see an increase in oxygen but so will your brain and all your other organs, which will improve them.

Yoga is a full body workout. When you do Yoga you are working every muscle and joint in the body in most routines. Now compare that to a particular weight lifting routine that is only working one muscle group. On top of working every muscle and joint, you are also working every system, skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular and endocrine.

One last thing I really like about Yoga is that it seems to increase my mental clarity. This might sound weird but I can personally say it is true. After doing a Yoga class or the Yoga X routine I feel relaxed, happy, and calm of mind. I also noticed I sleep better, especially if I did the routine in the afternoon or evening. Yoga has long been said to calm and free the mind of tensions and anxieties and the worries that come from our day to day lives. I can personally say this is true for me, but you have to do your best to clear your mind when you are doing Yoga if you really want to experience the clarify and relaxation that it brings. Tony Horton says in the Yoga X routine that you need to clear your mind of everything you did before you started Yoga that day and everything you need to do after you are done. Taking Tony Horton’s advice is the best thing you can do because if you don’t you wont get the most out of it. Even some very high profile professional athletes have taken to Yoga to help improve their mental clarity and concentration in hopes that it will help them with their athletic performance. Wayne Gretzky, Lebron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Garnett, Michael Strahan, Andy Roddick, Venus and Serena Williams, Shaq, Chauncey Billups, Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray, Tim Thomas, and Barry Zito are just a few of the high profle athletes who say they practice Yoga. One of the main reasons most of them claim to do it is because of the mental clarity that it brings them, which is a bonus to the added flexibility that they experience from practicing Yoga regularly.

Tony Horton in the Yoga X video talks about how because of Yoga he can do things at age 50 he couldn’t do 20 years ago. The first time I heard him say that I didn’t believe it. Now after doing Yoga numerous times I am a believer. It took me many years but I am finally on board with Yoga.