Yoga For Obesity Yoga Poses To Help You Lose Weight
Obesity refers to increased body fat that can also lead to various health issues. Due to our busy work schedule, improper diet, most of us are gaining weight, and when we realize how severe it can be, we hit the gyms or do rigorous exercises to reduce it. But not many of us think about doing yoga to lose weight.
Yoga can be quite effective in losing weight naturally without burning out your body or starving to eat. So, lets clear some more doubts and learn which yoga poses will be most effective in getting rid of unwanted fat deposits.
What are the causes of obesity?
There are various causes of obesity. Therefore, one needs to be aware of these causes to prevent obesity. Daily calorie Intake: The normal level of calories intake for men is 2500 and for women 2000 per day. It is important to stay within these digits and not exceed them as it can hurt the body. Diet: One of the most common and major reasons for obesity is poor diet. If one consumes fast food, junk food, drinks too much alcohol, or overeat, then it can add fats to the body and lead to obesity. In addition, some people seek comfort in food thus, they munch without feeling hungry, whereas some struggle with stress eating. Genetics: It affects how ones body processes food and turns it into energy and the storage of fats. Other: Such as pregnancy, old age, improper routine, no physical workout, etc.
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Benefits Of Yoga For Weight Loss
Stress can have a major impact on fat storage. When stress levels are highespecially when theyre consistently sohormone levels get out of whack. The thyroid struggles to maintain balance with high levels of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol, leading to hypothyroidism, or inactivity in the thyroid, and weight gain due to a subsequent drop in metabolism. Additionally, cortisol can trigger cravings and excessive eating or snacking. Following a barrage of stress eating, the bodys metabolism is also off-kilter as a result of those consistently high levels of cortisol and visceral fat begins to accumulate along the stomach, where the concentration of cortisol receptors is higher. Finally, regular stress can disrupt sleep, causing the body to again store additional fat.
Can Yoga Help You Lose Weight Diet And Fitness Experts Weigh In
Ive been practicing yoga for years, and I love how it makes me feel and all the health benefits it brings. But I never thought it could be helpful with weight loss. After all, yoga is often slow-paced and gentle, focusing on breathing, balance and flexibility, not on burning calories. Sometimes I finish a yoga class without even breaking a sweat.
Turns out, when it comes to yoga and weight loss, I was looking at it all wrong. Of course, youll burn some calories when you practice yoga. But the calories you burn are just a tiny part of the overall role yoga can play in your weight-loss efforts.
Weight loss is pretty complicated, Samantha Cassetty, a registered dietitian based in New York City and the coauthor of Sugar Shock, told TODAY. People often think of this calories in/calories out equation, but that over-emphasizes the role of burning calories through exercise.
Its the other benefits you gain from yoga that can help you lose weight. Yoga offers benefits that assist in overall well-being and support your weight-management goals, Jacque Crockford, an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer and exercise physiology content manager, told TODAY. In yoga classes, were bringing together the body and the mind in union. And when the body and the mind are speaking more clearly to each other, the body probably is going to react better to whatever stresses or changes might be occurring.
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Q How Can I Reduce My Tummy In 7 Days
A. One week is a very short time to reduce your tummy however, heres what you can try. Keep doing it consistently, and youll definitely notice a difference.
- Consume more water, fiber-rich foods, and high-protein foods, and avoid the foods mentioned in the previous question.
- Run every day and practice ab exercises. Burpees and push-ups will also help.
- Reduce your salt consumption.
- Eat low-sugar fruits every day.
Power Yoga Poses For Weight Loss

There is always a debate about whether yoga is ideal for weight loss. Yoga tones your body and helps you lose that extra fat. But the story is different for Power Yoga. It is a vigorous form of yoga that rejuvenates your mind and body.
It is more like a cardiovascular workout. Power Yoga helps promote weight loss and maintain a healthy body and a stress-free life. It also enhances stamina, flexibility, and mental focus.
Power Yoga is a modern form of Yoga that has its roots in Ashtanga Yoga. The asanas build internal heat and increase your stamina, making you strong, flexible, and free of stress. It is a strength-building form of exercise that provides a workout for your whole body.
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Yoga Poses To Lose Weight
Here is a list of yoga poses that you can include in your workout routine for weight loss while strengthening your body:
Boat Pose:
Boat pose or Navasana is highly effective for a strong core. It also improves metabolism and reduces belly fat with regular practice. Both men and women can try this pose to improve balance, flexibility, and posture.
Plank Pose:
Plank pose or Phalakasana, helps reduce abdominal fat and improves core and shoulder strength. This is also suitable for both men and women.
Warrior 1 Pose:
Warrior 1 pose or Virabhadrasana 1 is a popular beginner yoga pose, especially among women for weight loss. It helps in improving oneâs balance and getting a good stretch of the leg and arm muscles. It improves core strength and increases fat burn from the abdominal region.
Warrior 2 Pose:
Warrior 2 pose, also known as Virabhadrasana 2, is a variation of the Warrior 1 pose. It is easy to do and is among the best poses for weight loss. With regular practice, you can expect a flat stomach. It works for men and women and boosts balance, flexibility, and strengthens the core muscles.
Bow Pose:
Bow pose or Dhanurasana is an excellent pose to increase fat burn in the abdominal area. It works by stretching the muscles around the tummy, arms, and legs. It is an intense yoga pose for both men and women. It is advisable to do it under expert supervision.
Halasana Or Plough Pose
Benefits: This pose is great for those who sit for long hours and tend to have bad posture. It tones the muscles of your buttock and strengthens your shoulders and thighs. It also stimulates the functioning of the thyroid glands, parathyroid glands, lungs and abdominal organs, therefore helping the blood rush to your head and face, improves digestion and keeps the hormonal levels in check.
If you suffer from liver or spleen disorders, hypertension, have diarrhoea, are menstruating or have suffered a neck injury, avoid doing this pose.
Steps
- Lie flat on the floor on your back with your feet flat on the floor.
- Place your arms by your side and bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor.
- Now, slowly raise your legs from the hips.
- Place your hands on your hips as you raise it and use them as support.
- Now slowly bend your legs at the hips and try to touch the floor behind your head with your toes and straighten your hands so they are flat on the floor.
- Breathe out while going up.
To return to the lying position gently roll your back onto the floor, breath in while you come down. Do not drop down suddenly.
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Best Body By Yoga Programs For Losing Weight
We offer many programs for yogis of all levels. Our best program for weight loss would be Yoga Body Strong. This program involves a slow burn power yoga for total body conditioning, and includes three levels of workouts for beginner, intermediate, and advanced yogis. Our workouts focus on targeting three areas: your upper body, lower body, and total body. Check out this program here!
In addition, if you are a beginner looking to start your yoga practice, check out our Yoga Sweat program. Yoga sweat is a beginners power yoga workout. It is twenty-five minutes long, making it the perfect length for beginning your practice and repeating the class as many times as you choose. Check it out here!
Is There Anyone Who Shouldn’t Practice Yoga
As there are so many different types of yoga, there isn’t anyone specifically who shouldn’t practice yoga. However, there might be some mitigating factors that help you decide what’s best for you and your body.
‘If you’re pregnant or have recently given birth, it’s important to practice specific pre/post-natal yoga that ensure your body isn’t in any compromising positions,’ advises Clark. ‘If you’re returning from an injury or operation or you suffer from a condition that affects your blood pressure, it’s important to take it slowly with any exercise as your body needs time to adjust, so something like Yin would be advisable over a more powerful practice.’
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How Yoga Promotes Weight Loss
Yoga promotes weight loss in different ways. The following are key weight loss benefits of yoga:
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Helps Cultivate Mindfulness:
Practising yoga develops mindfulness and awareness of the body. This prevents impulsive eating, thereby restricting weight gain. For example, mindful eating helps exercise portion control and staying away from unhealthy foods. Regular yoga practice also calms anxiety leading to behavioural changes to prevent stress eating.
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Speeds Up The Metabolism:
Hatha and power yoga poses like the Sun salutations and Bhastrika Pranayam help speed up the metabolism, contributing to better digestion. This aids weight loss.
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Burns Calories:
Sun salutations with intensive breathwork are as effective as aerobic workouts and help accelerate calorie burn. Some active styles of yoga like Ashtanga Yoga, Power Yoga, and Vinyasa Yoga also prevent weight gain.
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Burns Belly Fat:
Restorative yoga poses help burn harmful abdominal fat by working on the core muscles. Trikonasana and the Cobra pose are great at reducing upper and lower belly fat.
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Promotes Lean Muscle Formation:
Yoga poses like the Boat pose, Plank pose, Chair pose, and Bow pose work on the glutes, abdomen, and hamstrings, helping you lose fat, strengthen muscles, and promote muscle formation.
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Increases Flexibility:
If you practise yoga regularly and for a long time, your body will become highly flexible. Yoga also tones your body making you look lean and fit.
Power Yoga For Weight Loss
The most reliable form of Power Yoga begins with Surya Namaskara or Sun Salutation. You can perform the Surya Namaskara as a warm-up before you start your Power Yoga workout session, or Surya Namaskara in itself can be done as Power Yoga.
Surya Namaskara has immense benefits as it concentrates on all the core muscles of your body.
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A Guided Yoga Meditation Practice
If better sleep quality, stress, and weight loss are your most important fitness goals, spending some time on a spiritual practice before bedtime every day will certainly help put you in the right state of mind for success.
Committing yourself to a guided meditation routine or even something more personal will help you develop a sense of gratitude and mindfulness that will carry over to your dinner plate. Mindfulness-based interventions, or MBIs for short, can help you improve your patterns of eating, solving the problem at its source.
How Can Yoga Help Me Lose Weight

Here are four ways a yoga practice can support you in your weight-loss journey:
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Yoga Can Improve Mindfulness Related To Eating Behaviors
Most of us who crave ice cream after 9 pm or can’t stop eating potato chips know that these behaviors hurt our chances of losing weight. We all know that eating vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, etc. is good for our health and weight. While this knowledge is necessary, it seems insufficient to help us stick to our healthy eating plans.
One of yoga’s benefits is that it improves mindfulness of the body and awareness of body sensations. This is why yoga is called “moving meditation.” Research shows that you dont have to do any formal sitting meditation to get the mindfulness benefits of yoga.
By improving mindfulness, yoga decreases emotional eating, stress eating, and binge eating. These habits sabotage our weight loss efforts and can cause a negative spiral of guilt and shame, which often leads to giving up.
A study published in 2015 showed that practicing yoga led to healthier eating, including lower fat intake and an increase in vegetables and whole grains.
The bottom line: the best diet plan is the one that you can stick with over the long term, and by improving mindfulness, yoga can help you make healthier food choices.
Adho Mukha Svanasana Downward Dog Pose
Adho Mukha Svanasana tones your whole body with a little extra attention to specific muscles.
It helps to strengthen your arms, thighs, hamstring and back. Holding this pose and concentrating on your breathing engages your muscles and tones them, as well as improves your concentration and blood circulation.
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Power Yoga Poses To Help You Lose Weight
Aaron StarAaron StarAuthor and Master Yoga Teacher
Yoga director and teacher View more
Does power yoga really help in making you shed those extra pounds? The answer is yes! Power yoga includes some cardiovascular exercises that definitely promote weight loss.
Did you know that yoga is considered to be much more effective in making you lose weight when compared to other forms of exercise? In the United States, millions of people practice yoga as a form of a rejuvenating workout regimen in order to maintain a healthy body and have a stress-free life.
If your goal is to lose some weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle, our free 30 Day Yoga Challenge is a good starting point. With different sessions each day, you will discover the best routine to get you closer to your fitness goals. Its also good to keep track of your progress and see how far youve come for additional inspiration.
Yoga And Better Sleep
Practicing yoga can help improve the quality of your sleep. You may find that youre able to fall asleep more easily and sleep more deeply when you have a consistent yoga practice. Ideally, you should sleep between 6 and 9 hours each night.
Quality sleep is often associated with weight loss. A 2018 study found that people who had restricted sleep 5 times per week lost less fat than the group that followed their normal sleeping patterns. Both groups were limiting the number of calories they consumed, suggesting that sleep loss has an adverse effect on body composition, including fat loss.
Yoga nidra is a form of guided relaxation that may help you to sleep more deeply and increase mindfulness. You can also set intentions during yoga nidra, which may help you develop weight loss goals.
A small 2018 study found that healthcare workers who did yoga nidra for 8 weeks increased their levels of mindfulness. This mindfulness included acting with awareness and not judging inner experiences.
Their levels of sleepiness werent significantly different at the follow-up. However, this score improved the longer people did the practice. Larger, more in-depth studies are needed to expand on these findings.
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Yoga Postures For Weight Loss
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Yoga may be intended as a way to calm the mind, but it also is a great way to get in shape and drop some weight. Here are a few postures that can help lower your anxiety and the number on the scale. Hold each posture as long as you can, that may be 15-20 seconds at first, but each time you practice, hold the posture for a few seconds longer and make your way up to a minute if you can. Where appropriate do one side and repeat on the opposite side.