TRX Yoga Now Offered At Palisades YMCA

By Sawyer Pascoe
Special to the Palisades News

Growing up as an athlete, I have done almost every type of strength training and injury recovery program you could imagine.

Yoga is a must to prevent injury and there are variations of styles. I have done almost every type offered, and most recently I tried yoga TRX at the Palisades YMCA.

I was hesitant to try it at first because as a weight lifter, the TRX (total resistance exercise) bands are not something that are part of my routine.

But, trying it with yoga seemed interesting. I have been doing yoga for almost 10 years now, off and on. A common problem when I’m in a yoga class, depending on the pose, is a strain I feel in my knees and back.

Especially when it is a difficult pose, I feel like the stress is not on my muscles, but more in the joints, creating a negative tension.

When I tried the Tuesday class at the YMCA, I couldn’t have been more pleased with how it went.

Poses that normally put stress on your joints were instantly relieved by the use of TRX bands. It allowed me to engage my core and breathe deeper into the muscle without the tension I sometimes feel in regular yoga.

For people who have taken yoga, this class starts as a typical yoga class. You start seated, focusing on your breathing, before moving into child’s pose. From there you go into a downward dog pose—and then it is time for the bands.

Using the TRX for chair, the warrior poses and the more difficult ones, like triangle, really allowed me to get into the right position with no stress on the joint—and to fully breathe into the muscle.

I would say there is a positive tradeoff using the TRX bands for yoga. All the negative stress that is normally put on my body in regular yoga is funneled to positive core work. Going through the poses allows you to engage your core. Warning, most likely your abs will be sore after this class.