Does yoga help lose weight?

There are several styles of yoga that meet different demands and needs. If you are wondering if you can lose weight while doing yoga, we are here to answer the question and to study the link between yoga and weight loss.

However, the effect will not be as effective as in the so-called «classic» sport sessions, because yoga will not allow you to burn so much fat. It is rather a bonus to the rest, which must be associated with a healthy and maintained rhythm of life because there is no «magic» yoga posture to lose weight and ... your belly fat!

Anyway you have to know that regular yoga practice will help you maintain a good heart rate but above all a balanced mental health. You can associate hatha yoga and sun salutations to your sport practice and you will see how much you will reduce stress that takes such a big amount of your positive energy.

Is Yoga useful to lose weight?

If you were counting on yoga to rebuild your dream body, it’s off to a bad start. Being a gentle discipline, practicing yoga will only make you burn about 200 calories per hour of practice, which is not really much when you know that a man must burn about 2500 calories to stay fit and a woman around 2000.

However, it is strongly recommended to combine a healthy lifestyle with yoga. It means that it is important to have a balanced diet first, as well as one or more recurring and more intense physical activities. Everybody has one’s own rhythm but you always have to try to give yourself to the maximum and flourish.

Yoga will play more of a relaxing role in the process, it will offer you moments where you will be focused on yourself and yourself alone, which is not at all negligible for anyone wishing to find a healthy lifestyle.

The benefits of yoga on the body

As we have just explained, yoga has a psychological rather than physical role. Even if it will help you in everything that is flexible and therefore indirectly in the alleviation of some pain in the lower back for example, it will help you even more in your state of mind.

It is your shelter, your moment of happiness in your frantic pace of life that helps you keep your feet on the ground and find the motivation to do other activities.

Of course, there are a lot of demanding postures that will help you improve your cladding and thus strengthen your body, which can be synonymous with weight loss for some, but again not as effective as running or fitness for example.

Which yoga is better to lose weight?

The link between fat loss and this discipline is more subtle than it seems. Yoga changes your relationship with the body and encourages you to make better choices, including how you feed yourself. In addition, many people tend to eat more when they feel stressed and yoga helps to fight stress.

If you really want to boost your weight loss, it is recommended to choose a more toned yoga style that will force you to go above and beyond, rather than a classic yoga session that consists of a few relaxation and breathing exercises. Like any activity related to weight loss, regularity is the key.

Choose Ashtanga, Vinyasa or Power Yoga to promote your thinning, which you can of course pair with quieter exercises such as Moon salutation, Restorative Yoga.

At the end of your session, you can have a trataka meditation or even practice yoga nidra to help you relax more.

How often do you have to practice yoga to lose weight effectively?

Practicing at least 4 or 5 times a week is the best way to proceed and achieve your weight goals. If you don’t necessarily have the time to do it as frequently, then it’s better to do fewer sessions but better quality. The goal will then be to spend your energy a maximum, but don’t forget  that it must remain above all a leisure that brings you pleasure.

Do not focus on weight loss, try to thrive first, because this is the primary goal of any sport. Take pleasure, discover, learn and then you will see that the results on your body will be done by themselves.

Your body will greatly thank you for all the care you give it. It will know how to reciprocate you in due time.

The last thing to consider is the ability to focus on yourself and your feelings in order to know what your body needs. For example, eat when you really need it, rather out of habit.

Here is the end of this article on yoga and weight loss. We approached the subject gently first just asking the question “does yoga really make you lose weight ?”. Then we talked about the benefits of yoga in general, to finish on the types of yoga that promote weight loss and the optimal frequency of yoga practice. We hope you enjoyed it.

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