Cardio + Yoga - not as weird as you would think

So... this Saturday is the start of our fitness classes at the dojo. It's been a few months in the making, since I got my AFAA certification this February. I'm thrilled at the opportunity, and little nervous, but I think it's going to be great.

When I was initially discussing what I would teach with my sensei, I went through a lot of different ideas: yoga, cardio dance, cardio kickboxing, tae bo... there were lots of different possibilities. And certainly there were many different requests coming from the moms I had been talking to about a class. But what to do? I knew there was no real ability for me to do Zumba, dance or step classes, since I'm still repairing damage to my knee¹. I can do pilates and/or yoga without much issue (since I've been doing that for YEARS), but yoga routines that elevate heart-rates can be tricky, and inexperienced yogis have a high ability to hurt themselves with more advanced poses. "Basic cardio," what we used to call Aerobics, works well, but needs something more to gain the flexibility needed.  It looked like I was going to have to come up with my own blend.

So I decided on a blend of cardio and yoga. Here's my thoughts on the format:

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advocates that adults who want to reap the rewards of exercise should commit to at least 150 minutes of steady-paced cardio or 75 minutes of up-tempo cardio every week. Cardio exercise is ideal to perform three to five times per week, rather than daily, as the days off give your muscles time to recover.²
• In the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, researchers found that movement-based yoga practices like hatha, vinyasa, and Iyengar lowered risk factors including high blood pressure, body weight, body mass index, and cholesterol.³
• Cool-down and stretching is very important to building cardio fitness. Skipping cool-down or stretching can result in blood pooling and/or cramps, and gives the body a transition period back to normal activity levels. ⁴

With that in mind, I've been hard at work devising a workout that will incorporate all the good bits of a workout with some fun, and maybe a little boxing/self-defense thrown in. And all in under 50 minutes. 

If you'll excuse me, I'm off to make a playlist. ^_^

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1. I have a strict: "do as I do," policy, so if I can't demo it to you (in some meaningful way), I'm not going to have the class do it.. it's just a thing I do.
2. from http://www.livestrong.com/article/242859-can-you-do-cardio-exercise-everyday/
3. from http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/yoga-compares-cardio-exercise/
4. from http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/healthy-living-article/59/3683/five-reasons-you-shouldn-t-skip-your-cool/