Can yoga be used for strength building work?
If you really want to just be a body builder, weight training is a more efficient way to do it, but Yoga tones the entire body. Having one area of the body way over developed while others are not will take the body out of balance and that is the opposite of what yoga is about. Our bodies are healthiest and most efficient when we are fit in a balanced way.
Many yoga poses really do use weights, it's just that our bodies are what provide the weight. If you don't think yoga can give challenge, try standing on your toes and bending your knees with arms in the air for about a minute or two.
However, if you do weight or resistance training, yoga can offer a great counter for that work. Just be sure to do a sequence that is more about restoration than physical challenge.
