Yoga Is Very Effective For Weight Loss
Renowned for its capacity to reduce stress, enhance flexibility and improve muscle tone and strength, yoga is not so well known for its contributions to weight loss. Most people don’t think of yoga as a way to burn off the calories, so it can be surprising to discover that it can be an effective way to boost your weight loss efforts.
Traditional yoga is not an extremely active pursuit. It works your muscles, but you rarely break a sweat just by holding a pose (unless it’s really hot in the room). But the muscle-building effects of yoga do allow you to burn calories more efficiently. So if you participate in a good aerobic workout, you will see greater results than you would if you weren’t doing yoga.
An important component of yoga is discipline of mind and body, which will help you stay committed to your exercise program and healthy eating habits. Yoga reinforces the link between your body and your mind, increasing your desire to look after your body. This is very helpful for people who want to lose weight but have trouble getting motivated.
New Yoga Varieties
If you plan on using yoga by itself to help you drop some pounds, there are some new variations on the traditional practice of yoga, which provide the advantages of both yoga and aerobic exercise in one package. These types of yoga include:
Vinyasa yoga - Vinyasa yoga is centered on shifting from one asana, or pose, to another while concentrating on your breathing. The Sun Salutation is a typical position, but there are many others. Vinyasa yoga is often practiced in a heated room to encourage sweating.
Ashtanga yoga - Ashtanga is a complex style of yoga that includes six different series of poses. Each series is more complex than the previous one, so it’s important to start at the beginning and work your way up.
Power yoga - This is an Americanized version of yoga. It combines faster, more active movements with traditional yoga breathing techniques.
These yoga styles will give you many of the benefits of a cardiovascular workout such as increasing heart rate and working up a sweat, much more so than traditional styles of yoga. There is less of a conventional workout than say, an aerobics class, but they give you the best of both worlds. These are great styles for those who are a little too short on time to take two different exercise classes.
One the surface, aerobics and yoga have few similarities. Nevertheless, conventional yoga can boost the benefits of cardiovascular exercise, and the newer styles of this ancient practice can be a great replacement for your usual aerobics. If you’re dissatisfied with the results you’re seeing from your normal exercise program, why not give yoga a try?
