Yoga Weight Loss

Yoga pose practice is not directly designed for weight reduction like cardiovascular exercise. Performing yoga poses for an hour can burn only about 175 calories for Hatha yoga. 300 for Ashtanga and Power Yoga, 445 for Vinyasa and 630 for Bikram Yoga. So how yoga help people reduce their weight?

First, all yoga poses help build up muscles. You can improve your body metabolic rate and gradually lose excess body weight.

Second, it is believed that some asanas stimulate sluggish endocrine glands to increase their hormonal secretions. Thyroid is the gland regulating every cell metabolism. Hence, practicing asanas that stimulate the thyroid gland can increase fat metabolism thereby converting fat to muscle and energy.

Third, yoga practitioners may eat yogic diet or lacto-vegetarian in order to fully benefit from what yoga offers (see detail more in Yoga vegetarian food).They are less likely to suffer from obesity than meat-eaters.

The last, yoga pose practice helps relax your mind and reduce stress. This helps lower the level of Cortisol, the hormone associated with body’s response to stress. Higher and more prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream lead to many negative impacts to the body. This includes the increase in abdominal fat. There are some scientific research which show the link between yoga and reduction of stress hormone. It is proved that Cortisol is significantly reduced in people who practice yoga

The links below show the yoga poses for weight loss and for reducing fat in different parts of the body;

1. Yoga poses for weight loss

2. Yoga poses to tighten abdomen

3. Yoga poses to tighten chest

4. Yoga poses to tone up thighs and hips

Go back from Yoga Weight Loss to Homepage