Moderation in all things

In sports training, in yoga asana, and most broadly in life, stress is not the enemy: it is the tool for adaptation. Without stress, we would never grow.

Stress is the stimulus that encourages us to respond on the cellular and organic levels to become stronger and more resilient. But stress must be met with equal attention to rest, so that the body can recover adequately.

Type-A personality students are familiar with the stress part of the equation; type B’s may be more drawn to the rest side. It’s important to find the right balance.

While yoga can help you excel in your other activities, if you don't balance stress and rest, strength and flexibility, you risk injury and limit your progress.

We need stress to create change in the body—this is exercise physiology’s principle of overload. The key is to apply the right intensity, duration, and frequency of this stress and to give the body time to recover and adapt to the stress with super-compensation.

A gentle or restorative practice may serve you better than sweating through a challenging vinyasa class. Conversely, don’t expect to see progress without adding judicious amounts of stress to your routine.