Perform Yoga For Weight Loss: 5 Effective Yoga Poses For Losing Weight

Weight loss is not something easy to achieve. It requires a lot of sweat and patience. Are you exhausted from those heavy and sweating workouts for weight loss? Indeed, cardio and rigorous training can help you lose weight but have you ever thought about doing yoga for weight loss? Yoga supports the physical, mental and spiritual development of a human being.

Yoga has been there for so long and originated from India. Is weight loss for yoga a thing? Can we achieve weight loss doing yoga? Well, you might have heard about weight loss yoga. It’s time you know all about it! In this article, you’ll find some of the best yoga asanas for weight loss.

How Yoga Helps you Lose Weight?

Yoga might be an effective and mindful method for losing weight. An active form of weight loss yoga may actually aid in weight loss. Many experts also believe that yoga can benefit your body in various ways to facilitate weight loss.

Yoga For Weight Loss

Yoga doesn’t burn a lot of calories but the effects of yoga may aid weight loss in many ways. It makes the best version of you that you have always thought of. These postures may not be rigorous and more sedentary but it indeed does magic inside your body.

Here’s How Yoga for Weight Loss Works

1. Yoga Makes you Burn Calories

Yoga isn’t an aerobic exercise neither it is a rigorous exercise, it is more of a mindful exercise. However, there are many types of exercises that are more physical than others. Power yoga or intense yoga can help you burn a lot of calories. This type of yoga may keep you moving and helps you lose calories. This can help you with weight loss.

2. Keeps your Stress and Anxiety Levels at Bay

Yoga is considered as a mindful kind of exercise which means it heals your body as well as your mind. Stress, which is a common cause of weight loss and we usually eat more when we are stressed. This can be controlled by yoga. It decreases the stress hormones, promoting happy hormones. By doing yoga for weight loss, you not only lose weight but also learn to make yourself calm.

Also read: Breathing Exercises For Anxiety

3. Makes you Sleep Better

Bad quality sleep can be unhealthy for the body. It affects the hormone levels and makes you gain more weight. Yoga is a great way to improve the quality of sleep. When you practise yoga, you’ll be able to sleep more easily and comfortably. Good quality sleep is linked with weight loss. By practising yoga, you sleep not less and not too much.

Also, read: Fix Messy Sleep Schedule

Yoga Asanas for Weight Loss

You now know how an active and mindful yoga might be a good way to promote weight loss. The postures, moves and flexibility may actually help you burn intense calories with mindful eating. The effects of yoga are long term and practising weight loss for yoga might actually help you stay lean and healthy for a long time, expanding your lifespan. So, here are some weight loss yoga asanas to practise:

1. Sun Salutations

Most common and popular yoga asanas, sun salutations or Surya namaskar contain twelve yoga poses that emphasize different parts of the body.

Sun Salutations

Here’s how to do this yoga asana:

While standing, inhale and lift your arms overhead.
Do a forward bend and exhale as you do it.
Walk your feet back into plank pose.
Hold it for five breaths.
Lower your body to the floor and extend your legs and place your hands under the shoulder.
Inhale all the way up to cobra pose.
Exhale and lower the back and push into a downward-facing dog.
Hold it for five breaths.
Exhale as you walk your feet and stand in a forward bend.
Inhale and lift your arms.
Exhale and lower the arms.
Repeat 10 times.

Also read: Surya Namaskar: A Full Body Workout

2. Boat Pose

Boat Pose makes you work your whole body and enhances your muscle and core strength. It also promotes metabolism which makes you burn more calories and hence promotes weight loss.

Boat Pose

Here’s how to do it:

Sit straight on a mat and extend your legs.
Bend the knees and lift your feet off parallel to the floor.
Extend your hands parallel to the floor.
Hold this position for 30 seconds.
Make sure your back is straight.
Now release and repeat this 5 times.

3. Warrior Pose

Warrior pose is one of the best asanas for weight loss yoga. It stretches your whole body making your muscles work harder.

Warrior Pose

Here’s how to do warrior pose:

Stand on a mat straight and put your feet together.
Stretch your legs apart from each other.
Now bend the knee of your front leg and the other parallel to the floor.
Raise your hand above the head.
Hold this position for as long as you can. Remember not to stretch too much.
Switch the side and repeat.

4. Upward Plank

This asana might be the most difficult one if you are a beginner but the results of this asanas are prominent. It works on your back, shoulders, spine, wrists and other muscles.

Upward Plank

Here’s how to do it:

Sit on the mat and extend your legs in front of you.
Put your hands behind your hips pointing towards your feet.
Raise your body from the tailbone and also pull your back and head.
Inhale and exhale.

5. Camel Pose

Also known as Utrasana, this pose might also be a difficult one but it is one of the best asana yoga for weight loss. Make sure you do not practise this asana if you have any back issues.

Camel Pose

Here’s how to do it:

Kneel on the floor with your thighs straight and your knees hip-width apart.
Put your hands on the top of your buttocks and your fingers pointing downwards.
Slightly bend your back inwards.
Lean back slowly, touch and hold your heels with your hands.
Straighten the spine but do not strain your neck.
Hold this position for 1 minute.

These were some of the best yoga asanas for weight loss. For weight loss, you might need to keep a check on your calorie intake and the calories you burn. Without which, you can’t lose weight.

Stay healthy, stay happy!