This is how you can practice yoga for weight loss
Practicing yoga encourages physical, spiritual, and mental development. Practicing yoga helps to bring out the best in you. You will eventually become the best version of yourself with the help of yoga.
Yoga is a highly effective option when you want to lose weight — especially the more dynamic and active yoga forms. As a beginner, you can start with the more relaxed forms to understand how it goes.
After you are aware of yoga's benefits for weight loss, you can eventually move on to the more advanced forms to achieve your desired body weight soon.
Experts say that yoga encourages weight loss directly as well as indirectly. Why don’t you check out for yourself how that happens?
1. Yoga for mindfulness
All the spiritual and mental features and benefits of yoga work together to develop mindfulness. It makes you more aware and focused on various levels. As you become more aware, you will understand how different foods affect your spirit, mind, and body.
A study conducted a couple of years back came out with the reports that justify yoga's benefits associated with mindfulness. It will make you more health-conscious, and you will be able to resist junk and unhealthy foods.
You will also make sure that you are replacing these foods with healthier options. If losing weight is the main concern, you must come out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself in many ways.
A study conducted in 2017 says that performing even the mildest yoga daily results in other indirect benefits. Such benefits will eventually lead to weight loss. People who were part of this study kept practicing yoga for mindfulness, and the results were astonishing. They were calmer and starting resenting binge eating and also started participating in regular physical activities.
You must also know that you are not to practice yoga immediately after a meal, so automatically, you develop a habit of binge-control. On the other hand, after you are done with an exercise session, you will only prefer unprocessed and healthy foods.
Ultimately, the goal is to stay away from unhealthy food completely. Also, you must chew food properly and not just swallow it. Take your time and eat slowly for proper digestion.
2. Yoga for better sleep
You will sleep better if you practice yoga regularly. If you have a consistent yoga routine, you will sleep soundly and find it easier to fall asleep. The ideal sleep duration for an average adult is from 6–8 hours every night.
On the other hand, quality sleep is always connected to yoga for weight loss. According to a study conducted by experts, a couple of years back had two groups of people.
The first group did not sleep properly for 5 days of the week, and the other group slept well. When the reports came out, we could see that the first group gained more weight than the other group. Therefore, we know that sleeplessness creates adverse effects on your body weight.
In 2018, a study was conducted on several people. The result says that people who had practiced yoga Nidra regularly had developed deeper mindfulness. When you do yoga Nidra or a special meditation for sleep and mindfulness, you can set a goal. You can concentrate on the same, and this will help you maintain focus.
When experiments are conducted, results do not come out instantly. It needs a prolonged period of practice to understand the effects of yoga on sleep and mindfulness. Yoga does not mean becoming judgmental about people. It means gaining awareness about your surrounding conditions and understanding how to react to them.
3. Yoga for burning calories
Yoga is indeed not a hardcore exercise like hitting the gym or aerobics. However, specific yoga types are more dynamic than others, such as yin and tantra, and help you burn more calories.
The more intense and advanced yoga poses help you to lose more fat and burn some extra calories. They also prevent weight gain. Examples of some of the more intense yoga styles are Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and power yoga.
You will get a chance to practice power yoga and Vinyasa yoga in some of the best hot yoga studios. That helps you burn more calories as you practice these yoga types because they make you keep moving continuously.
When you practice yoga every day, it will encourage metabolism and tone your muscles properly. Again, restorative yoga is not as intense as the others; it still contributes to yoga for weight loss, especially in women.
Experts say that restorative yoga helps obese women lose abdominal weight. Several reviews and studies that were carried out have come out with the same results. Yoga is a great way to develop behavioral changes, increasing mindfulness, lowering the stress level, and ultimately achieving weight loss. As a result, you understand appetite control and control overeating. Studies are still on to prove these findings in a better way.
Click here to read more about yoga for burning calories.
When should you do yoga?
You must practice yoga every day to get the best possible results. You must also practice the more active and intense yoga types at least 4–5 times per week. The duration should be a minimum of an hour if you want to achieve a toned body. Do not completely relax on the other days by not exercising at all.
On the other days, practice the more relaxing yoga types such as Hatha, restorative and yin yoga. Do not start with an advance and intense yoga routine right from the beginning.
Start with a lighter form and gradually challenge yourself more. Regular yoga helps you to increase your flexibility, strength and also make your immune to injuries.
Even if you do not get time to practice a full yoga session daily, do 20–30 minutes of yoga to be more active. To bring more variety to your workout session, combine several exercises such as yoga, walking, swimming, cycling, and more. Do whatever gives you cardiovascular benefits. Also, bring self-control in yourself.
Try not to weigh yourself immediately after a workout or yoga session. It is because, right after a workout, you are most likely to lose some of your water weight. What you can do is to weigh yourself before a workout session at the same time every day.
Basic yoga poses
Check out the following poses to perform every day.
1. Sun salutation
You should do at least 10 sun salutations every day. Now, understand the pace and forms correctly. There are some poses you must do fast and some slow. Again, there are a few positions that should last longer than the rest. See how to do it:
- Stand straight and slowly lift your arms above your head.
- Start a swan dive and bend down. Exhale while you dive into bending forward.
- Jump and then step or walk your feet towards the initial position again.
- Now you must hold on to this position at least for 5 long breaths.
- Now sit on your knees and bring your body lower to touch the ground.
- Expand and stretch your legs. Twist towards the ground at the top of your feet, and then position your hands below the shoulders.
- Now inhale and lift to form a typical cobra pose.
- Exhale and come lower down to form the downward dog face.
- Again, hold the pose for at least 5 long breaths.
2. Boat pose
The boat pose is a stress buster and involves the whole body almost. It is a great workout pose for your core. For this-
- You must sit on the floor and put your legs together and extend in front.
- Now bend your knees facing upwards and lift both the legs together. Your shins should be parallel to the ground.
- Hold the pose for at least 30 seconds and repeat the pose 5–6 times.
3. Plank pose
Planks are some of the most efficient and effective positions for weight loss. Do a few variations to keep boredom at bay. For this, you must-
- Lift your heels and step your feet back from a tabletop position.
- Straighten your body to check your reflection in the mirror
- The stress will be on your core, leg, and arm muscles.
- Hold for at least a minute or more if you can
Challenge yourself and commit if you want to utilize yoga for weight loss and burning calories. It would be best if you made gradual and yet modest goals so that you can achieve a super-toned body and de-stressed life. It has a magical effect as you automatically start finding healthy foods and an active lifestyle more attractive. The results of regular yoga practice will have positive results that will last more than weight loss.
Why is yoga better than other exercises?
First of all, you must understand that yoga is not just helpful for weight loss; it also encourages peace, happiness, and contentment. Nowadays, we all are becoming more weight conscious and understand the benefits of fitness better than ever.
There is a range of various gym groups, yoga classes, and other workout groups. Out of all, yoga must not be confused with the others as it is a much wider concept than just a kind of physical exercise. Yoga mostly consists of different asanas and postures and ultimately a healthier and more active lifestyle. They are different from other exercises in terms of ways to perform and their outcome too.
Yoga is mostly based on the relaxation of the body and muscles and improving the body’s overall balance. All the movements that you perform in yoga are steady and comparatively slow.
Of course, exceptions are there, but if we talk about traditional yoga practice, they are slower than other exercise forms. In terms of another exercise, the focus is mainly on burning calories and stretching your limits in any possible way. We do not usually focus on our breathing patterns when we are working out in the gym.
However, it is different in the case of yoga. Yoga focuses not only on the body’s movement but also on encourages proper breathing patterns and de-stressing your body. It is the reason because of which the outcomes of yoga and other exercise are completely different.
Comparison between yoga and other exercises
In this section of the article, we will compare the effects of yoga and other exercises on different parts of the body.
1. Muscles
Yoga triggers muscle development over the surface of the bones in your body. It encourages even development by enhancing your flexibility. Yoga is arguably the best physical activity in terms of energy efficiency.
On the other hand, any other exercise will focus on enhancing and improving muscle mass. Therefore, the flexibility and length of the muscles decrease, and these are not energy-efficient at all.
2. Heart
Yoga is a great way to de-stress yourself because once you have attained the asanas, the blood flow becomes slower, and you go into a relaxed mode. As a result, your heart works better and does not hold on to any anxiety.
Other forms of exercise effects differently. They strain the muscles and, in turn, increase the stress levels of the body. As a result, the blood flow goes higher, and the heart starts pumping faster. Anxiety and stress levels will increase ultimately.
3. Immune system
The immune system gets a real boost when the immune cells’ ability and functioning improve due to regular yoga. However, the same happens in other exercises only depending on your workout session’s intensity and duration.
4. Respiratory system
As you already know, in the case of yoga, the body goes on a relaxed mode despite the workout, and so things are easier on the respiratory system. On the other hand, in other exercises, you must move continuously, and so extra oxygen requirement occurs. The lungs start working harder, and there is more stress because the pace of breathing goes high.
5. Stress level
Cortisol is a hormone that manages stress and anxiety in the body, and doing yoga regularly lowers the stress levels. The cortisol hormones occur due to abnormality in cholesterol levels in the body, and yoga can successfully control that.
However, other forms of exercise will increase cortisol levels in the body as the body experiences more stress.
Yoga Vs. Gym
It is a big confusion about which one is better and more effective- yoga or gym. Here we have an interesting solution for your never-ending problem. We present a compact comparison of yoga and gym for you to decide better what you want to choose.
Specifically speaking, yoga benefits the overall body inside out and also keeps your mind and heart-healthy. Most other exercises that you perform in the gym are unable to do so.
1. Yoga for improvement of the mind, spirit, and body
Yoga indeed tones your body, and it does much more than just that. It will bring out the positive person in you and infuse more of the positive spirit.
You will find yourself brimming with positive energy once you start practicing yoga daily. While on the other side, working out in the gym means you are solely focusing on improving your physical condition.
2. Yoga improves the body inside out
All the twisting, folding and stretching benefits several portions of the body internally and externally. It benefits the digestive, lymph as well as the circulatory system. Yoga does all the work simultaneously, along with building stronger muscles.
Practicing yoga regularly is a great way to detoxify your body and build more muscle strength. While going to the gym means you are just paying attention to cardio boosting and muscle strengthening.
3. You learn acceptance
It is essential that you feel balanced and beautiful from the inside. Body positivity in our minds is more important than anything else, and yoga perfectly teaches you this.
Yoga is about self-acceptance more than self- improvement. Simultaneously, gym sessions and other crucial boot camps demotivate and force you to feel like you are a loser when you cannot perform all the tasks.
4. Focus on yourself
Most of the yoga studios do not allow mirrors. It is because yoga helps you to think and picture yourself in your head. You will keep thinking about yourself and how you perform the asanas in a yoga session.
On the other hand, a gym always has mirrors all around you. The purpose of the mirrors is to help you see if you are performing all the exercises accurately. However, we mostly check out what the others in the gym are doing instead of focusing on ourselves.
5. Get a leaner body
When the muscles stretch during yoga, you will lose weight and achieve a leaner look. However, in the gym, the use of machines enable us to bulk up and look bigger.
Best yoga poses for weight loss
It would be best to start working out with a pure mind and a target to burn calories. You shouldn’t participate in yoga sessions because you have seen someone else. Perform yoga only when you understand the benefits and the choice that comes from within.
You will never be able to burn calories if you work out or perform yoga reluctantly. Yoga for weight loss mainly targets to magnify the health of the spirit and body. It encourages you to master your lethargic lifestyle. You must know your body and neglect everything that hinders you from staying healthy.
1. Chaturanga Dandasana or the low plank
If you alter the name of this posture, it appears to be the four-limbed crew pose. In this posture, you must support your body precisely lateral to the ground. You have to adjust yourself with your palms and toes. It is related to a push-up stance.
You will form strong core tissues and abs if you repeat this yoga posture frequently. This will further help you to lose mass as a result. When you balance your body on your palm, there is a force on them. It works to build toned arms.
2. Warrior III or Virabhadrasana C
This posture is an essential part of a sitting of yoga for weight loss. For this, you must stand upright and settle yourself on just one leg. You have to expand your body and have your spine flat.
You can examine your attention power whenever you repeat this yoga posture. Virabhadrasana benefits to enhance your energy and entire body balance.
As per Hindu religion, Virabhadra was a fearsome warrior who took birth from a dreadlock of God Shiva. Hence, the name of this posture. The other two previous postures help to shape your body, particularly the posterior. Yoga means stimulating the mind, the rise of the soul, and toiling out of the excess fat in the body.
3. Shoulder stand or the Sarvangasana
The shoulder stand is a posture that makes a part of the Hatha Yoga style. It is a type of superior yoga which has various benefits. In this, you have to raise your frame with your forelimbs and keep it up as long as you can.
Be sure not to turn your neck while practicing this. It would help if you balanced your entire body mass on your collars. This, as a result, helps to trim off those excess tires from your belly as well as your neckline.
Doing Sarvangasana daily helps to enhance metabolism and overcomes difficulties such as thyroid and anemia. It aids in decent blood flow and therefore improves metabolism. Practicing the shoulder stand posture is remarkably helpful for any respiratory disease.
4. Half boat or ArdhaNavasana
The Half boat works as a mystic tummy, reducing exercise. AdhoMukhaSvanasana and Uttanasana are preliminary yoga postures. Assume that you are in a compact ship, and you have to pretend like that. It stretches the tummy, and so improves the metabolism pace of the body. Belly fat transforms into fibers to grow into abs.
Most modern people do this posture as it helps in shaping the body. It would help if you practiced yoga daily to revitalize your body. It also supports to cut down undesired fat from the limbs, tummy, wings, and buttocks. You can further stimulate your intestinal muscles, pelvis flexors, and vertebral section. ArdhaNavasana additionally helps to promote absorption and eliminate stress.
5. Side plank or Vasisthasana
When you need to drop weight, nothing can be extra effective than planks. Besides the low plank, it is one more posture that improves your body balance. It further makes your wrists more powerful. This pose emphasizes some of the special stress points in your body to obtain more flexibility.
It would help if you implemented this asana in your everyday yoga regime to get excellent abs. Just get rid of all the extra fat, processed, and trash food that you ate at the party last evening. This is not a difficult pose, so that everyone can practice it with comfort.
6. Lunges or Anjaneasana
This posture is also recognized as a ‘crescent moon pose.’ You must stand and lean continuously to execute this posture. It helps to stretch the lungs, chest, and shoulders for more flexibility. It enables rejuvenation of the body and shapes it up simultaneously.
It would help if you were concerned about your body, even more, when you are maturing. The yoga pose enables you to maintain fitness while aging. This posture is like a trigger action to keep the knees fit.
To perform this, you must put ahead one leg and lean on it with your hands’ help to form a worship posture. Now you have to get up, rest for a few moments, and replicate the same routine with your other leg. As per Hindu belief, Anjaneya was another name of God Hanumana. Therefore, this yoga posture signifies the religious meaning of God Hanumana.
7. Bridge or Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
To practice this posture, you have to recline on the floor and face the ceiling. Keep the legs lateral to each other and raise your body.
You must touch the ground and support yourself on your palms, and the hands must remain fixed on the floor. It eases the legs when you are much tired. It further helps to eradicate the symptoms of menopause, sinusitis, asthma, and so on.
8. The mountain pose or the entire body Tadasana
Tadasana is arguably one of the best yoga poses and is not very difficult also. It would help if you practiced this asana every morning for the best results. It is like a great massage for your hands, spine, back, and the body as a whole.
If you want to increase height, Tadasana is what we recommend the most. Just make sure that you have eaten your last meal at least 5–6 hours before doing this posture.
9. Triangle pose or the Trikonasana
The Trikonasana is an ideal option, especially if you are a beginner. The major functions of this asana are that you get a good stretch on the muscles, and it helps to strengthen them too. The Trikonasana ultimately develops and improves the overall functioning of your body.
Pregnant women can also practice this posture. Trikonasana improves blood circulation and improves anxiety, stress, and other blood-related functions. Our concentration, focus power, and body balance also improves if we perform this posture every day.
Moreover, it aids the eradication of unwanted fats in the thighs and waist. Like most of the other yoga postures, your bowel must also be clear to perform the Trikonasana.
10. The bow pose or the Dhanurasana
When we are talking about yoga for weight loss, the Dhanurasana or Bow pose is highly effective. Performing this yoga pose every day can eradicate belly fat very quickly. It improves the ankles' strength and power, spinal cord, thighs, abdominal organs, chest, and groin.
It also enhances the kidney’s functioning, the big and small intestines, liver, and pancreas. Yoga is an all-time stress buster, and the Dhanurasana is an exclusive variety that helps to release stress and increase flexibility.
Practicing Dhanurasana every day will prevent gastric problems and improve the digestion system too. Performing this asana if you are suffering from headaches or migraine issues is a strict no-no.
11. Kapalbhati Pranayama
Another yoga for weight loss for beginners’ routine; it is a great way to control breathing and lose weight simultaneously. Performing pranayama every day will enhance your digestive and immune systems too.
You will have to do Kapalbhati for 5 minutes, which will be enough to detoxify your body and enhance metabolism. It is a partial cure for disorders such as constipation, thinning hairline, acidity, sinusitis, Diabetes, Respiratory issues such as Asthma.
This yoga for weight loss pose is most effective in cutting off belly fat. The kapalbhati is not one of those conventional asanas, and it falls under the relaxing asanas category. It must be performed at the very end of all the asanas.
12. Bound angle or the BaddhaKonasana posture
Sitting for long hours in the office or anywhere else can result in disorders such as sciatica and dysfunctional hips. The nerve that mainly contains sciatica discomfort originates in the lower back and goes to both the legs.
If the nerves are exposed to any compression, the pain of Sciatica triggers more. Again, if you keep standing or sitting for a longer period, it can cause increased pain.
13. Eagle twist pose
Also known as the relaxing pose, this posture is an ideal option if you want to enhance flexibility on both sides of the body. If you have pain in the lower back or any similar portion, this asana works very well.
14. Headstand or Shirshasana
The headstand is not at all an easy pose, and the benefits are a lot many too. Practicing a headstand every day will not keep you fit. You must also know how it benefits the body as it is said to work well to cure sleeplessness or insomnia.
It helps to lower other spine disorders and increase mental balance. There is an improvement in the blood circulation in your brain, and the memory becomes stronger.
If you know anyone suffering from liver problems, headaches, or improper blood flow, this asana is a great option to get rid of all the problems. You must perform this posture under expert supervision. It can cause severe injuries otherwise.
15. Wind removing pose or Pawanmuktasana
The Pawanamuktasana is great for weight loss as it eradicates any gas deposition inside the body and ultimately benefits the digestive system. It is, moreover, a great option to tone down the other abdominal parts of your body.
Strengthening back muscles and back pain removal are some of the other benefits of performing the Pawanmuktasana. Since it is a straightforward pose, you must perform it daily for the best results.
A yoga program for weight loss
Have you ever toured the Yoga burn program? If you have not explored the mentioned website, then you need to without wasting any more time.
It is a marvelous website that is a brainchild of Zoe Bray-Cotton in partnership with the Health Solutions Incorporation. The website concentrates on women especially and aims to inspire all women to become healthfuller and fitter.
This website enables people to become aware of yoga’s advantages and treat all psychic and physical illnesses. They have autonomous plans and access to their digitized material so that you can tone down in all the possible ways. Yoga Burn Challenge further sells yoga-related tools to make your asana sitting more exciting.
Yoga Burn also consists of premium plans at flexible charges. Therefore, if you are satisfied after experiencing their free programs, you can eventually subscribe and demand more.
Note: This article contains affiliate links that help me create more content
This article originally published at https://east-asian-cultures.com/yoga-for-weight-loss/
