Yoga guide
Yoga builds some kinds of stamina better than others. It's good for muscular endurance, holding a plank or a chair pose for longer, and brisk, flowing yoga can raise your aerobic fitness a little, especially if you're starting from a low base. But most yoga is light activity, and brisk walking, running, cycling or swimming build aerobic fitness, and stamina in the everyday sense, more.
So use yoga alongside cardio, not instead of it. This guide explains what stamina means, what the trials that measured VO2 max (the most oxygen your body can use) found, how hard different styles of yoga are, what breathing practice can and can't do, including breath of fire, how to combine yoga with cardio, and the tiredness and breathlessness that need a GP. It ends with a 30-minute flow that keeps you moving.
Aerobic fitness is how much oxygen your heart, lungs and muscles can use; endurance is how long you can keep going, and muscular endurance is how long a muscle can keep working. Fitness matters: in 33 cohort studies, each step up in fitness went with a lower risk of death, an association rather than proof.
Hatha yoga is listed at 2.3 METs (multiples of the energy you use sitting still), vinyasa at 2.7 and sun salutations at 3.5, against 4.8 for brisk walking. An hour of beginner hatha yoga was like walking at 3.2 km an hour.
In small trials of people starting unfit, brisk yoga with heart-rate targets, or about 3 hours a week, raised VO2 max by roughly 1 to 4 units (mL/kg/min) over 2 to 6 months. Other trials, of hot or once-weekly yoga, found no change.
Steady endurance training raised VO2 max by about 4.9 and interval training by 5.5 across 28 trials. Where the same older adults were compared, aerobic training raised fitness and yoga didn't.
Push-ups and curl-ups improved more with yoga than on a waiting list, and leg strength improved in older adults, against no exercise and against other activities.
Three weeks of yogic breathing improved lung tests but not running economy in runners. Our searches found no trial showing breath of fire builds stamina, and it's forceful breathing newcomers are advised to avoid.
Aerobic fitness is how much oxygen your heart, lungs, blood and muscles can take in and use; VO2 max is the lab measure, and our VO2 max guide explains it. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends "moderate-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise training for ≥30 min·d on ≥5 d·wk for a total of ≥150 min·wk". In 33 cohort studies of 102,980 people, each 1 MET of extra fitness went with a 13% lower risk of death, an association, not proof.
Endurance is how long you can keep going at a pace before you slow down or stop. Muscular endurance is how long a muscle can keep working: a plank, a chair hold, push-ups. Our guides to increasing stamina and to muscular endurance cover both.
The World Health Organization counts 3 to under 6 METs as moderate and 6 or more as vigorous. The UK guidelines' talk test: "being able to talk but not sing indicates moderate intensity activity". Effort is relative, so what's light for a fit young person can be moderate or vigorous for someone older or less fit, which is why less fit people gain most from brisk yoga (our reading).
The NHS lists yoga among muscle-strengthening activities, and says: "Muscle-strengthening exercises are not always an aerobic activity, so you'll need to do them as well as your 150 minutes of aerobic activity."
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Gentle hatha, yin and restorative classes hold poses for breaths or minutes; vinyasa and power classes link poses to the breath and keep moving; sun salutations are the most continuous part of most classes. Holding builds strength and muscular endurance; moving continuously is what raises your heart rate (section below).
1 MET is the energy you use sitting still. Heart rate rises more than oxygen use in yoga, so heart rate overstates the effort.
Hatha 2.3 METs, vinyasa 2.7, hot yoga 3.0, sun salutations 3.5 and power yoga 4.0, an estimated value, against 4.8 for brisk walking. The Compendium also lists "Yoga, Hatha, high intensity" at 8.0, close to the 8.67 METs measured in 10 minutes of vigorous sun salutations by 20 yoga instructors (in a journal outside the main medical index): short, fast bursts by trained people, not a class.
Across 17 studies, yoga sessions averaged about 3 METs, single poses about 2.2 and breathing practices 1.3. A 56-minute beginner session averaged 2.5 METs, and its sun salutations 2.9; the authors of another lab study concluded hatha yoga "may have little, if any, cardiovascular benefit." An hour of vinyasa averaged 3.6 METs, against 4.4 for brisk walking at a pace people chose: moderate intensity.
In a vinyasa class, sun salutations, lunges, balances and standing poses raised the heart rate more than the opening and resting parts. In community hatha and vinyasa classes, about a third of the time was at moderate intensity by heart rate, and in 45 minutes of power yoga people spent more time in moderate and vigorous heart rate zones than in light.
"Oxygen consumption commonly categorized yoga as a light-intensity activity, while heart rate responses classified different yoga into multiple intensities." Use the talk test rather than your watch.
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Fast sun salutation B used about 19 kcal more over 8 minutes than standard speed. At 1.5 seconds a movement, heart rate averaged 93% of maximum, against 67% at 3 seconds, in 20 active adults. Four rounds of sun salutation reached 80% of maximum heart rate in 6 experienced practitioners.
Small trials, mostly at one centre and unblinded, several in women only and several in journals outside the main medical index (MEDLINE). The VO2 max gains come from brisk yoga with heart-rate targets or about 3 hours a week.
In 173 Hong Kong adults, a weekly class plus about 165 minutes a week of home practice raised treadmill VO2 max by 2.61 in men and 1.33 in women (mL/kg/min), against 0.72 and minus 0.42 on a waiting list. The groups weren't randomised, and the journal is outside the main medical index.
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In 80 inactive women, "a progressive series of Vinyasa Flow poses performed 3 times/week for 60 minutes (40 minutes within the exercise zone of 60-75% HR max)" raised VO2 max by 6.1% (about 2 units) against no training. We could read only the summary.
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In 47 inactive young women with binge eating, an hour of yoga 3 times a week for 8 weeks raised VO2 max about as much as treadmill intervals (about 4 units each), against no change with usual activity. A 2026 trial by the same group found similar gains with yoga and two doses of intervals, with no non-exercise group for comparison.
In 21 young adults, 24 hot yoga sessions in 8 weeks brought "no changes in handgrip strength, cardiovascular measures, or maximal aerobic fitness." In 44 students, once-weekly "high-intensity" hatha for 6 weeks had no effect on fitness.
Pooling walk and step tests from 3 small studies of older adults gave a small effect whose range only just excluded none, and the author called it low. A larger review of 22 trials didn't pool aerobic fitness, and notes that researchers have long used yoga as a non-aerobic comparison.
In 101 older adults, 4 months of aerobic training raised peak fitness by 11.6% while yoga and flexibility work didn't change it; in 26 older adults over 6 weeks, VO2 max rose 24% with aerobic training and 11% with yoga. Both trials are small and old. In younger adults, steady training raised VO2 max by about 4.9 units and intervals by 5.5, across 28 trials.
In 20 active adults, sun salutation B at 1.5 seconds a movement, in two 10-minute sets with 10 minutes of walking between, 3 times a week for 4 weeks, raised VO2 max; the 3-second tempo didn't. It's interval training done with yoga moves, the authors call it "very high intensity for exercise beginners", and the journal is outside the main medical index.
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In 22 adults, hot and room-temperature yoga for 4 weeks didn't differ for VO2 max. Across 43 studies, hot yoga raised heart rate and sweat but not energy use, and claims that it beats other yoga or exercise are "at present unsubstantiated".
In 802 school pupils, an hour of yoga a day for 2 months raised estimated fitness as much as physical exercise. In heart failure, yoga added to usual care raised peak VO2 by about 3.3 units in 3 small trials (74 people), in a journal outside the main medical index; our yoga for heart health guide covers it.
Across 191 studies, yoga lowered resting heart rate (21 comparisons) about as much as endurance training, with results that varied a lot. That's a sign of fitness or calm, not a measure of stamina: in a survey, yoga practitioners and runners both had lower heart rates than inactive people, but only runners and male yoga practitioners had better aerobic fitness.
In the 12-week Hong Kong trial, push-ups rose by about 3.5 and curl-ups by about 2.5 to 3, against little change on the waiting list. In 10 young adults without a comparison group, knee endurance rose 57% after 8 weeks of hatha yoga.
Across 22 trials of people over 60, yoga improved leg strength against no exercise and against walking or other classes. In type 2 diabetes, people managed about 3.4 more chair stands, at low certainty. Our yoga for strength guide has the detail.
Hold chair pose, plank, side plank and warrior III a little longer each week, then add a harder version (our suggestion). Holding poses builds muscular endurance; it keeps your heart rate low, so it doesn't replace cardio.
Three weeks of pranayama, 30 minutes a day, in 11 runners: "Yoga improved FVC and FEV1, but did not significantly impact RE" (running economy); the same runners chose a faster pace at the same effort. The groups weren't randomised, and the journal is outside the main medical index. Lung test numbers also rose in other small studies of yoga breathing, with very different results between them; none measured fitness or race times.
These hand-held devices make breathing in harder. Across 46 studies, "less fit subjects benefit more from RMT than highly trained athletes", and in athletes training improved time trials and sport performance by a moderate amount, without changing lung tests. They're a device, not yoga; our lung capacity guide covers them.
Our searches found no trial of kapalabhati, bellows breath or breath of fire that measured fitness or endurance. In 91 adults, fast pranayama didn't beat slow pranayama or no training for grip endurance between groups. US health advice is that newcomers avoid forceful breathing.
Breathe in for about 4 and out for about 6, with no holds, to settle before and after a session. It calms; it doesn't raise fitness (our reading of the trials above).
A widely shared article says yoga builds endurance, citing 27 medical students whose "self-assessment survey results showed a significant improvement in feelings of peace, focus, and endurance" after six weeks: a feeling, measured without a comparison group, not a fitness test.
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Brisk walking, running, cycling, swimming or rowing on most days, towards 150 minutes a week of moderate activity (or 75 of vigorous), plus strength on 2 days. Yoga can be the strength days, and a brisk flow adds to your activity, but cardio raises fitness more for the time.
In inactive people, regular brisk yoga (3 sessions a week, or a weekly class plus daily home practice) went with gains of about 1 to 4 VO2 max units over 2 to 6 months, in small trials.
None of the yoga fitness trials on this page tested whether doing yoga before or after cardio changes your gains. Gentle yoga after a run is fine; save a hard flow for a separate day if your legs are tired (our suggestion). Our yoga for runners guide has routines.
Use the talk test on the same walk, or time the same route every few weeks. A resting pulse that falls over the weeks is a sign of fitness or calm, not a measure of stamina on its own. Our guide to increasing stamina explains each.
Walking: 20 minutes at a pace where you can talk but not sing (our walk and yoga workout). Jogging: 1 minute easy, where you can talk in full sentences, between minutes of brisk walking (our run-walk intervals for beginners). Standing march: 2 minutes easy, then 3 minutes brisk (our yoga for longevity class). Step jack: "30 to 45 seconds within a circuit, 2 to 3 rounds" (from the move page's dose). Stairs count as vigorous activity on the NHS list.
Sun salutation A: 5 rounds at one breath per movement, lowering with your knees down when you tire; sun salutation B: 3 rounds (both our power yoga workout). Chair pose: 3 holds of 30 to 45 seconds; high lunge: 5 breaths each side; warrior II: 5 breaths each side, twice; goddess: 12 slow pulses (all our yoga strength workout).
3D demoSun salutation A (Surya Namaskar A)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoSun salutation B (Surya Namaskar B)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoChair pose (Utkatasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoHigh lunge (crescent lunge, Ashta Chandrasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoWarrior II (Virabhadrasana II)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoGoddess pose (Utkata Konasana)Beginner · No equipmentPlank: 3 holds of 15 to 30 seconds; side plank: 2 holds of 15 to 30 seconds each side; warrior III: 3 to 5 breaths each side, hands on a wall; locust: 3 to 5 lifts, held 3 to 5 seconds (all our yoga strength workout). Boat: 3 holds of 3 to 5 breaths, knees bent; glute bridge: 10 slow lifts, breathing out as you lift (our yoga for core class).
3D demoStraight-arm plank (high plank)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoSide plankIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoWarrior III (Virabhadrasana III)Advanced · No equipment
3D demoLocust pose (Salabhasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoBoat pose (Navasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoGlute bridgeBeginner · No equipmentSlow breathing: 1 minute before you start, sitting, through your nose with no holds (our power yoga workout), or "At least 5 minutes, done regularly as part of your daily routine" (from the move page's dose). Pursed-lip breathing, if you have a lung condition: "Use it whenever you're breathless or about to do something that makes you breathless." (from the move page's dose). Lying twist: 1 minute each side (our power yoga workout). Corpse pose: "Lie still for at least 5 minutes, up to 10, usually at the end of a session: Yoga Journal's guide suggests at least 5." (the move page's dose).
Our suggestions, unless a source is given.
Kapalabhati ("skull-shining breath", with forceful breaths out) and bhastrika (bellows breath) are taught as energising, but they raised blood pressure and heart rate during practice, and NCCIH advises newcomers against forceful breathing. Leave them out with high blood pressure, heart disease or pregnancy, and learn them from a teacher if you want to try them.
Leave out box breathing, 4-7-8 breathing and held pranayama during or straight after hard effort; they're for calm, not fitness (our suggestion).
Only once 3-second rounds feel easy: the trial's authors call the fast version "very high intensity for exercise beginners".
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The heat doesn't add energy use, and NCCIH advises against hot yoga in pregnancy. Our hot yoga guide covers who else should avoid the heat.
Our editorial plan, built from the UK and World Health Organization activity guidelines, the fitness trials above and our guide to increasing stamina. It's a starting point, not a prescription.
See the movement on the 3D figure: Sun salutation A (Surya Namaskar A)
Start with the stamina flow: about 20 minutes of moving at a talk-but-not-sing pace, built on the one long trial with heart-rate targets and the sun salutation blocks of the fast-tempo trial, at the slower tempo its authors advise for beginners. The walk and yoga, power, vinyasa and sun salutation classes are other brisk options; the strength class builds muscular endurance; the walking and run-walk sessions build fitness faster.
A 30-minute yoga class built to keep you moving: a brisk warm-up, continuous sun salutations and standing poses at a talk-but-not-sing pace, then a slow cool-down.
30 minBeginner13 movesNo equipmentA 45-minute session for weight loss and health: a 20-minute brisk walk, which does more for the scales, then a standing yoga flow for strength and balance.
45 minBeginner12 movesCardio machineA 40-minute power yoga workout: sun salutations, lunges, strength holds, balances, core work and backbends, moving with the breath, then a rest.
40 minIntermediate18 movesStepA 30-minute beginners' vinyasa flow: sun salutations, lunges, standing poses, balances and backbends, moving with the breath at a slow pace, then a rest.
30 minBeginner16 movesNo equipmentA 20-minute flow built on sun salutations A and B, with warrior poses and a short cool-down.
20 minIntermediate8 movesNo equipmentThirty-five minutes of yoga built for strength: long standing holds, slow lowering from plank, single-leg balances and a band row, with harder options.
35 minIntermediate18 movesStep, bandA steady 30 to 45 minute cardio session at talk-but-not-sing pace: walk, cycle, row or cross-train, counting toward weekly activity guidelines.
40 minBeginner3 movesCardio machine, wallA 40-minute walk alternating 3 minutes fast and 3 minutes easy, five times over: the interval walking tested in Japanese trials, built up from three rounds.
40 minBeginner3 movesCardio machine, wallA 30-minute beginner run-walk session: a brisk walk, then 1-minute jogs with 1-minute walks, building to 3-minute runs over your first three weeks.
30 minBeginner5 movesCardio machine, wallA 20-minute yoga cool-down for runners: calves, hip flexors, hamstrings and glutes, one balance pose and a rest, after an easy run or on a rest day.
20 minBeginner11 movesWallWalking and running plans that build up week by week.
A free 8-week walking plan for beginners: build to 150 minutes of brisk walking a week, with intervals, hills and two short strength sessions.
6 training days40 minBeginner5 days a weekA free 30-day walking challenge for beginners: five walks a week, from 10 to 25 brisk minutes, with rest days and a step target built on your own average.
5 training days25 minBeginner3 days a weekA 9-week beginner plan with the same walk-to-run shape as Couch to 5K: three run-walk sessions a week, from 1-minute jogs to 30 minutes of running.
3 training days35 minBeginnerFollow your cardiac or pulmonary rehab team, and check with them before hard intervals; our guides to heart disease, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and asthma cover the details. With asthma, symptoms during exercise are a sign to get your asthma reviewed.
If you have a heart condition, follow your cardiac team's advice on how hard to work, and stop for the warning signs above. People with long-term conditions may wish to ask their specialist before starting. With uncontrolled high blood pressure, avoid straining against a held breath; the high blood pressure guide has more.
See your GP first if you get chest pain, breathlessness or dizziness when you are active, if you have a heart condition and want to exercise harder, or if you have had a fall.
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NICE says people with ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome) shouldn't be offered general exercise programmes or graded exercise therapy, so the advice to keep adding sessions doesn't apply. Our long COVID guide explains how to check for post-exertional malaise (symptoms that get worse after effort) and pace instead.
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Keep up what you already do, but the NHS says it's not recommended to start a new vigorous activity in pregnancy, such as running. Our pregnancy guide has the details.
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Tiredness or breathlessness that's new, or out of proportion to what you're doing, needs a GP, not more training. These are the site's lines from our stamina, energy, anaemia, heart and yoga guides, word for word, apart from the lines given as the NHS's words or marked as our suggestion. This is general information, not a diagnosis. A&E means accident and emergency; in the US, call 911 for 999, and use your doctor's urgent line or urgent care for NHS 111.
Call 999 if:
Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) straight away for severe difficulty breathing (gasping, choking or not able to get words out), a chest that feels tight or heavy, pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw, lips or skin turning very pale, blue or grey, or sudden confusion. If you're more short of breath than usual, or your heart is racing, fluttering or skipping beats, contact NHS 111.
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Call 999 or go to A&E if you have palpitations that don't go away, or that come with chest pain, shortness of breath, or feeling faint or fainting. Call 999 if someone faints while exercising.
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Stop what you're doing and rest. Use your GTN as prescribed, and take another dose after 5 minutes if the first doesn't help. If you still have symptoms 5 minutes after the second dose, call 999. If you don't have your GTN with you, rest, stay calm and call 999.
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Angina symptoms "are often brought on by exercise, stress, emotion or cold temperatures". Get help from NHS 111 if "you have chest pain or other symptoms of angina that come and go".
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If you're more short of breath than usual, have palpitations, or have pain and swelling in one leg.
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If you've felt tired for weeks without a clear reason, or if tiredness, breathlessness or palpitations seem out of proportion to your effort. The NHS also suggests speaking to a GP before you start if you haven't exercised for some time or have a health condition.
You've been feeling tired for a few weeks and you're not sure why; your tiredness affects your daily life; or you feel tired and have other symptoms, such as weight loss or mood changes, or you've been told you're making gasping, snorting or choking noises when you're asleep. If you feel you're suffering from fatigue, "an overwhelming tiredness that isn't relieved by rest and sleep", consult a GP.
Stop and rest if you get chest pain, palpitations, dizziness or breathlessness that's out of proportion to what you're doing, and sit or lie down if you feel faint (our suggestion). Fainting during exercise is a 999 call.
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If a breathing practice makes you dizzy, light-headed or tingly, you're probably breathing too deeply: make the breaths smaller or go back to normal breathing. If you get wheezy or tight-chested, stop and follow your action plan (our suggestions).
A joint pain that is sharp, gets worse during a session, lingers into the next day or changes how you move is a reason to use an easier version, and to see a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps happening (the rule in our plans). Muscle soreness for a day or two after something new is normal. In a hot class, stop if you feel dizzy, sick or unwell; our hot yoga guide lists the signs of heat illness.
You can say no to any hands-on adjustment, and a teacher registered with Yoga Alliance must get your explicit consent each time.
With glaucoma, or high blood pressure that isn't under control, skip headstands, shoulder stands and long head-down holds. With osteoporosis, swap deep forward folds for a flat-back hinge from the hips, and twist smoothly. In pregnancy, our yoga in pregnancy guide covers the changes. NCCIH advises beginners to avoid headstands, shoulder stands, the lotus position and forceful breathing.
The NHS advises getting advice from a healthcare professional first if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or have recently had a heart attack or an operation.
If you have a heart, lung or joint condition, are pregnant or have recently been unwell, start gently and read our guide for your condition. Muscle soreness for a day or two after a new exercise is common and fades as you repeat it.
In the same people, aerobic training raised fitness more than yoga, and cardio raises VO2 max by about 5 units against roughly 1 to 4 for brisk yoga in people who start unfit. In inactive young women with binge eating, yoga matched short interval sessions in small trials; running for the same time would likely do at least as much (our reading).
Our searches found no trial showing it does, fast pranayama didn't beat slow pranayama for grip endurance, and it's forceful breathing newcomers are advised to avoid.
Longer holds build muscular endurance, but holding still keeps your heart rate low; it's continuous movement that raises it.
VO2 max didn't differ from the same yoga at room temperature, and heat raises heart rate, not energy use.
Yoga breathing raised lung test numbers in small studies with very different results, but lung tests aren't fitness tests, and breathing practice didn't change running economy. Our yoga for lungs guide explains what can and can't change.
Heart rate overstates yoga's effort: oxygen use mostly classes it as light, and an hour of vinyasa used less energy than walking at the same heart rate.
The sweat lost in a hot class is about 1.5 litres of water and salt, and the heat doesn't add fitness.
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It builds muscular endurance, and brisk, flowing yoga can raise aerobic fitness a little in people who start unfit, over a few months. Gentle yoga is light activity and doesn't raise fitness much. Walking, running, cycling or swimming build aerobic fitness more.
Styles that keep you moving: sun salutations, vinyasa and power yoga, which reach moderate intensity in their flowing parts. Our 30-minute stamina flow keeps you moving for about 20 minutes.
For your heart and lungs, it's the flow, not a single pose: continuous sun salutations and standing sequences. For muscular endurance, chair pose, plank, side plank, warrior III and boat, held a little longer each week.
No. In the same people, aerobic training raised fitness more than yoga. Yoga is a good partner to running, for strength and recovery, and our yoga for runners guide covers it.
Yoga breathing changed lung test numbers in small studies, but it didn't change running economy. Breathing-muscle trainers help athletes a little. Slow breathing is calming and safe; leave out forceful breathing.
Our searches found no trial showing it does. It's forceful breathing, which US health advice says newcomers should avoid, and it's best left out with high blood pressure, heart disease or in pregnancy.
Yes for strength and muscular endurance, which improved in trials. For aerobic stamina, add cardio. Our yoga for strength guide has more.
In the trials that raised fitness, about 3 sessions a week for 2 to 6 months, with time kept at a raised heart rate. Pair 2 or 3 yoga sessions with cardio on most days, towards 150 minutes a week.
Not that trials show: fitness didn't differ from the same yoga at room temperature. The heat raises your heart rate and sweat, not your fitness.
A little, if it's brisk and regular: VO2 max rose in some trials and not in others. Steady cardio and intervals raise it more, and our VO2 max guide explains the number.
In yoga, heart rate rises more than oxygen use, so heart rate overstates the effort: measured by oxygen, most yoga is light. Use the talk test instead.
If it's new, out of proportion to what you're doing, or you've felt tired for weeks without a clear reason. It can be anaemia, or a heart or lung problem; the warning signs above list what to do.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
