A few times a week of good stretching or yoga exercises doing it improves your balance and mobility. It also makes you stronger and more limber. Stretching vigorously three times a week is enough - and you don't have to take a yoga class to do that at all. Is yoga or stretching the same thing and what does it do to your body? We explain that in this article.

How do you do that: stretching?

When you run or train with weights, your muscles get stronger - but also shorter. This comes at the expense of your flexibility. That's why stretching is recommended: that's how you stretch your muscles lengthwise. A good stretching session will make you more limber, stronger and more mobile.

You can do dynamic or static stretching. Dynamic stretching is done during the move: in running, you then do, for example, heels-bottom exercises or a side cross-step. This works best before exercise.

After exercise, or as a stand-alone exercise, static stretching works best: stretching from a stationary position, where you stretch a muscle for an extended period of time - at least 30 seconds. This not only trains the muscle, but also works well to bring your heart rate down and relax your whole body.

Or still yoga?

With the growing popularity of yoga, you might think that doing yoga exercises is the very best approach. But that's a personal choice: U.S. scientists compared people who practiced hatha yoga, the best-known form, three times a week with people who did just as intensive regular stretches did.

They saw no significant difference between the two groups. The positive effects on health were similar in both groups of participants.

Conclusion: yoga or stretching, which is better?

Whatever you enjoy doing most!