Our viewers have been asking us for yoga workouts for a long time now, and because it is something that we have always been interested in trying, we are happily practicing and studying so that we will be able to oblige. In the meantime, this yoga inspired cardio workout is full of some of our favorite loosely yoga-ish stretching and strengthening movements - each one with a bout of bodyweight cardio in between.

Cardio and this kind of mind-body sport are not necessarily a combination of trainings that you often see together, but we don't see why they can't be blended together harmoniously. Technically, any kind of exercise can become a mind-body exercise, as long as there is a focus on breathing patterns, mindfulness, and staying present in the moment. Even strength training can be a centering, meditative mind-body workout if you tweak a few variables.

We are not claiming to be yogi masters, and this is one of our very first yoga workout videos, so bear with us while we learn the ropes of this sort of training. We are interested in learning more about it and making it a more regular part of our own routines because it has been associated with so many health benefits, including lowered blood pressure, increased flexibility, decreased depression and anxiety, just to name a quick few.

This particular cardio yoga workout is great for burning calories at a much higher rate than you would with a more traditional formats of this kind of training, and all of the exercises selected are ideal for getting in a very quick, dynamic, feel-good stretch, all while toning up muscles allover the body. The cardiovascular intervals are good for getting the heart pumping and you may even be able to get of sweat going if you stay focus and push yourself.

Workout Structure
6 Yoga Exercises - 10 Reps of each
30 Seconds of a bodyweight cardio exercise in between each
15 Minutes Total

Exercises in this routine
Jumping Jacks
10 Tricep Push Up + Shell Stretches

Squat + Inside Toe Touches
10 Downward Dogs + Modified Pigeons

Lateral Jumps
10 Warrior Pose Lunges

X Jacks
10 Calf Raise Planks

Squat + Toe Touch Kicks
10 Walkdown Push Ups

5 Mountain Climber Steps + Getups
10 Full Body Stretch + Jackknife Crunches

While these two different kinds of workouts might not be everyone's favorite to combine, part of the benefit from this kind of exercising is the stress relief; adding in a bit of heart pounding cardio can actually help burn off the tension in your body even more.

These are all exercises that encourage a full range of motion in the body, but they are not without a toning benefit; you will likely feel a number of your muscles burning during many of these poses; focus, and practice control over your body in order to maximize the components that will help you firm up.

We estimate that this routine burns roughly 6-8 calories burned per minute, or 90 - 120 calories total. This video would go very well with any of our strength training routines, and could even serve as part of a very gradual cool down for one of our really tough HIIT routines.