I love before and after pictures! I find them motivating and encouraging! Today, I will share my 1-year yoga transformation by sharing some before and after progress pictures. I will start by explaining what you can expect during your yoga journey and how to get the best results. Then, we will look at pictures of my flexibility and body composition transformation. Don’t forget to check my 2023 update to learn more about what can happen when you do yoga every day for a year.
Yoga Benefits
People often assume that you have to be flexible to do yoga. Not at all! As you will see in my before and after progress pictures, I was far from flexible when I started with yoga. Flexibility will come with practice. Moreover, you will notice that yoga will help you:
- gain more awareness
- reduce aches and pains
- feel and look stronger
- looking toned
- experience your workouts rather than endure them.
It is the perfect all-in-one activity that addresses everything within your overall well-being.
Read Top 5 Flexibility Benefits I Personally Experienced After 40 to discover more yoga benefits. There are many styles of yoga. My yoga practice was more of an asana practice to improve my strength and flexibility. You may also enjoy learning about how mindfulness that comes with daily yoga will benefit you.
How Long After Doing Yoga Do You See Results?
How long after doing yoga do you see results? It depends on how often you do yoga and how long your sessions are! If, like me, you do yoga every day for about 30 minutes, you will see results within 4-12 weeks. Imagine! In four short weeks, you could witness your transformation!
How Often Should You Do Yoga to See Results?
In my post The Mind/Body Connection: How Your Emotions Affect Your Health, I explain that only 30 minutes three times a week of moderate activity (like yoga) is enough to reduce anxiety and depression. However, you will need to train more frequently if you want to see actual results regarding your flexibility and body composition. As you will see in my Before and After Pictures, one year of 30-minute sessions 5-6 times a week made a massive difference in body composition. On the other hand, 15 minutes focusing on flexibility 5-6 days a week will enable you to reach flexibility levels you never thought possible.
How to Train for Maximum Results
The key is to pick your focus and stick to it. If you are brand new to exercising, start with flexibility training only. All you will need is 15 minutes a day. It’s harder to make excuses because it is a small amount of time. Furthermore, flexibility training can be pretty enjoyable (even for newbies) when you listen to your favorite tunes or watch your favorite TV show as you exercise. As you advance in your practice and learn to love yoga, you will naturally want to exercise more. Then, start adding sessions to focus on your strength and body composition. I like to focus on strength in the mornings and flexibility training in the evenings.
My Full-Body Flexibility Transformation program makes the process as simple as possible because I created some quick 5-minute strength workouts you can tack on to your flexibility training whenever you feel like it. Plus, my program is designed to grow with you. Stage 1 is based on quick 15-minute sessions, while stages 2 and 3 include longer sessions to achieve more advanced goals.
1-Year Yoga Flexibility Transformation
When I started stretching daily, my first flexibility focus was doing the splits. I wanted to do the front splits. I also wanted to be able to do the wheel pose (a deep backend), the standing splits, and the pigeon pose. I do yoga every day. At first, it was 15-30 minutes, but I do at least one hour most days. Like me, you may grow to love it so much that you want to do more.
Front Splits Progress Pictures
Let’s start with the front splits since they were my main focus when I started with yoga. I started stretching for the splits in January of 2021. However, I wasn’t consistent at first, and I didn’t have a strategy. I was very inflexible, and I remember feeling that first stretching session! In late Spring, I purchased a splits program, and things changed. I started stretching daily for at least 15 minutes.
Wheel Pose Progress Pictures
The wheel pose has become one of my favorite poses. I didn’t realize how energizing backends were until I started doing them! You will feel a flush of energy after a back-bending session.
I love this Reel to demonstrate my 1-year wheel pose transformation.
When I started working on the Wheel Pose, I felt limited by my back flexibility and arm and shoulder strength. As I improved both, I noticed I had to open my shoulders and chest more. However, it’s all about practice: the more you practice your backends with the wheel as a peak pose, the quicker you will see improvement.
Standing Splits Before After Pictures
Your standing splits will naturally improve as you work on your splits and your leg strength. You also need some balance to get deeper into the pose.
My before picture dates from when I created my Full-Body Flexibitily Transformation program, which I will keep updating for you (thanks for lifetime access!).
Dancer Pose Before After Progress Pictures
Like your standing splits, your dancer pose will improve as you improve your overall yoga practice. You will need to work on your backends and leg flexibility to get deeper into the pose.
Pigeon Pose Before and After Progress Pictures
I love the King Pigeon and aim to grab that foot with my hands. I love how it opens up your shoulders, back, and legs! Such a multipurpose pose!
1-Year Yoga Transformation Weight Loss
I love learning from different instructors and always keep an open mind to transform my yoga practice. One piece of advice I often see is that yogis should consider weight lifting to increase their strength and body composition. I have not seen the need for weightlifting so far. I still get sore from my yoga workouts, and I see how it improves my strength and builds my muscle mass. Maybe his advice applies to very advanced yogis? It also greatly depends on the type of yoga workouts one chooses, but most women over 40 will see incredible results from yoga alone.
Your daily yoga practice will result in a body transformation! See how yoga has transformed my body (the first picture was from when I was done losing weight and before I started doing yoga:
1-Year Yoga Mind Transformation
Another benefit of yoga to remember is that it is an excellent mindfulness tool. Honestly, I didn’t start practicing yoga to improve my body awareness. I started because I wanted to be able to do cool poses and feel/look strong. However, I quickly discovered that it caused me to start paying attention to my breath and posture throughout the day. I noticed I was holding tension, and I learned to release it. Gradually, my practice changed and became an experience. I was no longer just about the poses but my awareness and the yoga flow.
I DID YOGA EVERYDAY FOR 365 DAYS / 1 YEAR TRANSFORMATION
In Summary
Before I started this yoga journey at the age of 43, I thought yoga was boring. I also thought it wasn’t something you did to get in shape but rather a mindfulness exercise. I realize it encompasses every aspect of a healthy mind and body. The key is to pick routines suited to your goals. Give it a try! You will not be disappointed! A great place to start is my free 5-Day Yoga Habit Challenge.
