Since you’re on this page, I assume you would want to get rid of some extra pounds, no?
So, to keep it short, any active and fast-paced yoga offers enough instruments to help reduce weight and shape your body.
The only thing you need to do is practice it. So, let’s move forward and see how to put yoga into action and what else is waiting for you in the journey to the body of your dreams.
Yoga for Weight Loss: Where Should I Start?
I suggest that doing some homework before you start sweating on the mat can make your yoga weight loss practice twice as effective.
What do I mean? Understanding the reasons and actions that put you in a situation with extra weight can help get you out of it.
So, give it a couple of minutes (or maybe hours) to think of how you eat, sleep, and how active your lifestyle is. Doing a full health check and blood tests for cholesterin levels would help to know more about your body and make well-thought-out decisions regarding the practice.
Naturally, if you eat junk food, are constantly stressed at work, and don’t get enough sleep, yoga’s effect will be poor.
In case, your blood tests and other health checks are slightly above the standard thanks to your lifestyle, you can start using an active yoga style right away. Fixing your diet and the sleeping regime will help you feel more enthusiasm to invest in yoga practice.
If extra weight is a result of a disease or malfunction – the approach to yoga practice again has to be another in this case. And, of course, before starting any intense yoga class, be sure to visit your doctor for recommendations.
Which Yoga Type Should I Pick For Weight Loss?
If you googled yoga for weight loss, you already know that Hot, Bikram, and Vinyasa are the most recommended types to lose weight. And I agree with that advice!
In general, the body starts losing weight when there is a difference between the number of calories you get and the amount of those you spend during the day. So even a regular practice of restorative yoga isn’t enough to shift the calorie spending. Thus, you need to pick something that will make you sweat and swear at it.
I’ll explain the difference between the offered styles below:
Hot Yoga
This yoga style is practiced in a heated room (26-37°C) that tries to replicate the environment of India. The poses included in the practice vary for each session and instructor. The session lasts 60-90 minutes. It became popular in Japan and the USA in the early 70s. Many yoga studios are offering this type of yoga.
Bikram
As a variation of hot yoga, Bikram was composed by Bikram Choudhury, an Indian yoga teacher who immigrated to the USA. Bikram yoga classes contain a fixed sequence of 26 asanas repeated in a room with 40°C temperature.
Both hot and Bikram increase your heart rate and make your body pump more considerable amounts of blood. Thus, you can spend somewhere between 330 and 460 calories per one session.
NOTE: excessive sweating of the body can cause dehydration, so you have to drink enough water during such classes. Also, because of the extra load on the cardiovascular system, you need to have a completely healthy heart and blood vessels to attend this class.
Vinyasa or Flow Нoga
Such yoga is held in a comfortable temperature regime and humidity, usually accompanied by yoga music, gentle warm-up, and relaxation in the Savasana pose.
Vinyasa Yoga 101: Guide for Beginners
Flow Yoga offers a set of postures that change each other smoothly during the class. There are no long pauses between the asanas or static posture holding you may find in Restorative or Hatha yoga. In a Flow yoga class, you constantly move from one position to another, coordinating your movement with breathing. With an average weight of 70 kilos, you can lose around 500 calories per session.
To sum up this paragraph, I would not recommend Hot and Bikram for all especially, if you are obese and not just trying to shed off 1-2 kilos. The risk of dehydration and heart issues is higher in such yoga classes. Instead, Vinyasa flow yoga is the most reasonable and comforting practice to lose weight.
How to Lose More Weight with Yoga?
To make your practice more effective use these simple tips:
- If you are a complete beginner, increase the intensity and pace gradually. Start with 2-3 Sun salutations rounds to warm up the body. After several weeks’ practice, increase the number of rounds to 5 and more. Thus, you will burn more calories, increase your heart rate and train your muscles to withstand bigger loads.
- After the warm-up, put some challenging asanas into practice. Low lunge, plank, and its variations, Four-Limbed Staff Pose, are all good to begin with. As your strength grows, add more difficult ones like – Warrior, Boat pose, plus Triangle pose (with all variations) can be mixed into an intense full-body workout.
- Increase the pace of your practice. For that, you can regulate the number of breaths taken before you transit to the next pose. For example, you can start with 2 breathe cycles (1 breath cycle = 1 inhale and 1 exhale) in Downward facing dog and then move to Uttanasana and hold it for 2 cycles. And as you become more experienced – make 1 breathe cycle for each, thus making the transition between poses faster.
Other Yoga Flow Benefits for Weight Loss
These are pleasant side effects you can get from practicing yoga regularly:
- Increased mindfulness and better stability in stress conditions;
- A better and more natural response to hunger cues;
- Improved awareness of body signals;
- Mental and emotional balance;
- More upright posture, stamina, and muscle strength, along with added flexibility;
- Enhanced metabolism.
Yoga for Weight Loss FAQs
Find below some more answers the beginners usually ask for.
Who Should Avoid Yoga for Weight Loss?
Usually, active flow yoga is not recommended for pregnant women and people with high blood pressure. Others are ok to practice yoga for weight loss. If you have some doubts about your health condition, speak with your doctor before you start.
How Much Weight Can You Lose In a Month with Yoga?
The result of yoga for weight loss is individual. It depends on the regularity, intensity, and duration of your practice within the month timeframe. Your current body condition will also impact the number of pounds you will lose.
With three sessions per week, all 60-90 minutes of Vinyasa yoga, you can expect to lose 2-5 kilos per month. Of course, if you eat healthily and stick to the regime.
How Much Time Does It Take to Lose Weight Doing Yoga?
First results from practicing yoga for weight loss can be seen within 2 weeks of active training.
Will the Weight Loss Effect Last?
Yoga offers a stable weight loss result in the long run. According to the study involved 15 500 people, those who practiced yoga regularly are less prone to gaining weight. And their results from practicing yoga for weight loss stand longer even if the training includes only 30-minutes sessions a day.
And remember: in any body and shape – you are already beautiful as long as you enjoy and cherish it. Stay healthy!
