WELLNESS
How Long Should You Hold A Yoga Pose For The Best Results?
By MASIE O'TOOLE
Power Yoga
Power yoga is more fast-paced and focuses on muscle movement and flexibility. You should hold postures for a few breaths, quickly moving through the sequences throughout the hour or hour and a half sessions.
Vinyasa
Vinyasa yoga focuses primarily on proper breathing techniques, so you should be linking your movements with your breaths. Depending on the pose, you may have to hold your breath from one to five breaths, roughly for a few seconds to a minute.
Bikram
Bikram yoga is a form of hot yoga that cycles through 26 specific postures over an hour and a half. Each pose has a specific hold time, ranging from a few seconds to about a minute and a half.
Hatha
Hatha yoga classes are often introductory, so the poses tend to be held for longer, allowing the students to develop patience and familiarity with the positions. These poses are often held for a minute or longer, but if that seems too daunting, you can start with 30 seconds per pose.
Iyengar
Iyengar focuses on perfect alignment in poses, but its most well-known characteristic is its frequent use of props. Because this practice is based more on technique and alignment, each pose is held for longer than it would be in a typical class, often between one and five minutes.