CSN-CommunityPost-Why Dumbbells Are The New Trend In Yoga

Block, strap…five-pound weights?

By Well+Good

Well+Good shares more about this growing fitness trend.

Clear some extra space in your prop piles, yogis—sculpting on the mat is here to stay.

Although it'd be easy to write off classes that combine yoga and free weights as just another clever fitness fad (cat yoga, anyone?), especially given the practice's spiritual side, yoga sculpt classes have become fixtures on the wellness scene. Particularly in Los Angeles, where you'll spy it at hot studios (CorePower, Hot 8) and non-sweaty ones (Red Diamond, Revolution Fitness)—and at established destinations (Earth's Power Yoga, YAS) as well as newer arrivals (Aura,Evoke). It's also happening across the country…

So what's big draw of adding light weights to your flow?

"Weights add a little bit of intensity to a yoga practice and in LA, people are always looking for something that's very challenging," explains Brit Middleton, yoga director at Hot 8, a heated yoga studio with locations in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills. Both locations offer a weighted sculpting class that promises to build lean muscle mass and boost metabolism (at 107 degree temperatures, no less).

Although sculpt classes are different studio to studio, they all blend traditional strength training moves with yoga postures—think bicep curls with your legs in crescent pose, or weighted squats in chair. 

Yoga sculpt classes provide an opportunity to work muscles that students need to have a strong yoga practice—as well as a safe yoga practice—that they might not work in a vinyasa class," says Jen Regenscheid, national sculpt lead at hot yoga brand CorePower, explaining that strength training can reduce long-term risk of injury.

Head over to Well + Good to learn more about the benefits of a yoga plus weights routine.