Yoga for Weight Loss: Can It Help You Lose Weight?

You probably know a lot about yoga, the ancient practice that represents a unity of your body, heart, and brain.

It is also referred to as harmony of your body, emotions, and thoughts.

There is no doubt that yoga can do a lot for your body.

People who do yoga are more vital and live longer than those who don’t.

And yoga for weight loss is a very popular tactic nowadays.

But, what can actually yoga do for your body?

People who do yoga want to shape their muscles, become more flexible, and first of all, they want to get rid of stress and relax.

In addition, yoga fans believe that with regular exercising you can improve the weight loss process.

Can you lose weight doing yoga?

Burning calories depends on many things, especially on your body shape and how physically active you are.

For instance, obese people, people with more muscle mass and those who have an active metabolism burn more calories since their muscles work with more body weight.

You need to take into consideration the average calorie burning during everyday activities and then take a look at yoga’s effect on calorie burning.

Does yoga help you lose weight?

Look:

One yoga training lasts 45-60 minutes.

If you do yoga for beginners you can burn 2.3-3.2 calories per minute.

That means that you can spend 104-144 calories per a 45-minute training.

Some will say it’s not much, but hey, every calorie counts.

Yoga exercises are not for those who want instant results, but they are great for body shaping and gradually losing weight. (1)

Why?

It’s because when you do the asanas (yoga poses) you take a deep, intensive breath and your body gets cleaned from toxins piled up in your wrists and fat tissue.

Yoga has a positive effect on your body but on your mind, too- it helps you forget about problems and negative thoughts which can be the reason for overeating.

When you start doing yoga you notice that your mindset changes so you will probably stop liking the food you used to like.

Doing yoga means appreciating nature and moderation so you begin to like green vegetables, cereals, nuts and other healthy food that doesn’t make you fat, but it gives your body its necessary energy.

Moreover, doing yoga is much, much better than sitting in front of the TV and eating unhealthy snacks.

Yoga for weight loss – 6 best poses:

1. Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar)

This is one of the best yoga poses for weight loss.

These 12 poses are ideal for bringing a natural balance to your body which means losing pounds, as well.

Twenty minutes of moderate to fast rhythm exercising every day it’s enough to start losing extra weight.

Furthermore, if you combine this with strength exercises for at least 40 minutes every other day you will get that perfect body you always wanted and you will improve your strength and endurance, too.

2. Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana)

Many people say that this asana is the “queen of all poses” since it has numerous benefits for your body: it regulates the work of the thyroid gland, prostate, and digestive organs.

It also helps with menopause and andropause symptoms, relieves pain in your legs, neck, and shoulders, it helps with stress, tiredness, and insomnia.

You should do this asana 30 seconds – 3 minutes, depending on how comfortable you feel.

3. Plough Pose (Halasana)

When you do this asana you need to lie down on your back, lift your hips and legs up, straighten them and then put your toes on the floor behind your head while inhaling.

Your torso needs to be vertical to the floor and your legs need to be straight.

This asana has similar benefits as the Shoulderstand pose, and you can do it for 1-5 minutes.

4. Fish Pose (Matsyasana)

You can do it with your legs straight or you can bend your knees and place them under your body while leaning on your lower legs and elbows.

You should do this pose twice as less as the Shoulderstand and these two exercises give you similar benefits.

So, if you do the Shoulderstand for 1 minute, do the fish pose 30 secs.

5. Bridge pose (Setuasana)

Lie down on your back and put your arms next to your body.

Bend your knees and pull your feet as close to your buttocks.

Next, bend your arms and put your hands on the floor next to your head.

Lean on your feet, hands, and shoulders and start getting up from the floor as much as your body lets you.

Then, try to lift your shoulders up.

You should do the bridge pose at least 5-10 secs or more if possible.

6. Camel Pose (Ustrasana)

Kneel with your knees hip-width apart.

Put your lower legs and feet firmly on the floor and try to hold on your heels while you lean your hips forward with your head backward.

Stay in that position for 30 secs-1 minute.

If you want to get the best results when you do yoga you need to change your diet, as well.

Yoga diet for weight loss

The yoga diet is a set of rules that are very simple and give visible results.

This kind of diet makes you use products which are good for your body and they are very easy to find since they are everywhere in nature.

So, you don’t need to use different kinds of supplements and artificial vitamins because you can get all the necessary nutrients through balanced and good quality ingredients.

The yoga diet means adopting a healthy lifestyle that defends your body from different diseases.

This diet supports the natural balance of forces inside your body, enriching the organs and tissues with useful nutrients and it boosts your mental energy, too.

The rules of the yoga diet are quite simple and understandable.

Here is the example of a one-day yoga diet menu:

MENU

First breakfast: 150-200 gr of any fruit

Second breakfast: A bowl of fat-free vegetable soup (250 ml), 100-150 gr of low-fat boiled meat (veal, beef, fish or skinless chicken), salad with fresh vegetables with no dressing (you can add lemon juice).

Lunch: A bowl of fat-free vegetable soup (250 ml), 100-150 gr cheese or boiled egg, salad with fresh vegetables with no dressing (except lemon juice), 1 glass of low-fat yogurt or milk.

Dinner: 150-200 gr of any fruit.

Also, follow these basic rules when you are trying your yoga diet:

• Never eat standing. Sit and enjoy your meal.
• Eat 3 meals a day.
• Never reheat food.
• Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily. Don’t replace water with tea, juice etc.
• Avoid fried food since it’s hard to digest and it irritates your stomach.
• Make your food more appealing, for example, decorate with some fresh herbs.

Remember – Choice matters

You can eat different kinds of food.

For instance, today eat fish soup and grilled fish.

Tomorrow eat chicken soup and boiled or grilled chicken.

You can make a simple salad by adding cabbage, beetroot, carrot, and onion.

There are many variations and you can use your imagination.

When you have 2 breakfasts menu you can arrange your meals according to your daily activities so that you don’t starve.

The meals are balanced and your body doesn’t suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiency.

You can enhance the yoga diet effect by adding physical activity to your daily routine.

READ ALSO: BEST FAT BURNERS FOR WOMEN FOR FAST WEIGHT LOSS