Is yoga good for weight loss? Learn about the benefits of yoga, how it aids in burning calories, and why it’s a holistic way to achieve your fitness goals.
The yoga practice dates back to the Indus Valley civilization, with its mentions found in Rigveda. It brings in physical, mental as well as spiritual development. Thus, you can create your finest version. Yoga might also be an efficient tool for weight loss, especially the more active yoga forms. Moreover, you might find that an awareness gained through the relaxing, gentle yoga practice helps to lose weight too. Experts agree that certain types of yoga work result in a healthy weight. Let us have a look at them.
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Which type of yoga is best for weight loss?
Yoga is not traditionally considered an aerobic exercise. But some particular types of yoga are more physical compared to others. Some examples of such types of yoga are vinyasa, ashtanga, and power yoga. These intense yoga styles burn most of your calories; they might be the best for weight loss.
1. Vinyasa
Vinyasa is popularly known as flow yoga in the west. It refers to a sequence of fast-paced moments of yoga. The idea is to move quickly from one asana to the other to burn the maximum amount of calories possible. The focus is to make your body more flexible and agile over time to accelerate calorie burn. If you plan to practice vinyasa yoga at home, set a routine and play some music to keep things lively.
2. Ashtanga
Ashtanga’s literal meaning is eight-limbed yoga. There is a fixed positional order to perform this yoga, divided into 6 levels. Rooted in vinyasa, ashtanga focuses on breath and energy. Performing all the asanas one after another increases the temperature of your body’s core. As a result, you sweat a lot. You might burn 450 to 550 calories every hour-long class.
3. Power Yoga
Power yoga is one most popular yoga forms, especially for weight loss with yoga and preventing obesity. This modern yoga form is rooted in ashtanga yoga. Power yoga has been named the athletic-most yoga form to keep you fit. Power yoga entirely focuses on being active and supercharged all through the session. Concentrate on all standing poses to burn as many calories as possible by increasing your heart rate.
Some of the best weight loss poses of power yoga are:-
- Pawanmuktasana or Wind releasing pose for dropping extra stomach fat.
- Trikonasana or Intense side stretching pose for reducing fats from the sides.
- Dhanurasana or Bow pose for dropping excess fat from arms and legs.
- Garudasana or Eagle pose for thinner legs, thighs, arms, and hands.
- Bhujangasana or Cobra pose for toning abdominal muscles.
- Navasana or Boat pose for overall weight loss by focusing on major body muscles.
How long should you do yoga to lose weight?
If you often practice, you will see quick progress and feel motivated. It might take some time for the changes to be visible, but with patience, that will happen. Yoga helps you with weight loss naturally and safely. You will probably not see any significant difference in the first week. But everybody begins somewhere. It would help if you learned the basics for putting down the bases for further progress. If you stick to it, you will surely notice positive effects within 2 weeks. It all depends upon how you practice. If you take yoga seriously, one month is sufficient to lose at least some weight. Take time to discover the type of yoga you prefer.
With regular practice for more than a year, you have the possibility of getting amazing results for your weight loss. Continue enjoying your yoga sessions to remain the happiest and healthiest version of yourself!
Does yoga Burn Belly Fat?
If you struggle to burn belly fat and desire well-toned abs, yoga can help you greatly. But similar to other exercises, yoga takes time before showing results. Practising the asanas regularly by following a consistent routine could give your mid-section an excellent physical shape. Remember, you cannot target a specific body area with yoga expecting that to work. You have to focus on your overall weight loss with yoga. Then little by little, your belly bulge would disappear.
Research shows that cortisol- the stress hormone, relocates fat cells into our abdomen as visceral fat, which is dangerous. Regular yoga practice teaches managing stress and the importance of self-care, including eating properly and getting adequate sleep. This brings your cortisol levels down and helps you lose belly fat. Your belly might appear flat just after a few yoga sessions. Wondering how? Yoga targets your whole body movement to improve your posture and strengthens your core. This gives your belly a slimmer look at once!
Here are a few yoga poses you might try to burn your belly fat:
1. Hastapadotasana / Standing forward bend
It considerably stretches your abdominal muscles and tones them.
2. Setu bandha Sarvangasana / Bridge pose
You hold on to your core against the gravitational force in this pose. The resulting force burns belly fat with its action on core muscles.
3. Kumbhakasana / Plank pose
It makes your abs flat by working on the lower abs and squeezing your lower belly tightly.
4. Shirshasana / Headstand
Though difficult to master, a headstand may be most effective for reducing belly fat. It uses all muscles of your abdomen. It would help if you gradually learned this asana, so do not be in a hurry.
Is yoga Good for weight loss or Gym is better?
Both yoga and gym are effective for weight loss. But the time needed to attain the weight loss goals varies. The 4 key factors behind losing weight are- regular exercise, cardio, proper diet and a healthy lifestyle. They depend upon each other. The main mantra for weight loss is calorie management. To lose a kg of fat, a person requires to have a deficit of 7500 to 7700 calories. Burning calories is very necessary to lose fat.
Regarding loss of weight, the gym is considered to be far more effective than yoga. 30 minutes of yoga will burn around 90 calories, whereas 30 minutes of gymming and cardio burn roughly 150 calories. But it does not necessarily mean you push off yoga, concentrating only on the gym. Coming to weight loss, there are certain advantages of yoga over gymming.
Yoga burns lesser calories in comparison with exercise within a given period. Yoga takes time to produce visible results, but it is an efficient process. On the contrary, although gymming provides quick results, remember that physical workouts are not possible when you grow old. Here lies the efficiency of yoga. You can do yoga even when you are 80 or above. Nor is gymming recommended for children under a certain age. For them, yoga is the better option. Performing weight loss asanas such as Sarvangasana, virabhadrasana, Surya namaskara, etc. helps you burn fat and lose weight.
Therefore, the effectiveness of yoga and gym depends on your purpose. Yoga maintains overall physical and mental fitness, while gymming focuses mainly on muscle building. Both help to lose weight as both contribute to burning calories. But they differ in the time consumed to witness the results.
Benefits of Yoga
Yoga has been around since ancient times. It is considered one most effective workout and meditation forms to stay healthy. Yoga offers many other health benefits apart from weight loss.
Healthier body
Yoga helps you achieve a slim and healthy body by making you attentive to your body, plus teaching you to listen to it. It also helps strengthen your organs and muscles, improving blood circulation, which ultimately results in a fit body.
Increased flexibility
Yoga makes your body agile. All yoga poses focus on enhancing your body flexibility through stretching various body parts.
Eating habits
As you begin listening to your body of yours, you will notice that binge eating or stress-eating reduces as well. Yoga transforms you into a mindful eater. You can now avoid overeating, untimely snacking, and sugar cravings.
Higher stamina
All yoga variations, with special mention to ashtanga, Hatha etc., have a common thing- they build your stamina by testing your limits. In yoga, you need to hold your poses for a longer time. Thus your stamina improves as your muscle strength is built up through performing yoga.
Heart health
The positive effect of yoga on your heart is that it reduces your cardiovascular disease risk by lowering blood pressure and restoring the hormonal balance.
Stress reduction
2 out of 5 persons suffer from stress. A sure-shot way to reduce stress is yoga. It is important to relieve stress to stay both physically and mentally healthy.
Body detoxification
You sweat when you workout. This cleans toxins from your body. Yoga does a bit more than workouts in this respect. It also helps in clearing your mind through regulated breathing.
Check here for some of the best Books on Yoga Practice
Weight loss yoga for beginners
Looking for the ideal weight loss yoga exercises for weight loss that is beginner-friendly? You can start with these 4 most effective asanas if you are overweight.
Cat-cow pose
It’s a transition between 2 poses. This stretching exercise helps you lose belly fat.
Table-top crunches
Here, lifting your shoulders gradually from a lying position, using your abdominal muscle strength, leads to weight loss.
Chair pose
This pose helps to lose weight by working on both the upper and lower body muscles.
Forward bend pose
Folding the upper part of your body forward, from the hips and bending towards your legs greatly helps to reduce overall body fat.
Make sure to practice these asanas regularly to see the weight loss effects.
Conclusion
So, does yoga support weight loss? Yes, when combined with other types of exercise and a healthy diet. Commit to yourself and your practice if you wish to use yoga for weight loss. Set modest goals and make small changes, so you are more likely to stick to them for long-lasting benefits. Make sure to practice these asanas regularly to see the weight loss effects.
