HIIT and yoga can be combined for a effective fat-burning, sweat-inducing workout.
HIIT Yoga classes are broken up into three portions:
- Warm-up with a few minutes of Surya Namaskar (2 to 3 rounds will suffice)
- The HIIT Yoga Session
- Stretch & relax.
Start with a short flow to warm up the body before getting into the tough stuff. The warm-up phase will cover the proper alignments of poses before speeding up on repetitive poses.
Yoga poses for that HIIT Yoga Session
Limbed downward dog to plank
Limbed downward dog to one leg plank pose, followed by 30 mountain climbers / Rest in Downward dog.
Note: Keep the sides of the neck long with the gaze between hands or slightly forward, and maintain an engaged core. Rest.
Step into one leg Tadasana
Limbed downward dog to high crescent lunge, and then step forward to one leg tadasana with lifted leg bent and squeezing into chest with hands coming together in prayer. As you step back to high crescent lunge, reach arms over the head. Repeat 20 times, ending in high crescent lunge, and moving through a vinyasa before rest.
Jump into Malasana
From downward dog step or jump forward to Malasana and then take 10 jump squats. From malasana leap up reaching the hands in the air, landing lightly back in malasana with hands in prayer. Complete this sequence with bakasana into vinyasa, then rest or straight to rest pose.
Forearm Plank
From high plank, place right elbow down where the right hand is, place the left elbow down where the left hand is, into forearm plank pose, then back up one hand at a time. Repeat 5 times, end in rest posture.
Pike Hops
Start from downward dog, take a minimum of 5 pike hops up to 10 maximum, land in downward dog for your rest pose. If you aren’t comfortable hopping from the middle of your mat, you can do so using the wall. Have the hands shoulders-width apart, and as the hands root firmly into the floor take a light hop bringing the shoulders and pelvis to stack the wrists while the knees pull into the chest, and the heels squeeze to the buttocks.
Don’t Forget to Stretch & Relax
After working out for the next 20 mins in the HIIT yoga workout, enjoy a well-deserved stretch, Zen-style, to get your heart rate back to its natural state. The aim of this sequence is to work at high intensity followed by a short period of rest.
For your rest posture, you can take child’s pose or remain in downward facing dog.