Yoga is not just a set of exercises, it's an opportunity to get to know yourself better. Some do it to relax, others meditate, someone tests their body, and some just want to lose weight through yoga. This article will tell you if yoga can help you lose weight and what to do to shed those extra pounds.
How Can Yoga Help You Lose Weight?
Yoga is a whole complex that helps keep your body in good shape. Yoga also differs in that it helps to cope with all the factors that affect the onset of obesity. While exercising, you will consume a large amount of calories, although at first glance the exercise may seem like something simple. It also improves metabolism, which makes it easier to absorb food without the deposition of fat reserves. And, of course, if yoga is more than just a sport to you, you can develop healthy eating habits that will help you maintain your ideal weight.
There are different types of yoga, but the basis of each is a certain posture, they are called asanas. Each asana aims to develop breathing, align posture and, of course, lose weight. To get results, it is necessary to choose specific exercises that will include your workout. But first, let's find out what type of yoga will help you lose weight.
Different yoga variants for weight loss
Any type of weight loss yoga involves a series of asanas that aim to improve endurance, flexibility, strengthen muscles, or help you stay in good shape. You can choose any technique you want in the fight against obesity from the list below.
- Ashtanga Yoga - combines a quick change of posture in a certain order with adherence to a certain breathing technique.
- Hot Yoga (Birkam Yoga) - combines a change of 26 poses at high air temperature (up to 100 degrees), a kind of intense loss of sweat.
- Breath yoga is a series of exercises aimed at developing correct breathing that will contribute to a harmonious state of your body.
- Indian yoga is a whole field that combines a number of asanas and spiritual practices and is a new way of life rather than training.
- Kundalini Yoga is based on the purification of the chakras through meditation, chanting and asanas.
- Power Yoga is intended for hardened people and is somewhat reminiscent of a combination of aerobics and Ashtanga yoga.
- Static Yoga (Hatha Yoga) is the most popular form of yoga for physical improvement with the help of asanas, in which your body has to remain in a certain fixed position for some time.
Basic yoga asanas for weight loss
In one form or another of yoga, certain asanas are used. If you have a hard time deciding on a certain type, you can simplify your task and simply start with exercises from yoga that will help you lose weight. Below are examples of asanas that differ in technique. Try each of them, maybe this is the first step on the way to losing weight.
Breathing exercises
The simplest breathing exercise will help you understand the importance of proper breathing technique in yoga. Stand up straight, spread your legs, relax. Try to breathe in sharply and as deeply as possible through your nose, you should feel that your stomach and back are as close together as possible. Then we breathe out calmly. Similar breathing techniques, but more difficult, are performed while sitting, half crouching, and so on.
Static slimming poses
Tree keeping
One of the simplest asanas is called a tree. You need to get up to your full height, straighten up, tense your stomach. Put your feet a short distance away. First, lift your left leg and place your foot on the inside of your right thigh. The hands should be slowly raised and the palms folded over the head. Try to hold the pose for 30 seconds. Then repeat the asanas for the other leg and return to the starting position.
Chair posture
Starting position - standing, legs spread, arms down. Get a full chest and, as you exhale, begin to squat like in a chair. At this point we will raise your arms straight up and tilt your body a little forward, watching your posture. Once your thighs are almost parallel to the floor, hold this pose for 30 seconds. Then we gently return to the starting position.
Warrior pose
There are many variations of this asana, both simple and very complex. The simplest version of the warrior's pose is to keep your arms above your head (palms joined), legs apart enough, while turning your face and body to the right. In addition, it is necessary to rotate the feet and bend the right knee so that the thigh is parallel to the floor. The left leg should be stretched almost parallel to the floor at this point. Try to hold the pose and return to the starting position for 30 seconds. Then repeat the warrior pose and look the other way.
Downward facing dog pose
Another popular asana is the downward facing dog pose. This strengthens and stretches the muscles of the legs and arms and makes it easier to feel posture during menstruation. It is necessary to stand (squat) on all fours, the knees do not touch the floor, and the arms are extended and also rest on the floor, the head is lowered. From the starting position, start straightening your legs, keeping your hands on the floor, and the fifth point is the highest. Try to stay in this position for at least 1 minute and then return to the original position.
Of course, it is not easy to immediately understand how, how often and how intensively you train, especially when you are confronted with yoga techniques for the first time. In this regard, courses with a trainer are most useful. If you don't have a chance to go to yoga, there is always an alternative - home lessons with video lessons from famous yoga trainers and masters.
Do yoga at home with video tutorials
Lose weight with Jillian Michaels
If you have not yet made up your mind which is better - yoga or fitness for weight loss, then watch out for the high-intensity interval training from Jillian Michaels. Its effective course is designed for both amateurs and professionals and beginners. You can do your daily workout at home with a famous trainer. It is enough just to find videos that will help you start improving your body. Their video lessons, available to everyone, can easily be found on the Internet - watch online or download absolutely free.
Yoga and Pilates by Denise Austin
Another legendary woman, mother of 2 adorable daughters and a guru in the world of fitness, answered the question clearly and positively: "Is yoga good for losing weight? " It is enough to look at the photos and pictures with her picture. Her program includes aerobics, weight training, yoga, and Pilates. You can find a video of Denise Austin to help you lose weight quickly and keep yourself in shape after giving birth. The program is based on the following simple rules:
- Adhere to the right balanced diet without dieting and hunger strikes.
- Eat between 7am and 7pm.
- Exercise for at least half an hour each day.
Ashtanga yoga with Lino Miele
There is a website where you can find out more about Lino Miele's activities in person. But as always, you can find a lot of videos where the master shows simple and more complex exercises for losing weight with Ashtanga yoga. The guru himself is a good example that it is never too late to start. Until he was 35, Lino Miele did not even think about yoga, worked 24 hours a day and did not even do gymnastics.
Kundalini Yoga with Maya Fiennes
Kundalini yoga is also suitable for fat people. This practice system is based on training the chakras to the music of Maya herself. The benefits of such activities are undeniable, because in order to lose weight you need to tune in, understand yourself and learn to control your thoughts, emotions and behavior. At the very least, this type of yoga promotes self-awareness and creative potential. Chakras are psychoenergetic centers in the human body. Learning to control them, lose weight and shed extra pounds will be much easier for you than it was before practicing Kundalini yoga.
Yoga for everyone with Rainbo Mars
Another popular yogi of the modern world is Rainbo Mars. Thanks to her video lessons "Yoga for All", anyone who wants to improve their body through yoga can start. According to Rainbo Mars itself, all you need is a carpet, comfortable clothing (T-shirt, pants or shorts), an empty stomach, no shoes and desire. An experienced instructor will help you get started on an active life, even if you've never played sports.
Basic rules of yoga
So, if you've made the decision to lose weight through yoga, then these tips and tricks below will help you get the best results.
- It's best to do yoga in the evening, but morning yoga is good for you and your health if you do strength or Ashtanga yoga.
- If your class is in the morning, it is better to do it on an empty stomach, in case there should be yoga after your meal, wait 2, preferably 4 hours so that the food is digested and you can calmly do the exercises.
- When doing asanas, try to do them correctly, quality is more important than quantity.
- Do not forget that after a series of asanas it is necessary to do relaxation exercises.
- Decide how often you want to do yoga. It is recommended to devote at least 1 hour to teaching twice a week.
- When practicing yoga, remember to change your diet and prefer healthy eating if you want to lose weight and keep the result for a long time.
Yoga and Diet
If yoga becomes not only a way of staying in good physical shape, but also a part of life, then the issue of eating will become no less relevant to you than asanas. Eating is an important part of our life. So if you want to lose weight, it pays to change something in your diet. According to some teachings, yoga food is strictly classified - some foods are recommended in winter, others in summer, something healthier on an empty stomach, something before bed. Either way, an integrated approach to weight loss in the form of a specific diet and yoga practice will definitely produce results.
Check out the following list of foods that will be especially helpful:
- Honey (instead of sugar, if you can not do without sweets);
- Milk;
- Wheat;
- Fruits other than citrus fruits.
In addition, you should avoid the following foods, which according to yogis violate harmony in the body:
- Alcohol;
- Carbonated beverages;
- Mushrooms;
- Frozen food;
- Red meat;
- Canned food;
- Root;
- Coffee;
- Onion;
- Fish and seafood;
- Spice up;
- Citrus;
- Tea;
- Garlic;
- Eggs.
In fact, yoga primarily promotes vegetarianism, but not everyone can choose to go without meat, but it is worth trying special green cocktails that are so popular with yoga practitioners. Such healthy mixtures of vegetables, vegetables and fruits in combination with low-fat yogurt have a positive effect on digestion, help cleanse the body and, as a result, lose weight. You can find a wide variety of recipes on the internet that you might like. Here is one of them:
The following recipe is suitable for everyday use. To take:
- Apple - 1 medium;
- Banana - half large or medium whole;
- Spinach leaves - 10-15 pieces (can be replaced with cabbage);
- Water - ½ glass;
- Fresh parsley to taste.
All components are mixed with a mixer, if necessary, ice or more water can be added to the cocktail to make it thinner.
So yoga and weight loss are a great combination if you want to change your life for the better. Remember how fit, sturdy, and slim real yogis look like. On the path to improvement, it is important not only to take care of your appearance, but also to be attentive to spiritual education, and yoga is about both. It will help you get your body and soul in order, find harmony with yourself and just become a happy person.