Yoga Exercises For Weight Loss

Yoga Exercises For Weight Loss:

Wondering can yoga help you lose weight? Yoga definitely can help you lose weigth, and it comes accompanied with many positive effects on your mental and spiritual health as well!

When used correctly, incorporating all areas just as in conventional exercise,  it is safe – effective and yoga weight loss comes swiftly and easily. 

Below are the poses I recommend you use for the initial stages when using Yoga for weight loss, these are what I believe are the “core” of Yoga Poses.

The Sun Salutations When using Yoga for Weight Loss:

These exercises are a combination of Yoga Poses, Breathing Exercises, Sun Bathing and Prayer. They have been practiced for centuries by Yoga Practitioners in India, Martial Artists and African Wrestlers and as a system to rejuvenate the body and soul are beyond compare. It’s been said in the Drugless Healing circles that one round of the Sun Salutations is much better than a week of exercises at the gym!

The Sun Salutations are very simple to learn and just about anyone, regardless of their fitness or flexibility levels, can learn these simple yogic exercises.

Benefits Of Sun Salutations:

• Alleviate disorders of the skin and waist.
• Increases flexibility
• Breathing is corrected
• Mildly exercise the legs and arms
• Increases circulation.
• Best way to burn calories and reduce weight. Often recommended for obesity and depression.
• Effective way of loosening up, stretching and massaging all joints and internal organs of the body.
• Stimulate and balance all the systems of the body including the endocrine, circulatory, reproductive and digestive system.

Sun Salutations:

1. Stand straight with your palms together as in a prayer position.
2. Inhale and stretch your arms above your head.
3. Exhale and bend forward while touching your toes.
4. Inhale and stretch your right leg away from your body in a big backward step. Keep your hands and left foot firmly on the ground. Bending your head backward – your left knee should be between your hands.
5. Inhale and hold your breath. Move your left leg from your body and keeping both feet together and your knees of the floor, rest on your hands (with your arms straight) and keep your body in a straight line from head to foot.
6. Exhale and lower your body to the floor. In this position, only 8 portions of your body come in contact with the floor – two feet, two knees, two hands, your chest and forehead.
7. Inhale and bend back as much as possible bending your spine to the maximum.
8. Exhale and lift your body off the floor. Keep your feet and heels on the floor.
9. Inhale and bring your right foot along the level of your hands; your left foot and knee should touch the ground. Look up, bending your spine slightly in the same position as  No. 4 above.
10. Exhale and bring your left leg forward. Keep your knees straight and bring your head down to your knees as in the third position.
11. Raise your arms overhead and bend backward inhaling. As in Position 2.
12. Exhale and drop your arms and relax.

You have now completed one complete round of the Sun Salutation.

Perform as many rounds as possible in multiples of three. Ideally you should aim to complete six rounds minimum, and up to a maximum of thirty. It only takes about five to ten minutes, depending on your speed and intensity and is best practiced with as little clothing as possible before an open air window first thing in the morning.

Yoga For Weight Loss

Here I have covered the core pose or combination thereof when using Yoga for weight loss. However, there are specific Yoga poses, or asanas, that will target your weighty problem areas spots. There are also some specific breathing exercises that can speed up burning up of calories.

Please note that when I say use yoga for weight loss – I mean all of the Yoga areas, including the poses, the prescribed diet for practice and entire mind-set. If you were doing conventional exercise for weight loss, you’d know to eat a healthier diet right? Well, the same applies to yoga for weight loss too.