If you have tried kickboxing or Zumba or any other fitness class, the warm-up and cool-down stretching exercises might seem like the ones you did in your yoga class. But does that mean yoga and stretching are the same? The truth is that while a few stretches are identical, yoga and stretching are two different entities. Yoga does stretch your muscles, but it also includes a lot of other factors that separate it from basic stretching. Here is the difference between the two.

Yoga Focuses on Body Alignment

Yoga places a lot of emphasis on your body alignment. In yoga, how you attempt to touch the floor, is more important than whether you can get into the pose or not. For example, you need to keep your spine erect in the majority of the yoga poses. Plus, the practice requires you to work on some degree of balance and flexibility to perform the poses correctly. How to Stand on One Leg: Yoga Tips to Help You Balance Yourself.

You Need to Hold the Yoga Poses For Longer

Stretching has nothing to do with relaxing in the postures. On the other hand, yoga needs you to hold a position for at least 20 to30 seconds. In fact, in certain yoga forms like yin yoga, you need to keep the poses for several minutes, stretching all the connective tissues around the joint. International Yoga Day 2020: Soothing Yoga Poses That Promise Back Pain Relief When You Are Hunched Over a Computer Screen All Day!

Yoga Needs You to Focus on Your Breath

Unlike stretching, yoga requires you to focus on your breath so that you do not hold your breath while you get into the poses. You need to ensure that your inhalation is as long as your exhalation. The only thumb rule is to try not to breathe very deeply or intensely in a yoga pose. National Cancer Survivors Day 2020: How Yoga Can Help Build Strength and Prevent the Deadly Disease From Coming Back!

In the end, while you must stretch to prevent injuries during a workout, the benefits of yoga are many. Apart from stretching your muscles, yoga opens up tight joints and improves core strength. The yoga practice will provide more profound relaxation, and all the combined stretching and breathing makes you more aware.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 10, 2020 03:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).