Yoga is the ways of the great rishis and ascetics to get in touch with the soul and produce harmony between the body and the mind. It is the all natural way of healing and sustaining overall health. But when we are looking for losing fat through exercise, the image of vigorous jogging, cycling, running and jumping comes to our mind and majority of people cannot associate yoga with weight loss.
But yoga and weight loss are more strongly connected than we actually know. There are numerous fundamental causes of weight gain and yoga addresses these causes from within.
Yoga works for weight loss by stimulating the liver (A healthy and strong liver can also eliminate bad fats from the body and put the good fats to use) , by activating the Thyroid Gland and boosting metabolism, maintaining the Right pH of the Body, decreasing stress and cortisol that lead to weight gain, and striking the Perfect Balance between Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous System.
Yoga also enhances strength, aerobic capacity, and lung function. If you engage in yoga, you already knew that. But if you were advised by friends, family, doctors, or even other yoga exercise students that you need to add some power walking for your heart or weight training for your muscles, there’s growing evidence that yoga is all you need for a fit mind and body.
Yoga tunes you to your system and helps you to improve coordination of your actions. When you bring your breath, your awareness, and your physical body into harmony, you allow your body to work at its greatest physical fitness capacity. The improved physical wellness and fluidness that yoga brings can boost more than just our physical well-being, as it spreads throughout all levels of our being.
Here we have a collection of different experiences women have when they used yoga for weight loss. Everyone has a unique perspective and approach toward losing weight, but the response has been generally positive. [1] [2]
We recommend Yoga Burn program for women. Check it out here or read our review.
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Real women’s experiences with yoga for weight loss
Hey there! I’m not fully a “success story” yet because I still have about 20lbs to go. However, I do think yoga has helped me to lose about 15lbs so far and is the primary focus of my exercise plan. I think that yoga has resulted in my desiring to be more active in general because I just feel so much better. So now when I have down time I want to go for a walk or a hike whereas before I would have not.
I do a really active power yoga class that causes me to sweat for a full hour. I’m curious to see if it continues being enough to get me to my desired weight. Let’s keep each other posted!
DAYLIGHT7723
I have a slightly different slant on this. Personally, my weight loss success was the result of what most studies say: 80/20 nutrition vs exercise, that is, it was very much about eating right, and less. However, I started yoga at the same sort of time, along with a bit of free weights, as strength training, to help make sure I was losing fat but maintaining, even building muscle.
I am sure that yoga has made me a LOT stronger. I’ve gone from managing a few ladies’ push ups to 50 full based on yoga alone (I do do power, though), and if I leave off for a few days, I can tell, from the shakes in my thighs. Legs, arms, core, all have got a lot stronger -Jillian Michaels is easy, now! – and yoga is responsible for that.
I did also take up running at a similar time, for cardio, but having had a knee injury and switched to low impact. And so now I know what is the running and what is the yoga, I’m actually surprised at how much of the strength is down to yoga alone. And extra bonus, yoga doesn’t ramp up my appetite the way running does, and since you do it on an empty(ish) stomach, I never get caught out by that eating two hrs before a run only for the heavens to open shocker. So there are benefits too to how you can integrate yoga into life.
Amanda
I have been doing the Yoga Burn workouts for 4 weeks now. My height is 168 cm. I started from a weight of 132 lbs and now I am at 122 lbs. The progress is slow but quite obvious. I feel better and more energized from day 1!
Julianne
This is what I’ve been looking for all these years. I can’t seem to commit to a regular yoga class because of a busy schedule, but I’ve always tried to keep doing it in one way or another. Thanks to Yoga Burn, I can do it from home, and I’ve been strict with myself for several months now.
I think the program is great and delivers what it promises. I’ve really enjoyed it and would recommend it to my friends.
Elizabeth
This program is fantastic if you combine it with a healthy diet and some routine cardio exercise. I’ve noticed improved flexibility and muscle definition after only 1 month of Yoga Burn. However, I do not believe that this program alone would bring me to my goals – your body is a lot more complicated than that and you need to work harder by changing your entire lifestyle.
Kim
I’ve been practicing yoga on a regular basis for about three years now – since before I lost most of the excess weight. It has always been in addition to cardio and strength training. But I definitely consider it an important part of my routine. Depending in the practice, it certainly can incorporate strength and a faster flow can get the heart rate up – I’m thinking things like Piyo. I also like that it can be gentle enough that when I’m tired or sore it can be a good way to relax a bit.
ECKYLS
I hadn’t lost any weight for 3 months counting calories and doing high intensity cardio until I started practicing yoga every morning and the weight started coming off straight away my body shape has changed drastically for the better and that stubborn stomach fat has disappeared by half and still going. Because I was always stressed out and the very intense cardio was stressing my body even more I couldn’t release any weight. So yoga has been amazing for releasing the stress and emotional and physical weight.
Janice
When I started practicing yoga 13 years ago, I was about 40 pounds heavier than I am now. I lost weight slowly and steadily doing only yoga for a couple of years, and then began adding other things in like cardio/strength workouts. I started running two years ago also. Overall I would say that yoga not only helped me lose weight, but helped me become more focused and peaceful. Yoga started me on a much healthier path than I was on, and has made me realize that weight is only a number- how you feel determines how healthy you are.
MUMBLES40
If you’re wanting to lose weight, I would add cardio, or even better, interval training to your yoga practice. HIIT interval work got my metabolism sorted out. It gets it going fast. The actual workouts are short -15 or 20 minutes plus you also continue to burn calories for the rest of the day. Unless you like long-distance running or other endurance type activities, interval training or HIIT does a whole lot in a little time compared to 45-60 minutes of same paced cardio. Once again, the fitness tracker doesn’t accurately calculate the calorie burn, but how you feel, how your clothes fit, will. It’s also something one doesn’t do more than a couple of times a week so it could be compatible with an extensive yoga practice. Good luck
Julia
How celebs use yoga for weight loss?
Jennifer Aniston does it. Reports are that Liv Tyler, Halle Berry, Madonna, David Duchovny and supermodel Christy Turlington do it, also. Or maybe instead of deciding a weight loss target when it comes to pounds, you may decide to monitor your improvement from the successful execution of healthful habits that can result in weight loss—such as getting into a regular exercise routine, making slow dietary changes, learning to relax and meditate every day, and so on. Either way, monitoring your progress can help you remain inspired and keep you on course to reach your perfect weight—forever.
Some places make use of this as a warm up before other more vigorous forms of yoga start.
A lesser weight target program could have adverse effects upon someone who was morbidly obese, as it could require them to work much too difficult for his or her specific state.
Make the very best of the shore excursion by walking to the never ending coasts and do not forget to take your yoga mat.
I am hoping that creates some deep subject matter creds here for me to say: As the main physical element to one’s lifestyle (beyond walking, commuting, playing etc) yoga can’t just generate important weight reduction, it could tone and sculpt, drastically increase body awareness and generate satisfaction with all the body that departs from your maddening outside targets of our masochistically weight obsessed culture that continues to get bigger despite our fixation.
There are lots of methods to eat a plant-based yoga diet and get rid of weight depending in your activity level, body kind, climate and season, access to different foods, etc. As an example, in the hot summer you could possibly feel finest on a lesser fat diet with a great deal of raw vegetables, while in a cold climate you could possibly want more substantial, warm, cooked foods with a lot of healthful fats, like olive oil, coconut oil, ghee (clarified butter), cheese, and nuts and seeds.
– Yoga expert Sondhi
Fighting to shed weight, or looking for healthier approaches to keep your own ideal weight? Yoga as well as the inescapable obligation into a deepening respiration practice on and off the mat can perform much more than take off several pounds, but take it from a man together with the stretch marks, the 32in waist along with the satisfaction to haven’t possessed a scale in more years than I can recall: it will play any part you would like it to in removing unwanted fat out of your body (in combination with other reasonable attempts): center stage, supporting performer, cameo etc.
Given Marc’s huge topic about afterburn of resistance training and efficacy of HIIT cardio, I’d like to indicate that Bikram yoga (and possibly other kinds I haven’t attempted) includes a good deal of strength training (mostly the largest muscles i.e. legs, core and lower back with upper body coming as you go heavier) and feels pretty much like a high intensity cardio work out for perhaps 60-70 of the 90 minutes – as well as the other advantages.
Nevertheless, in the event that you would like to work with yoga as a regular weight reduction management technique, then the best action to take will be to understand from a suitable yoga teacher before trying to master the poses and procedures by yourself. In a different study, several heart patients with narrowed coronary arteries were put on a lowfat vegetarian diet and told to practice yoga regularly.
In the event you’re just starting out with Yoga and aim to maintain your routine slow and continuous to begin, the fastest means you happen to be likely to find fat loss results will be to join your yoga training with a healthful diet strategy and an aerobic exercise. Bikram or Hot Yoga: be ready to spend some time in a hot room that’s generally around 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Longterm Yoga practice starts an awareness that runs contrary to unconscious eating.
– Kimberly
Attempt integrating these additional moves into your practice, or give these special poses a chance, and find the outcomes when you step on the mat (which is actually the main part of all). Yoga has a number of the most elementary respiration practices at its base which aims at cleansing, balancing and rejuvenating our internal organs as well as their functions.
Produce a mental picture of fitness in the mind and keep repeating it like positive affirmations for fat loss. According to her, yoga is a fruitful instrument in making coordination among body, mind and health. Nevertheless, yoga generally is great for weight loss for the reason that it makes you more aware of your body, of the manner in which you hold yourself and the manner in which you stand, while it also tones your muscles and makes your body more flexible, easier to move. Additionally, body metabolism shoots up using the custom of Ashtanga yoga which is the largest demand of the hour to slim down.
To actually reach, and keep, a weight which is best on your body, you need to concentrate on optimum function of your body. Pick a beginner’s yoga class in the beginning, and go slow – it might be more challenging than you might imagine. In the event you’d like to ramp up your weight reduction and calorie burning, attempt Power Yoga, which will give you an aerobic exercise, also. The Ashtanga discipline of yoga is a great program option for anybody looking to slim down. Rather, you will be directed via various stretches and poses to simply help lengthen muscle tissue and tendons and give attention to your head and body link.
– Rita
Yoga yet may or might not really help someone to loose weight, based on the type of yoga one practices. In the event you are not paying attention to your own daily diet, you will not see the effects you desire.
Tender yoga can also be an effective way to begin slowly, which can be vital in the event you are new to yoga in order to avoid harms that may immobilize you as well as blow all hopes for fat loss at least for a while — and functioning as enough of a buzzkill that you write off yoga completely.
Tend not to concentrate on weight reduction, instead concentrate on enhancing well-being for 2-3 months and view the remarkable change in your quality of life, morale and will power. So take in what experts say about how to do yoga for weight reduction, and prepare yourself to pare down with a few downward dogs. One thing all our specialists agree on is that yoga may be a fantastic intro to the world of fitness.
Complete, research shows practicing yoga may work for weight loss when combined having a healthier diet and that the more regularly you practice yoga, the greater effects you will see on the scale. To comprehend the need for yoga and its particular relationship with human body, I got in touch having a well celebrated yoga professional together with fitness specialist, Seema Sondhi. The greatest edge is the fact that yoga is a relaxing method of exercising which as mentioned before alleviates you from any form of pressure. But relaxing yoga poses can cause the appropriate balance involving the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system that’s crucial to alleviate tension and anxiety. As yoga teaches patience, it necessarily results in approval of great eating habits.
– Julianne
Generally speaking, performing at least 300 minutes of aerobic exercise per week can place you to the road toward weight reduction. Weight gain is because of complete range of factors including genetics, diet, physical activity, life events, cash and availability of foods, amongst many more. Miller also uses techniques like changing regular yoga poses with unique props. Yoga is incredibly useful and fast for losing weight if done consistently and beneath the oversight of a yoga specialist.
Power yoga is quite definitely like Ashtanga yoga except it will not follow a set series of poses. If you should be trying to find serious fat loss, then it has to be performed over a time period and underneath the oversight of a yoga specialist.
She lost weight – about twenty pounds – as well as the weight she continued to take was spread better on her body.
The sort of yoga which is most commonly practiced in the west is known as ‘hatha’ yoga – yet, this is certainly not the sole form of yoga. Now that we’ve looked into a number of the various poses that may assist you in slimming down in your target areas. Should you be here then we presume which you mean serious company and actually trying to find an answer to fat loss.
– Andrea
The fitness industry doesn’t quite know what to do with yoga. I think it is partially because yoga is a physical activity, but so much more. For me yoga is mind, body, heart experience that keeps me balanced physically, mentally and emotionally. And, I am sweating like mad when I am done with my 45-50 minute daily practice.
That said, my yoga teacher encourages his students to do additional cardio and I must admit, I ‘m good about that in good weather… love to ride my bike… not so good in lousy weather,
My success story with yoga begins after reaching my goal. I started doing yoga about 2 months after I reached goal and I have maintained for over 5 years…. I call that a success story and that has been primarily through yoga.
CAROLJEAN64
Weight Loss Success Stories: Heidi’s challenge
Heidi had always been “heavy but not huge”—until she got pregnant. “After my son was born, I went on a high-protein diet,” she says. “But because I was still eating fried chicken and mozzarella sticks, I couldn’t get the scale to budge below 178 pounds.”
Diet tip: Seizing the moment
Shortly after turning 40, Heidi—a longtime yoga fan—decided to become a yoga instructor. During the training program, her teacher asked the class to commit to making one healthy change for the next 40 days. “I had been thinking since my birthday that I could go my whole life not knowing what it feels like to be proud of my body,” she says. “The challenge—along with the fact that I’d just seen a flyer for a new boot camp class that promised to transform your body in weeks—was just what I needed to finally achieve weight loss success.”
Diet tip: Basic training
Heidi signed up for the boot camp and was soon hitting the gym at 5 a.m. three days a week. “My idea of cardio was reading a magazine while I did the elliptical for a few minutes,” she says. “But the trainer had us doing push-ups, pulling weighted sleds around, and even flipping tires over for a whole hour!” Although she planned on quitting after the 40 days were up, Heidi was so encouraged by her weight loss success—she was down 10 pounds by the end—that she signed up for another session. This time around, she also tackled her diet. “I’d always thought I was being virtuous by skipping breakfast and refusing to snack between meals,” she says. “When my boot camp instructor suggested eating five times a day, I thought she was crazy. It seemed like so much food! But my way wasn’t working, so I decided to give hers a try.” Heidi’s mini meals (like cut-up fresh veggies with whole-grain crackers and cheese) kept her from feeling deprived—and helped her get down to 128 pounds a year and a half later.
Diet tip: Ripple effect
A svelte new shape wasn’t the only payoff for Heidi’s hard work: She also gained the confidence to open her own yoga studio. “Becoming healthy has opened so many doors for me,” she says. “Don’t get me wrong—I love the way I look now, and the fact that my body’s strong enough to crank out 100 push-ups. But the best part of this whole process has been inspiring my students to make positive changes in their own lives.”
Heidi Axelrod
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My resolve for The Golden Years was to do things I never dreamed I’d be doing, and Bikram Yoga definitely falls into that category. My daughter, Courtenay, urged me to go with her in February 2013, and I am so glad she did!
In my new frame of mind, I’ll try anything – once! I was intrigued by the “no matter your age, weight, fitness level, you can do Bikram Yoga” claim (and I am now living proof of that). I was interested in the detox benefits and the fact that it is a work-out that is equally challenging to everyone, whatever their fitness level. My “once” soon became a three times a week habit. I felt great and my health was improving in a number of ways.
Then after several months, my daughter Allison agreed to join me – to humor me no doubt but also to see if she could find relief for her persistent back pain. Her first class stunned her and sold her at the same time, and she began attending daily. Her own benefits were profound (she healed her back condition as well as a hormonal imbalance). She then convinced me that this practice needed to be a part of my daily life, so I began going every day or at least 5 times a week minimum. That is when, in addition to feeling great, I began losing weight and realized you can build muscle at any age.
My doctor says Bikram Yoga is the best work-out on the planet, the very best thing you can do for yourself. I wish I had known this decades ago but am so glad to have it in my life now. I am grateful to my daughter Courtenay for introducing me to Bikram yoga and for my daughter Allison for inspiring me to take my own practice to a deeper level!” –
Prudy O’rear
I started Bikram Yoga September of 2012. I had just gone to a birthday party in Vegas, and when the pictures came back I knew I had to do something! I decided to start with yoga since I thought it would be something light to get me back into working out. I remembered a friend had once told me about Bikram Yoga, so I looked into it, and before I knew it I was attending my first class!
I won’t lie – it wasn’t the “light” experience I was expecting! The first class was really tough for me, and so was the second. I even cried real tears on my best friend’s couch a few times about it. But I had decided to give this yoga an honest try and was determined not to give up. I kept going, and after my 4th class I took a leap of faith and signed up for one of the Yoga Challenges which began October 1st.
I completed my Challenge by taking 20 classes in 30 days! It was not easy, but it was so worth it! By the end of November I was down 4 dress sizes (I had to throw out that old Vegas dress and get a new one for another party I attended) which really made me smile. But aside from the happy result of losing weight, I have gained in ways that I didn’t expect from my Bikram practice.
For one, I used to suffer with insomnia, but since starting Bikram yoga I sleep better than I have in years! I also don’t tire at work as easily as I used to, and I feel more at ease.
Perhaps the most important change that has happened since I started yoga is the increased self-awareness and self-appreciation I have developed. I have begun making my health and wellbeing a priority, not just secondary to everyone else’s needs. I have become more mindful of how I eat. I take time for yoga and am more likely to say no to things that aren’t in my best interest.
While it’s not all rose petals in the yoga room, I have come to love this yoga series, and I appreciate all the hard work and attention of the teachers !!
Dawne Kelly