Does Yoga Help in Burning Calories and Losing Weight?

Can Yoga Help You Lose Weight?

Though there are many activities that burn more calories than yoga, several studies suggest that yoga may offer diverse effects making it a useful option for sustained, healthy weight loss. Researchers also suggest that developing mindfulness through yoga may help people resist unhealthy food & stress eating, help them have fewer cravings, and also have a reduced appetite.

The American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine published a review that concluded that yoga can boost weight loss through several factors such as burning calories, reducing stress levels, enhancing other forms of exercise, and helping you feel more connected to your body, which enhances awareness of satiety, preventing overeating.

How to Use Yoga for Weight Loss?

Combination of more rigorous yoga styles with a lower caloric intake can help you burn more calories. Also, by eating fewer calories and simultaneously challenging your body with yoga workouts at least 5 times a week, you can steadfastly work toward your fitness goals while feeling more peaceful and less stressed at the same time.

Calorie Burning Yoga Poses

Yoga is estimated to burn around 180-600 calories per hour depending on its various styles. These are the high-calorie burning yoga poses one must include in their regular practice.

1. Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation):

This is known to be ‘the ultimate asana’ due to its multi-dimensional benefits. Suryanamaskar includes a total of 12 yoga poses and a single set of this burns around 13.90 calories. By doing it for 25-30 minutes, one could burn around 250-350 calories depending on the number of sets, the weight of the person, and the speed at which one performs it.

2. Plank (Phalakasana):

This pose is a major calorie-burning exercise because every muscle is engaged while practicing it. The longer you stay in this pose – ranging from 30 seconds to 5 minutes – the more calories you burn.

3. Wheel Pose (Chakrasana):

Along with engaging legs, buttocks, thighs, spine, chest, arms muscles, this pose also involves heart and lungs. This pose increases the heart rate thus burning a lot of calories.

4. Chair Pose (Utkatasana):

The largest muscle in the body is involved while practicing this pose. The longer you hold this pose, the more beneficial it is and more calories get burned. One minute of holding this pose burns around 5-6 calories.

5. High Lunge or Crescent Lunge (Anjaneyasana):

This lunge pose is known as a muscle-strengthening pose and it is especially good for the glutes and quads. This body balancing pose requires your body to work harder to maintain the balance thus burning more calories.

Types of Yoga for Weight Loss

Here are many types of Yoga to burn calories and eventually lose weight:

• Bikram Yoga

This is a hot yoga style that tends to burn most calories because it includes the most consistently challenging pose sequence that engages full body. This yoga style is performed in a room heated to 105F with 40% humidity. It typically consists of a 90-minute session featuring 26 postures and two breathing exercises. As per a research conducted, it has been found that on an average, men burn 460 calories and women burn 330 calories per Bikram session.

• Iyengar Yoga

This style of yoga focuses on the details of your postures, helping you develop your muscles and mental strength. You need to hold your positions longer in this style, which helps you stay focused. This style also encourages you to be mindful of your diet, which helps you avoid unhealthy foods and binge eating.

• Forrest Yoga

This style of yoga features intense postures that thoroughly strengthen your core. The long holding of the postures, strengthened core, free movement of limbs, and other intense steps in this style can help you lose weight to a considerable extent if you follow it consistently.

• Hatha Yoga

This style involves a series of postures involving sitting and standing movements. However, the interesting point about this style is that it doesn’t involve a particular sequence. The postures aim to work at your large muscle groups, eventually helping you burn many calories.

• Vinyasa Yoga

The yoga postures here are fast-paced and mainly aim to improve cardiovascular health. You should prepare yourself well before opting for this style of yoga, as the asanas keep flowing at a very quick pace. Speed and intensity are the characteristics of this style of yoga.

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Sources: shvasa.com

Disclaimer: This blog provides general information and discussions about health and related subjects. The information and other content provided in this blog, website or any linked materials are not intended and should not be considered or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Kindly contact your doctor before starting a new medicine or health regime.

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Published on July 15, 2023