Fitness Classes Darwin Region & Online

Fitness classes Darwin: is yoga a real workout?

Want fitness classes in Darwin that also leave you looser, steadier and calmer? Chris once strapped a heart rate monitor on, to see for herself what yoga poses do to the heart. Some poses lifted her heart rate. Others calmed it more than anything but sleep.

Yes, yoga can be a real workout, and you can learn it in the studio at Woolner or Coolalinga, or LIVE online. It builds strength, balance and flexibility, and some poses and flowing sequences also lift your heart rate. We do not say it replaces the walking, swimming or cardio you already enjoy. It adds what they often miss.

Iyengar yoga is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. In the 20th century he did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching, and he pioneered the use of props. It is sometimes called modern classical yoga, and it’s the style we teach at Flametree. This page sits in our men and sport notes, and it applies to everyone.

This note in short form

• Yes, a workout: poses build strength, balance and flexibility, and some lift your heart rate.
• Yoga fit: strong, flexible, steady and calm, all at once.
• Heart rate: arms-overhead poses, sun salutes and repeated Chair Pose raised Chris’s reading the most.
• Honest limit: one review found no clear gain in cardio endurance in older adults.
• Best used: alongside the exercise you already like, not instead of it.
• Start here: your first class is free if you are new to Flametree.

What did Chris learn from measuring her heart rate?

Chris once looked into yoga fitness more closely, and wore a Garmin watch with a chest band while she practised. This was her own testing, not a study. It shows what happened to one practised person, and your own result will differ.

• What lifted her heart rate: poses with the arms lifted above the head, moving sequences such as sun salutes, and repeating a pose, for example Chair Pose several times.
• What settled it: poses such as Bridge Pose and restorative poses calmed her more than anything except sleep.
• A simple guide: if you can feel your heart pumping and your breathing getting deeper, the poses are more aerobic (using more oxygen) than average.

Most of a class then moves to poses that build strength, flexibility, stamina, calm and focus. Stationary standing poses and seated poses do much of that work.

What is yoga fit?

Yoga fit is fitness for the whole person. You get strong, flexible, steady and balanced, with stamina and resilience, and you learn to breathe deliberately so you stay calm and focused. In this view, fitness has three parts: physical, mental and emotional.

• It grows from holding poses calmly and breathing evenly.
• It is helped by some flowing sequences (poses linked by the breath), such as Iyengar flow.
• It means working with both sides of your nervous system: the lively side and the calming side.
• It means doing poses without agitation or strain.

What does the research say about yoga and fitness?

Research finds yoga helps strength, balance and flexibility more clearly than it helps heart and lung endurance. A 2021 meta-analysis (a study that combines many studies) of 12 studies in older adults, by Shin in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, found yoga had moderately positive effects on muscle strength, balance, mobility and lower body flexibility, but no significant effect on cardiorespiratory endurance or upper body flexibility.

That is why we say yoga adds to your fitness mix. It does not replace the heart and lung exercise your doctor may recommend. A yoga class can still be tiring and challenging, which is why good yoga is learnt in small steps, often with props.

For more on how a held pose works the muscles and bones, see yoga for strength. If you are a stiff rider, runner or gym-goer, see yoga for cyclists and male yoga classes near me.

Fitness fades if you stop, so keep it regular

Strength, flexibility and fitness decline within weeks or months if you stop practising. Many people find that regular practice, a few times a week, keeps them where they want to be. If you have a heart condition or any health concern, talk to your yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and your doctor if you wish, before you start something strenuous.

What is Iyengar flow yoga?

Flow yoga links poses together, partly by the breath, so you move more between poses. Iyengar flow keeps the Iyengar attention to correct alignment while it lifts the heart rate, works the inner thighs and other often-forgotten muscles, and ends with poses that quieten the mind and stretch you more.

It suits students who are ready for non-beginner classes. Flowing sequences are taught at non-beginner level, and the teacher adjusts the level so each student gets an alternative that suits them. See the timetable for what is running, and yoga class levels for when to move up.

Why does yoga fitness take small steps?

Because the poses are more demanding than they look. Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana), for example, is learnt after a good deal of beginner yoga, and a block under the hand makes it doable in its early stages. There are several introductory stages for most challenging poses.

Inversions such as Shoulder Stand and Headstand are powerful poses that most conventional fitness classes do not teach. In an Iyengar class you learn them in stages, with props and a teacher, once the basics are sound.

What did Mr Iyengar say about light and practice?

Mr BKS Iyengar compared yoga to a light which, once lit, never dims, and said the better you practise, the brighter the flame. We read it this way: the insight and focus you gain tend to stay with you, even if your physical practice lapses, while strength and flexibility do fade without regular work. It is one more reason to treat yoga as a long game.

Where can I do fitness classes in Darwin or online?

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga in the studio at Woolner and Coolalinga, and LIVE online if there is no studio near you. Online classes work well when the teacher can see you and give feedback. Start with the beginner timetable and join any beginner class. You do not need an introduction course first.

Practise this at Flametree

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga in the studio at Woolner and Coolalinga in Darwin, and LIVE online.

• New to Flametree? Your first class is free. In the studio, just come along. Online, go to our online class list, click the class time you want and we email you the link to join.
• Beginners: new students, and anyone who has been away three months or more, can get a half price 10 class pass with 2 extra classes free, to use online, in the studio, or both. See the beginner half price pass.
• Already practising yoga? The same half price 10 class pass with 2 extra classes free, for new students and for anyone away three months or more, is also available as the non-beginner half price pass.
• See every class time, including online classes, on the timetable.

Can’t make a class? Practise at home with our video courses.

Fitness classes in Darwin: questions people ask

Is yoga a good workout?

Yes, for strength, balance and flexibility, and some poses and flowing sequences also lift your heart rate. A 2021 review of 12 studies in older adults found yoga improved muscle strength, balance and mobility, with no clear effect on cardio endurance, so we see it as a good addition to a fitness mix.

What is yoga fit?

Yoga fit means being strong, flexible, steady and balanced, with stamina and resilience, while breathing deliberately to stay calm and focused. It treats fitness as physical, mental and emotional, not just how hard your heart works.

Which yoga poses raise your heart rate?

In Chris’s own test with a Garmin watch and chest band, poses with the arms lifted above the head, moving sequences such as sun salutes, and repeated Chair Pose raised her heart rate most. This was one person’s testing, not a study, so your own result may differ.

Does yoga count as cardio?

Partly. Some yoga lifts your heart rate and builds aerobic fitness, but a 2021 review in older adults found no significant gain in cardiorespiratory endurance. If your doctor has recommended heart and lung exercise, keep doing it, and add yoga for strength, balance and flexibility.

Can I do yoga as well as my other exercise?

Yes, many people do. Yoga adds the flexibility and balanced strength that other exercise can leave out. Tell your teacher about any injury or health condition, and talk to your yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and your doctor if you wish.

Is Iyengar flow yoga a workout?

Yes. Iyengar flow links poses with the breath, lifts the heart rate and works muscles such as the inner thighs, then finishes with calming poses. It is taught at non-beginner level, with alternatives so each student can work at the right level.

Will I lose my fitness if I stop yoga?

Strength, flexibility and fitness fade within weeks or months of stopping, though the focus and calm you build tend to stay longer. Regular practice a few times a week is the simplest way to keep your gains.

Where can I find fitness classes in Darwin?

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga in the studio at Woolner and Coolalinga in Darwin, and LIVE online. Your first class is free if you are new to Flametree: in the studio, if you have lived in the NT for three months or more, and online, for anyone new. The beginner timetable shows every class.

Can I do fitness yoga online?

Yes. Online classes work well when the teacher can see you and give feedback. Click the class time you want on our online class list and we email you the link to join.

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga in Darwin, at Woolner and Coolalinga, and LIVE online. This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have a heart condition or any health concern, tell your teacher and talk to your doctor before starting something strenuous.

Sources: Shin S, Meta-analysis of the effect of yoga practice on physical fitness in the elderly, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021, doi 10.3390/ijerph182111663. Heart rate observations are Chris Lalor’s own Garmin readings, not a study.