{"id":560180,"date":"2026-07-21T04:51:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T04:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/560180\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T04:51:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T04:51:18","slug":"why-yoga-is-not-the-soft-exercise-option-according-to-expert-simon-ngo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/560180\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Yoga is not the soft exercise option, according to expert Simon Ngo"},"content":{"rendered":"

A forgotten art, yoga<\/a> has long been thought of as the \u201csoft option\u201d in the fitness world.<\/p>\n

Originating in ancient India<\/a> as a spiritual practice, it was used to connect the mind and body<\/a> to attain liberation.\u00a0When it was brought over to the West, people used it as an easy yet effective exercise<\/a> and an escape from their stressful<\/a> lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Simon<\/p>\n

Many assume yoga is a \u201csoft\u201d workout option, but that\u2019s a misconception.\u00a0Supplied<\/p>\n

Over the years, its popularity has fallen away, but not because it is too soft. In fact, the reason is quite the opposite, according to Simon Ngo, director of Pilates<\/a> and Yoga at Flow Athletic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need a little bit more grit to do yoga and Pilates,\u201d he tells nine.com.au.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ngo says most people who get into yoga \u201calmost always take back what they have said\u201d about it being \u201ca soft option\u201d.<\/p>\n

Oftentimes, instructors will push the barriers of students, making them hold poses, pulse or hold their breath longer than they are comfortable with. <\/p>\n

This really \u201ctests out our physical<\/a> and mental endurance, and how hard we are, inside and out,\u201d Ngo explains.<\/p>\n

It may \u201cjust\u201d be static, isometric contraction, he adds, \u201cbut man oh man, it does get muscles to turn on.\u201d This often makes people break a sweat as they eventually increase their range of motion and become more flexible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always room for more variations that are usually unexpected,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Alongside the physical health<\/a> benefits are, of course, the mental and emotional ones, which is what attracts many to the practice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Simon<\/p>\n

Simon Ngo says people who get into yoga \u201calmost always take back\u201d their dismissals of it as a tough workout.\u00a0Supplied<\/p>\n

But what was originally an appealing part of the practice has turned many away, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, Ngo says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the lockdown, many businesses had to go back to the basic modalities of the practice as they relied on livestreams to reach customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when people started to realise \u2026 \u2018if I just take away all the fluffs, all the fancy Lululemon outfits, all the handstands, all the kombucha and whatnot [and] go back to basics\u2019 \u2026 the very principles of yoga itself are very simplistic, and it\u2019s calling for a little bit of confrontation and honesty,\u201d Ngo says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think yoga has the ability to make people wake up to that phrase, \u2018The way we do one thing is the way we do everything\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ngo takes the example of feeling good when holding a particular pose. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe shape itself has zero meaning. Whether you do it, whether you don\u2019t do it, whether the shape exists tomorrow or no longer exists, it has zero meaning. It\u2019s just there,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"Simon<\/p>\n

Lockdown changed attitudes to yoga.\u00a0Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are the ones who apply particular meaning or effects of the poses because we like it, because we hate it, and all these narratives that we attach to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think yoga has the ability to make us wake up to [the fact that] if you just show up and have zero attachments [and]\u00a0zero expectations, then maybe life could be a little bit more unbothered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can be more peaceful with ourselves and life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once people realise this brand of yoga, despite being \u201ceasier\u201d physically, is not for the faint of heart, they start to turn to more physically demanding and high-intensity exercises \u2013 not that there\u2019s anything wrong with that, says Ngo.<\/p>\n

\"Simon<\/p>\n

Regardless of what you do, try everything and make sure it\u2019s right for you.\u00a0Supplied<\/p>\n

Regardless of what form of yoga you take on, Ngo says you should \u201cbe ready to figure out what actually sparked joy for [you] to move [your body], and to have consistency.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause at the end of the day, no matter what you do, whether it\u2019s running, whether it\u2019s yoga, Pilates, without consistency, there are no results.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A forgotten art, yoga has long been thought of as the \u201csoft option\u201d in the fitness world. Originating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":560181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[499,103,61,60],"class_list":["post-560180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=560180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/560181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=560180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=560180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=560180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}