At Ompractice, we have dozens of teachers providing over a hundred diverse, live classes per week. Some classes are vigorous and will get you sweaty, like our Power Yoga classes, while others are so gentle that your smart watches might even think you’re asleep (no, Oura ring, I was not sleeping during my meditation class!).
With this range of intensity options, it’s natural to wonder which type of class is the best. Is it better to relax with a gentle breathwork, or is working up your heart rate with a high-intensity vinyasa class the way to go? Like most things, it depends: both gentle and vigorous classes have health benefits, and sometimes a combination of both is even the way to go.
Vigorous (High Intensity) Exercise
The benefits of vigorous exercise are pretty straightforward. Higher intensity aerobic exercise that increases your heart rate can lower the chance of cardiovascular events (like heart attacks) and improve blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and aerobic capacity.
In addition to the cardiovascular benefits, vigorous exercise also results in a more calories burned, an elevated metabolism, and quicker weight loss because the harder your heart is working to transport oxygen around your body, the more energy your body needs. In fact, higher intensity workouts lead to something called Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) where your body continues burning calories at a higher rate even after you’re done exercising.
As if these physiological benefits were not enough, vigorous exercise also appears to improve mood. A 2015 research study examined the relationship between activity intensity and depressive symptoms in a population of 12K Korean adults. This research demonstrated that strenuous activity led to a significant reduction in depressive symptoms.
Lastly, these health benefits add up to lower mortality rates. A 2015 research study that followed over 200K people for over six years found that higher intensity exercise was correlated with lower mortality rates. A more recent 2021 research study that examined data from over 400K adults similarly found that when vigorous exercise accounted for more than 50% of a person’s total exercise, individuals had a “17% lower all-cause mortality.”
To summarize, the benefits of high intensity activity can include:
- Improved heart health (like blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and aerobic capacity)
- Reduced risk of cardiovascular events
- Increased caloric burn and weight loss
- Improved mood
- Reduced mortality rate
Gentle (Low Intensity) Exercise
While vigorous exercise offers many benefits, it’s not the only path! For many, including those with injuries, chronic health conditions, or mobility restrictions, gentle movement provides an accessible and effective alternative. The good news is that while low-intensity activity doesn’t get your heart rate up in the same way that more high-intensity activity can, there are still ample health benefits.
Just like higher intensity workouts, gentle workouts can improve mood, increase fitness, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. A 2015 meta-analysis of 15 selected studies found that low-intensity exercise can improve flexibility, balance, muscle strength, and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, not only does low-intensity activity have a number of health benefits, but there are a variety of exercises and modalities to choose from, each with their own slew of upsides.
Tai Chi and Qigong are popular forms of gentle exercise that are commonly recommended for cancer patients and aging populations. Multiple studies have found that Tai Chi exercise can improve arthritic symptoms, balance, and range of motion (2004, 2003). There is also evidence to show that Tai Chi might slow bone loss in postmenopausal women (2012, 2004). Other studies yet showed that Tai Chi is a safe exercise for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) patients that likely results in improved pulmonary health (2016, 2013).
Meditation is another gentle modality with a multitude of research-backed health benefits like reduced stress and anxiety. A 2017 meta-analysis showed that meditation reduced physiological markers of stress, like cortisol levels, blood pressure, and heart rate. Likewise, a 2014 meta-analysis showed that transcendental meditation helped reduce anxiety. Other notable benefits of meditation include improved sleep, pain management, and attention spans.
Lastly, gentle yoga also offers a host of health benefits, including balance, heart health, and better sleep. Yoga has also been found to reduce pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. A 2022 study on cancer survivors found that restorative yoga improved “cognitive function in areas such as problem solving and memory” (that is, fluid cognitive function), even outperforming vigorous yoga in terms of total cognitive improvement.
To summarize, the benefits of low intensity activity can include:
- Improved balance and flexibility
- Reduced depression, anxiety, and stress
- Improved cognitive function
- Improved pulmonary health
- Better sleep
Intensity at Ompractice
At Ompractice, finding a class at the right intensity for you is as easy as filtering the class schedule (instructions here). And, while we make a distinction between gentle, moderate, and vigorous classes, we also make distinctions between the different sub-types of gentle classes.
For example, we know some folks might have mobility issues that prevent them from doing certain exercises, and so we even differentiate between gentle classes that are completely still, gentle classes that have movement but are seated, and gentle classes that require slow, often sustained movement.
Furthermore, to encourage folks to explore these class types, we even offer challenges that cater to each type of intensity. In September 2024, we launched both The Kenny (focused on power yoga classes) and The Marybeth (focused on gentler classes).
How hard are these classes? As one might expect, gentle classes are typically a little easier. According to more than 2500 class reviews, vigorous classes on average are reported to be 16% more difficult than gentle ones. However, “difficulty” is very subjective and ultimately there is a lot of variability in how difficult our students find our various classes. We recommend that our students read the class description before they try a class, and in case they’re still uncertain, the Ompractice team is always available over Intercom to answer questions and make recommendations. Additionally, all of our classes have videos so anyone can try a prerecorded class before diving into their first live one.
So, Which is Better: Sweating or Resting?
As the data shows, there’s health benefits to both types of exercise. Vigorous classes with higher intensity workouts have clear cardiovascular and calorie-burning benefits whereas gentle classes with lower intensity activity can help with balance and cognitive function. Meanwhile, both types of exercise can improve mood, reduce stress, and lead to better sleep. In fact, almost any exercise, regardless of intensity level, can lead to relaxation and stress relief because exercise stimulates endorphin production (the feel-good chemical) and reduces stress hormones, like adrenaline and cortisol.
Furthermore, not only is one type of class not necessarily better than another, but sometimes a mix of intensities and modalities can lead to superior health outcomes. A study on cancer patients during the COVID pandemic found that alternating dynamic form of yoga (in this case, 60-min Vinyasa sequences) with 15-minute relaxation periods improved patient well-being. Likewise, a 2016 study on Mental and Physical (MAP) training, where meditation and aerobic exercise are sequentially combined into training sessions, suggested that the combination was “particularly effective” in improving cognitive control and reducing depressive symptoms and ruminative thoughts.
So, the next time you’re planning your wellness practice for the week, consider trying a mix of both vigorous and gentle Ompractice classes to experience the full range of benefits that our mindful movement classes have to offer. But, if you can only choose one type, don’t sweat it too much — you can rest easy knowing that you really can’t go wrong with either class type.