**Yoga is a very varied way of exercise** -- e.g., doing Surya Namaskar many times will of course improve one's stamina; most of the yoga asanas will build both strength and flexibility; some will help to develop a better sense of balance.

(Compare these questions: "[What are the health benefits of Yoga?][1]" and "https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/3991/what-are-the-best-benefits-of-yoga-versus-cardio-and-weight-training")

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As mentioned in the answer to "[Which daily exercise are helpful to maintain health for long?][2]", **there are certain recommendations the American Health Association gives regarding how often one should work on certain aspects of fitness**, like moderate cardiovascular training should be done almost every day (5 days a week), while high-intensity muscle-strengthening is recommended only 2 times a week.

How does yoga fit into that picture?

**Considering that yoga is in itself a kind of "cross-training", how often and how long would one do yoga asanas, in order to improve overall health in the sense the AHA recommends?**

In what way can one's yoga practice be adapted to meet such recommendations, for instance by leaving some strengh-intensive asanas out for a few days, especially if yoga is practiced on a daily basis?

More specifically, are there any studies or otherwise noteworthy recommendations on how to arrange one's yoga practice in order to improve overall long-term health (compared to just getting better at doing the yoga exercises as an end in itself, as discussed in [this question][3])?

  [1]: http://health.stackexchange.com/questions/1316/what-are-the-health-benefits-of-yoga
  [2]: http://health.stackexchange.com/questions/2014/which-daily-exercise-are-helpful-to-maintain-health-for-long
  [3]: https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/430/how-can-someone-new-to-yoga-improve-on-their-workout