Yoga for Weight Loss?

Filed Under Anxiety Attacks and Disorders

Yoga is renowned for its capacity to reduce stress, enhance flexibility and improve muscle tone and strength. However, it’s not so well known for its contributions to weight loss. Most people don’t think of yoga first when they want to burn calories. That’s why many people are surprised to find that it’s a great way to help you lose weight.

Traditional yoga isn’t a strenuous workout. While it conditions and tones your muscles, you’re not likely to work up a sweat during a yoga session. However, the fact that your muscles are being given a workout means your body is utilizing calories more effectively. So, cardiovascular exercise will yield better results if you also practice yoga regularly.

An important component of yoga is discipline of mind and body, which will help you stay committed to your exercise program and healthy eating habits. A core tenet of yoga is to develop the relationship between your mind and body. This increases your desire to look after your body. This is very helpful for people who want to lose weight but have trouble getting motivated.

If you plan on using yoga by itself to help you drop some pounds, there are some new variations on the traditional practice of yoga. You get the benefits of cardio and yoga all in the same workout. And to make it easy, there’s a huge variety of yoga DVDs that you can buy that will give you an effective workout.

Here’s a look at some of the more common kinds of yoga.

Vinyasa Yoga: This particular form of yoga involves moving from one pose to another, all the while paying attention to your breathing. There are lots of different poses that you might recognize the name of, including the Sun Salutation. Vinyasa yoga is often practiced in a heated room to encourage sweating.

Ashtanga Yoga: This is an intricate approach to yoga, integrating six series of individual poses, or asanas. The moves become progressively more difficult, so you have to learn them in the correct sequence so you can slowly develop the skills necessary to handle the more complex positions.

Power Yoga: This modern adaptation of yoga mixes active, high-speed actions with yogic breathing.

These kinds of yoga provide more benefit to your heart than the more traditional forms of yoga. You won’t experience the full benefits of an aerobic workout. But you will still experience the benefits of cardiovascular health and muscle toning, along with improved flexibility. This will no doubt help your weight loss efforts. And these kinds of yoga are great for people who are too busy for more than one workout routine.

On the surface, aerobics and yoga have few similarities. Regardless, adding some yoga training to your regular workout can enhance its effects. And the newer styles of this ancient practice can be a great replacement for your usual aerobics. If you’re not happy with the progress you’re making with your usual fitness routine, consider adding yoga to the mix.