Hello! Yoga for weight loss has become a very popular way to lose weight. Meanwhile, a whole army of experts claims that it is impossible to lose weight with the help of yoga.
How to be, whom to believe, and lose weight or not in this way? In today's article I will try to answer these and a number of other questions.
What is yoga
Since I am by no means an expert in this matter, I will understand the topic using the Internet - what they say, what they write about and what other people advise. And first, let's find out, what, in fact, is yoga?
As the omniscient Wikipedia testifies, it is a complex of mental, physical, spiritual practices, with the help of which a person achieves harmony of body and spirit.
It was practiced by ancient Hindu deities like Shiva. How does all this relate to parting with excess weight? There are two opposing points of view here.
The first is unrelated.
Mythical weight loss
Probably, the statement that with the help of spiritual practices they lose weight arose on the basis that all yogis are thin (have you ever seen at least one fat yogi?). However, experts say that their thinness is caused by years of restricting themselves in nutrition, and nothing else.
As they say, a number of studies have been conducted that have revealed the fact that in the process of doing such exercises, the metabolism decreases. And weight loss, as science knows, on the contrary, is based on an improvement, an increase in metabolism.
Yoga is a relaxing system based on meditation and self-absorption. With this approach, life processes, including metabolism, on the contrary, slow down.
Other researchers have calculated the loss of calories during yoga - 2-3 per minute, that is, approximately 105-145 per hour. This is equivalent to shopping for the same period.
By the way, in a state of sleep or just rest, we lose 1-1.5 calories per minute. Your heart rate also hardly increases during exercise (which, according to respected experts, is important - a more frequent heartbeat and at least a little sweating indicate that you are working on your body).
How can you lose weight by losing calories?
Non-mythical weight loss
The second is the opposite point of view.
Here it is necessary, as they say, "to dig deeper." Why do people get fat? There are many reasons for this, among the most common are the wrong lifestyle, overeating, minimal physical activity, genes.
What is yoga based on? Experts in this field argue that it is mainly on thought. It doesn't matter how many calories you burn during the session. Something else is important.
How effectively do your workouts affect the harmonization of your consciousness.
Reminds me of the popular saying that we are what we think we are, doesn't it? In the case of yoga, this is about the same. Among the examples in this part, I found this one, almost unbelievable. A man who fell from the 9th floor broke his arms and legs and was chained to a bed.
It seemed like it was forever. But a year later he was already living an ordinary life, and the secret turned out to be simple: lying in bed and unable to do anything, he began to mentally imagine how he moves his arms and legs. And soon he actually began to move them, and then to perform yoga poses.
Why do kilograms go away
But why? Well, a person sits in a lotus position, tuned his consciousness, leads to a harmonious state of mind and emotions - what does weight loss have to do with it?
In general, there is no exact explanation of why weight loss occurs. Science cannot answer this unambiguously, experts from both sides (opponents and supporters) cannot find a common language either.
Adherents say that the right thoughts tune the body in the right way and put all body systems in order. You must learn to control your mind, to expel negative thoughts.
Along the way, the practice of postures also has a good tonic effect - it is not so easy, in fact, to sit frozen in one position.
As a result, the process of losing weight is as follows:
- You work out the muscles, make them more flexible.
- Classes act like a massage - asanas affect the muscles and internal organs, setting them up for proper work and simultaneously provoking the cleansing of the body of toxins.
- This contributes to good blood supply and nerve conduction, the use of fats for their intended purpose, and not for their accumulation in tissues.
- The result of such cleansing is the desire not to overeat and eat healthier food - vegetables, fruits, whole grain cereals (yogis, as you know, are vegetarians for the most part).
- As a result of all of the above, energy flows through your body more evenly, which improves both physical and mental health.
In general, as they say, yoga
- It improves the functioning of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, and intensive breathing training, coupled with exercises, strengthens the heart muscle.
- Increases the endurance of the body. From simple to complex - easy asanas are replaced by others, more complex and thus you strengthen your body.
- Strengthens the spine, improves posture, relieves back and muscle pain.
- Improves metabolism and boosts immunity
- It relieves emotional stress, increases the level of the hormone of happiness (serotonin), which helps to improve mood, acquire peace of mind and, in general, fight depression.
Which yoga is best?
For everyone who starts to study, this question becomes one of the most important. And in vain. For starters, as advised, it is best to just attend a group session and just watch what happens there. And pay attention, first of all, not to the classes themselves, but to the coach.
Because it is on how good your contact with the teacher will be, how competent he will be, at first 90% of your success depends.
It is also worth remembering that in yoga (in any of its forms) there are no easy asanas, or rather, it takes time for a feeling of lightness to come from them.
In any case, experts advise beginners not to be too zealous.
Types of yoga
In fact, there are a lot of them, and we will not dwell on all of them. In short, the most popular among those who decide to choose yoga as a fitness.
Hatha yoga- a classic teaching that is recommended for beginners. Aimed at preparing the body for spiritual perfection. In addition to physical and breathing exercises, she teaches the ability to relax, eat right, and helps cleanse the body of toxins.
power yoga- was created as if specifically in order to refute the claims of skeptics that yoga does not accelerate metabolism. Accelerates, supporters assure, and how. Created in the 1990s, in the early stages it resembles hatha yoga, and then goes deeper into the process of building muscle mass and dynamics.
Bikram yoga or hot yoga- as the name suggests, you will feel hot during the process of performing her asanas. And so it is. Classes are held at an average temperature of 45 degrees Celsius. Such fitness in a hot room is another answer to the accusations that because of yoga they do not lose weight, because they do not sweat. They sweat, and how. But, people with chronic diseases, before classes, you need to consult a doctor.
Ashtanga yoga- also, like strength training, is aimed at developing physical strength and endurance of the body. Since it requires serious preparation, it has gained particular popularity among professional athletes - this helps them achieve good results.
Rules for beginners
- Severe illnesses and recent surgeries, as well as pregnancy for more than 3 months are contraindications.
- Yoga is suitable for people of all ages, but a doctor's consultation is necessary, especially if you are in poor health.
- Do not perform asanas without consulting a trainer - there are exercises that inexperienced people increase pressure or can have a bad effect on the joints, knees or spine.
- Be careful at first with intense breathing exercises, as well as with flexibility exercises. When performing asanas, no discomfort should be felt.
- No need to immediately give up meat - adherents say that the desire to become a vegetarian comes gradually, with immersion in the teachings. When you yourself realize that asanas and breathing practices fill your body with much better energy than a piece of fried pork.
- Exercises can be carried out at any time of the day - morning training is suitable for someone, on the contrary, evening training is suitable for someone. It is recommended to do basic stretching exercises before going to bed.
- You need to do it on an empty stomach, that is, do not eat 1.5-2 hours before training. The room should be well ventilated, you need to do asanas with bare feet.
It is believed that yoga has a solution for every problem area on the body. Entire complexes have been developed for arms, legs, spine, joints, buttocks. However, do not expect quick weight loss. If you decide to lose weight through this practice, you should always remember - yoga is not a couple of months.
Losing weight with it is a long process, and it depends, first of all, on the flexibility of your mind and on how effectively you can put your body systems in order.
"Yoga / Fitness Yoga / Yoga: Harmony of body and soul"- these are three discs at once that will help you get to know yoga at home, learn to understand your body and master several sets of exercises at once.
What to remember
- The secrets of harmony in yoga do not lie in the loss of calories, but in the right mindset.
- People of all ages can do it, but you need to start with caution.
- Neglecting safety precautions during training is fraught with injuries - you should not experience any discomfort when performing asanas.
- It is not worth it to suddenly change your life one day by deciding to do yoga - the right lifestyle will find you if you line up your thoughts accordingly.
Well, that's all I have for today. See you in new articles on my site.
In most cases, a sedentary lifestyle is responsible for excess weight. Yoga, the purpose of which is to work on stretching and reviving the elasticity of the muscles, giving them tone, can solve this problem. While aerobics requires a lot of mobility, yoga can be a sport cultivated by everyone, regardless of age or physical condition. In addition, not only yoga helps to lose weight, it allows us to burn unnecessary calories and restore the spiritual balance that we all miss so much.
What do you associate yoga with? Perhaps with thin Indians doing marvelous exercises. However, today in Europe and the US yoga is much more popular than in India. But the fact is that there are not so many people who practice yoga regularly.
Yoga asanas are available to everyone. At any bookstore or kiosk, you can buy a yoga book or video. The practice of yoga has become widely available material, so the decision to devote a few minutes to lose weight and see in practice whether yoga helps to lose weight and reduce the stomach depends on the individual.
The daily practice of hatha yoga makes a significant contribution to making the body of practicing people flexible and elastic, and the internal organs healthy.
Instead of looking for a new miracle diet and magical ways to lose weight, you need to do what will bring real benefits and long-term effects.
- Start controlling what you eat and when you eat, so you can quickly protect yourself from compulsive overeating, snacking and stress eating.
- Burn fat from the abdomen and buttocks while engaging other parts of the body.
- Reduce stress, which accelerates the accumulation of abdominal fat.
- Speed up your metabolism to burn fat throughout the day.
Light exercise is an easy and safe way to shed a few extra pounds.
And now the most important thing - why do you need to lose weight?
The first step to successful weight loss is motivation and self-denial in the process of achieving the goal. Studies show that people who are motivated are more successful in losing weight, and the effect achieved lasts longer and is more durable.
Your motivations
Motives can be different:
- Maybe the wedding is coming up and you want to wear a lovely wedding dress.
- Want to look more attractive to the other half.
- You need to lose a few extra pounds to make it easier to find your soul mate.
- You want a chiseled figure so that you can wear a bikini for the first time after many years.
- Do you have another reason? If yes, then good. Focus on what you want to achieve and this will help you to complete what you have planned.
Highlights of yoga
Strength of will
Yoga classes develop willpower. With the constant performance of asanas, the limitations of the body are overcome, and willpower and self-discipline are developed. This brings a certain benefit and effect in everyday life. And if you constantly set aside some time for training and stick to nutrition when doing yoga, then there will be no doubt whether it is possible to lose weight with the help of yoga.
Burns extra calories
Yoga classes can be very tiring and require physical stamina and strength. Yoga is not intended for very quick weight loss, it helps a person acquire a psychophysical balance. This is such a powerful system that has so many varieties and ways of working with the body, among which exercises can be chosen to help lose weight.
Yoga develops psycho-physical balance, strength, will, concentration, which is necessary for a person who wants to lose weight.
Various varieties of yoga include several thousand exercises and body postures, so that a person has unlimited possibilities for creating his own set of exercises, with which you can lose weight and which will help you burn a large number of calories.
Around the world, millions of people practice yoga. Combined with the right diet, which will need to be followed and physical exercises, you will no longer doubt whether yoga will help you lose weight and burn extra calories and lose weight.
Getting Started Can Be Difficult
Accelerates metabolism
Yoga asanas performed every day cause the body to regenerate, which in turn leads to the consumption of a large number of calories every day in order to restore muscles and tendons after training. The recovery process continues after training until the end of the next day. By practicing yoga every day, the body gets used to the daily regeneration and increased metabolic rate. This results in a higher calorie requirement. And in order to lose weight and use deferred reserves earlier, as well as achieve a quick effect, it is best to exercise every day.
Reduces stress
Yoga reduces stress hormones and improves insulin sensitivity - a signal for the body to burn food for fuel instead of storing it as fat. It also promotes spiritual peace, thereby reducing the frequency of stress-induced binge eating.
Yoga is safe even for beginners
It does not burden you with large expenses, there is no need to buy fitness equipment, appropriate clothes, or buy a subscription. Yoga is not fraught with frequent injuries, such as people involved in athletics or other dangerous sports.
Yoga for fast weight loss is also available to people who are not too mobile and fast.
Lose weight with yoga
For people who want to lose weight with yoga, you need to choose exercises designed to burn more calories, reduce weight, remove excess fat from the abdomen and thighs, and give the body a beautiful shape.
The yogic set of exercises is isometric, so the intensity of their implementation can be adjusted taking into account your physical capabilities. In the beginning, you can practice more gently, and when you learn how to do asanas and strengthen your muscles, you can practice more intensively. As a result, more and more calories will be burned during training, and on the other hand, progress will be gradual and safe.
Bowed Warrior Position - Virabhadrasana
Strengthens the muscles of the legs, ankles and arms, while stretching the muscles of the chest. Thanks to this, a person feels stronger, breathing becomes deeper.
- Get into the Tadasana position.
- In a small jump, place your feet shoulder-width apart, arms extended to the sides.
- Rotate your left foot ninety degrees.
- Bend your left leg at the knee and turn your torso to the left.
- Move your straight right leg further back.
- Tilt your torso forward and twist it to the left so that your elbow is directly above your bent knee. The gaze is directed to the fingers of the outstretched left hand joined together.
- Lower your feet a little lower. Hold the position for at least 20 seconds.
- Turn the soles of your feet parallel to each other. Jump into Tadasana position.
- Relax and do the exercise 5-8 times.
This asana is full of grace and charm, thanks to which the body receives the strength and balance of a ballerina. This position strengthens the arms, hips, shoulders, burns calories, helps tone the chest, and is especially recommended after a day in the chair.
- Get into the position of Tadanas. Jump with your feet hip-width apart. Shift your body weight to your left leg. Bend your right knee slightly and move your leg back a few inches.
- Bend your right leg more at the knee and lift it up behind your back.
- Grab the ankle of the right leg behind the back with the right hand.
- Raise your left straight arm straight in front of you at shoulder level, palm down.
- Exhale and place the foot of your left foot on the floor, lean forward slightly.
- Move the right leg as far away from the body as possible, as if you want to straighten it despite attempts to hold it.
- Hold the position for 15-30 seconds and repeat on the other side.
Position "fixed press"
This is the simplest method that gives tangible results when modeling the abdomen. How to perform it and at what pace, it all depends on the nature and effect you want to achieve. In order to lose weight, you need to study the technique of performing the exercise as best as possible. Preferably using various devices. There are various techniques for performing asanas: simple, on a bench, with a ball and a stick.
- Lie on your back on a medium-soft rug (mat, carpet, blanket). Bend your legs at the knees, the foot rests completely on the ground.
- Put your hands behind your head, but do not connect them. Spread your elbows out to the sides. Look straight ahead.
- The lumbar spine lies firmly on the mat. Tighten your stomach. This is the starting position.
- Breathe in. As you exhale, lift your shoulder blades a few inches up. At the moment of maximum tension of the abdominal muscles, hold the movement for one second.
- Inhale and lower your torso into a prone position.
- Repeat several times.
To make the exercise easier, imagine that your chest, arms and head are in the same plane and form a single whole - lift them together, as if indestructible block. This will help you avoid common mistakes.
Yoga - kundalini
This is one of the areas of yoga, where the performance of a complete set of static and dynamic asanas is accompanied by the chanting of mantras and special breathing techniques (pranayama), and also includes meditation, relaxation and mudras.
In the West, like yoga, kundalini became known thanks to the philosopher and worshiper of yoga - Yogi Bhajan, who discovered the sacred science of kundalini yoga to the world. It consists in the fact that a person has reached his consciousness through practice and his own experience, sound and asana techniques.
Kundalini is the fastest and most effective way to achieve mutual understanding and harmony between consciousness, body and soul, as well as learn to love every moment of life.
Briefly about kundalini yoga
Seven steps to happiness:
- Devotion. Loyalty gives you character.
- Character. This is your characteristic and all its aspects, facts, actions are under your control. Yin and Yang meet here and the action is completely balanced. Character gives you dignity.
- Dignity. People start to trust you, respect you. Dignity gives you divinity.
- Divinity. What is divinity? This is when people don't have duality. When you are trusted right away. They are not afraid of you. Divinity gives you grace.
- Grace. When there is grace between people, then there are no interferences, omissions and hidden subtext. Grace gives strength and selflessness (sacrifice).
- Dedication. You can take on the pain of another person. This selflessness will bring you happiness.
- Happiness.
Kundalini yoga is for every age group. She knows no boundaries, origin, nationality, creed or religion. It is the heritage of humanity to which everyone has access.
Kundalini yoga is practice and knowledge for all of us to be healthy, happy, calm.
This yoga is for people living in the modern world, having a family, a home, a job, who want to balance their inner world with the outer reality. The word kundalini comes from the word kundala, which means "a lock of the beloved's hair."
Kundalini is the awakening of energy, the creative potential that exists in every human being.
Yoga classes are, first of all, work on yourself, on your mind and body. Special exercises allow you to get rid of imbalance, bring your body and spirit into a state of harmony. Accordingly, if a person becomes the master of various systems of his body (musculoskeletal, respiratory), he begins to lose weight.
It is the relaxation of the muscles in combination with static loads during yoga that gives the effect. But do not forget that yoga is not a sport, much less a diet. It is a spiritual teaching, a way of life. And this practice should be done regularly.
In addition, you should eliminate bad habits, if you have any. No smoking and alcohol.
There are different types of yoga. One of the most popular is hatha yoga. It is a complex respiratory and physical. Don't worry if things don't work out for you at first. After all, the body also needs time to adapt to breathing slowly. The main thing is to learn to relax with the help of breathing.
Hatha yoga includes exercises that directly help to lose weight. For example, uttanasana is an intense stretching pose that removes fat from the waist, improves the functioning of the digestive tract, and strengthens the upper legs. Chaturanga Dandasana, or staff pose, tones the press, improves.
If you have started yoga, you can also add running or walking to the exercises. This will greatly increase the effect of losing weight.
Also in yoga there are whole systems of exercises for weight loss. For example, some asanas of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. The basis of the exercises are six sets of asanas, which gradually become more difficult.
The first complex consists of 90 exercises. Each asana is done for about 30 seconds, then gradually increase the time to two minutes. This type of yoga is considered to be very dynamic. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that the exercises smoothly flow from one to another. Of course, it is desirable that an experienced yoga specialist work with you.
Another plus of this method of losing weight is that after doing breathing and (or) physical exercises, appetite decreases. By the way, people who are seriously engaged in yoga often adhere to a healthy rational diet. Your body will thank you for this.
When to expect results from yoga classes?
The effectiveness of weight loss from yoga is assessed purely individually. It depends on how diligently and regularly a person practices yoga, whether he has any serious illnesses, what lifestyle he leads. With a good scenario, the result can be seen already in the second month.
It is worth noting that during yoga, the body produces the hormone of happiness - endorphin. This leads to the fact that after exercise a person feels happy. So yoga is good not only for physical but also for mental health.
Once in India, a disciple came to his guru and asked how he could lose weight. The teacher gave him two eggplants of different sizes and said, "You can eat them when the larger eggplant shrinks and the smaller one expands, and they both become the same size." Being an obedient student, the man waited a month for the vegetables to change and drank only water. Then he returned to his teacher and said, "Sir, nothing has changed!" The Guru replied, “Throw away the eggplant. You have already reached your ideal weight and absolute health.
Fasting for a whole month is too radical a way to lose weight, but in order to lose weight , yoga masters have a simple recipe: drink more, eat less and perform asanas . All together is the only way to stabilize body weight. Modern people have problems with excess weight, as they eat much more calories than they lose in daily workouts. Reduce your calorie intake and you will prolong your life.
In addition, excess weight ages a person by 20 years. It's not just about appearance - being overweight puts you in the same risk category for exposure to dangerous diseases as older people.
Today there are voices in favor of being overweight, they say, a too slender figure is unhealthy fashion trends, and every person is beautiful in his weight. However, excess weight causes neoplasms, cancer, allergies, sleep disturbances, depression, heart disease, and hypertension. And along with the expansion of the waist, the number of cases of type II diabetes is growing.
yoga diet
The yogic diet includes several basic rules. First, in order to reduce body weight, you need eat small portions. Second, never can't eat while standing. And finally, if you feel hungry between meals, eat light, organic foods- for example, apples from a personal farmstead.
Incorporate the food of a real yogi into your diet, and along with daily exercises, you will achieve amazing results!
wake up drink
For one serving:
- juice of half a lemon
- 1 cup of warm water.
Pour lemon juice into water and drink through a straw for half an hour as you go about your morning routine. If you drink this drink every morning, it will cleanse the liver, intestines and blood, and also curb your appetite.
Contraindications:
Lemon juice is contraindicated in pregnancy and low blood clotting. Also, despite the fact that an allergy to citrus fruits is a childhood disease, all allergy sufferers should drink the drink with caution.
Yoga mono-diet for quick weight loss
For 4 servings:
- 4-5 zucchini with skin
- 4 celery stalks,
- 1 branch of parsley,
- 1 sprig of mint
- coarse black pepper - for taste,
- 1 pack of fat-free cottage cheese.
Wash and dry the zucchini and celery and cut off the stems. Wash and dry the parsley and mint. Steam zucchini and celery until soft (about 15 minutes), then puree in a blender with parsley, mint and ground black pepper. Serve with fat-free cottage cheese.
For 40 days, eat only this dish. Eat as much as you want, but no more than three times a day. In addition to the fact that such a diet helps to lose weight, the yogic delicacy perfectly cleanses the stomach and cleanses the skin.
Contraindications:
Thanks to natural ingredients, this diet is safe for health and allows you to exclude all other food from the diet. However, celery, which is part of the serving, is not recommended during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. So put off yogic weight loss until your little one is on a regular diet.
Complex of asanas for weight loss
Any physical activity burns calories and helps to lose weight. You can run in the morning, go to the gym or swim in the pool. But for dynamic training, there is often not enough time and energy, and smooth yoga asanas can be performed at home at any convenient time of the day.
These static exercises are equal in effect to intense strength training, but will bring your body back to normal even faster without pumping individual muscles and removing fat from the waist and hips.
Obesity is of three types - we gain weight:
- on the hips
- at the waist
- on the forearms and around the chest.
Women are mainly characterized by the first two types, so the complex of asanas for weight loss includes the most effective postures for these parts of the body.
What asanas to perform to lose weight?
Asana 1: Pawanmuktasana
Lie on your back and relax. As you inhale, bend one leg at the knee, clasp your ankle with your hands, and as you exhale, pull the leg as close to your chest as possible. Raise your head so that your nose touches your knee. Hold this position for half a minute, then return to the starting position. Repeat the asana with the other leg. This pose prepares your internal organs for more challenging exercises and warms up your abdominal muscles, increasing your flexibility.
How to lose weight with yoga / shutterstock.com
Asana 2: Cobra
Lie on your stomach, press your forehead to the floor, and place your palms on the floor near your shoulders. Using force abdominal muscles , lift your chest up, slightly straightening your elbows. Do not take your palms off the ground and do not strain buttocks . If you can’t completely tear your chest off the floor and bend over, it’s okay, the main thing is that you have activated the right muscles. Hold the asana for thirty seconds.
Asana 3: Arc
Lie on your stomach, bend your knees, and grab your ankles with your hands. Keeping your knees together, begin to straighten your legs, lifting your chest up. Rise as high as you can. Look up. Stay in the asana for thirty seconds, trying to breathe from the diaphragm. You will feel your body rise and fall with your breath. Relax in the position of the child: sit on your heels, rest your forehead on the floor, and spread your arms freely to the sides.
Asana 4: Padma Pashchimottanasana (tilt)
Sit on the floor, straighten your legs. Pull your toes towards you. Keep your knees straight. Inhale and raise your arms above your head, stretching your spine towards the ceiling. As you exhale, bend your torso forward and grasp your big toes with your index and middle fingers. If you can't reach your toes, use a belt or towel. Try to relax and stay in the asana for 2 minutes.
Asana 5: Uddiyana Bandha
Stand up straight with your feet slightly apart and gently bend your knees. Lean forward slightly and place your palms over your knees. As you inhale, relax your stomach and make it as large as possible, and as you exhale, pull your stomach in, pressing the abdominal muscles to the spine. Hold your breath for ten seconds, keeping your stomach pulled in. Then take a few breaths and exhales, working the abdominal muscles. Hold your breath again, pressing your stomach against your spine. Repeat the cycle 10 times.
If you feel that this physical activity is not enough, do it twice a day, in addition to complex for weight loss choosing any other asanas.
Yoga classes for weight loss are very popular now. But if for some they turn out to be a panacea and turn into a way of life, then for some reason they do not work for others. What are the components of success and what style of yoga to choose to lose weight?
What is yoga?
Yoga is an ancient philosophical doctrine that came to us from India, preaching a special system of values aimed at achieving a state of spiritual and mental exaltation. Enlightenment can be achieved through strengthening the body and spirit with the help of mental and physical practices.
Today, few people go into the philosophical side of the doctrine, many adopt only a system of physical exercises called asanas. Nevertheless, yoga classes help to know the possibilities of your body, to temporarily escape from the worldly bustle and look deep into yourself. Working on his body, breathing, a person trains endurance, concentration, becomes resistant to stress and gradually comes to a change in consciousness and lifestyle.
Benefits for physical health
Many diseases are caused by stress. Constant nervous tension can lead to hormonal disruptions, nervous breakdowns, and malfunctioning of the immune system. That is why it is so important to learn how to control yourself, switch your consciousness, tune in a positive way.
If we talk about the physical aspect of classes, then yoga develops endurance, trains flexibility, stretching, and helps to gain harmony.
5 reasons to do yoga for weight loss
People who practice yoga regularly confirm its effectiveness for weight loss. A number of factors contribute to this:
- Most asanas are static exercises with a change of position, which involve the utmost tension of all muscles, including deep ones, to maintain body balance.
- A special breathing technique speeds up metabolic processes in the body by almost 30%. This happens due to the saturation of the body with oxygen, which breaks down the cells of adipose tissue. Food begins to be digested faster, and the feeling of hunger does not arise, but an unprecedented surge of energy is felt.
- Yoga teaches you how to deal with stress. Often it is stress that causes the need to “seize” problems.
- Yoga classes reduce the level of cortisol - a stress hormone that provokes the deposition of excess fat, especially in the abdomen, and spikes in blood glucose.
- After classes, sleep normalizes, and for weight loss it is important to get enough sleep.
What results should be expected
Many are skeptical about yoga as a means of losing weight, arguing that an hour-long workout burns an average of one hundred and fifty to two hundred calories, while a similar duration of strength training will burn from three hundred to five hundred.
Yes, the result will not be fast, the first changes can be seen after 2-3 months of regular classes. The readings of the scales at the initial stage will disappoint many. But weight loss will definitely occur, but not as rapidly as many would like. Even if the weight remains in place, the volume of the body will decrease by several centimeters, and the muscles will gain relief. This means that adipose tissue will gradually be replaced by muscle.
This is not only and not so much burning calories. The meaning of yoga is to find harmony between consciousness and the physical state of the body. A person becomes more receptive to all the processes taking place inside his body, and gradually comes to the need to change eating habits, reconsider the system of relationships with people and the way of life in general.
Indications and contraindications for classes
Getting rid of extra pounds, of course, has a positive effect on health. Yoga will help not only to reduce weight, but also to cope with many ailments. These activities will be helpful:
- with problems with the spine;
- joints;
- changes in blood pressure;
- digestive disorders;
- diseases of the genitourinary sphere;
- nervous tension against the background of constant stress, including insomnia and chronic fatigue.
It is worth giving up classes altogether:
- with mental disorders;
- organic lesions of the heart, including defects, tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, aortic aneurysm, myocardial dystrophy;
- blood diseases;
- craniocerebral injuries;
- oncological diseases.
You need to temporarily refrain from doing yoga:
- when taking drugs in large quantities;
- exacerbation of any chronic diseases;
- after operations;
- abnormally low or high body temperature;
- taking a course of massage;
- after a bath or sauna (you can start exercising no earlier than after 8 hours);
- on a full stomach.
What types of yoga exist and what to choose for weight loss for beginners?
The main question that torments beginners who decide to do yoga is which direction to choose? Indeed, there are many styles of yoga, and their choice depends on what goals you want to achieve.
If the main goal is weight loss, then Bikram yoga and Ashtanga yoga will be the most effective here, although, by and large, all types will help to lose weight in the end.
- Bikram yoga (also called “hot” yoga) is a type of hatha yoga and consists of 26 dynamic asanas and 2 breathing exercises that must be performed in a well-heated room with high humidity. Such workouts can burn up to 700 calories per session. The downside is that not all schools can create the necessary conditions for this, so Bikram Yoga is not practiced everywhere.
- Ashtanga yoga is a rigorous dynamic practice that allows you to form "dry" muscles. You can burn up to 600 calories in one session. This type of yoga involves the passage of a path consisting of eight steps. Each next level surpasses the previous one in its complexity. Asanas are combined with breathing practice (pranayama) and repetitive movements associated with breathing (vinyasas).
- Hatha yoga is the initial stage of raja yoga, its purpose is to physically prepare the body for meditation through a set of physical and mental practices that temper the body and spirit. This is a complex of static asanas that allows you to deeply work out all the muscles and speed up the metabolism.
- Power or power yoga was developed in America in the mid-90s. It is based on Ashtanga yoga exercises, but the asanas are not performed in a strict sequence. Power yoga classes train endurance and give fairly quick results. At the initial stage, static hatha yoga exercises are used, while the muscles of the legs, arms, back and hips are well worked out, and muscle imbalance is leveled. At a more advanced level, when students are already in full control of their bodies, they begin dynamic exercises.
- Kundalini yoga is a synthesis of static, dynamic, breathing exercises, meditations and mantras. The complex of all these practices allows you to awaken the energy of Kundalini, "dormant" at the base of the spine, and raise it step by step through the energy channels up to the highest sahasrara chakra.
Do some exercises with the teacher of kundalini yoga Alexey Vladovsky.
Video: kundalini yoga lesson for weight loss
- Breathing yoga is a set of special exercises aimed at holding the breath and accumulating carbon dioxide in the body, which helps to relax blood vessels. In relaxed vessels, blood circulation is normalized, which increases the overall tone of the whole organism. Short hypoxia accelerates the synthesis of enzymes that trigger oxidation processes in the body. As a result, metabolism is enhanced and metabolic processes are improved.
A video lesson from Karina Kharchinskaya will help you learn more about the principles of breathing.
Video: learning to breathe correctly
- Finger yoga or mudra is based on the fact that on the palms and fingers there are acupuncture points associated with various organs. Regular exposure to these points helps to cope with stress, improve vision, hearing, speed up metabolism, alleviate many ailments, and also maintain the overall tone of the body.
- Yoga in hammocks is perfect for people who find it difficult to perform traditional exercises for a number of reasons, such as joint problems or back problems. Such exercises are useful for obese people and women after childbirth. Classes take place in a special hammock, consisting of a canvas, equipped with additional handles and ropes for fastening. Indoors, the device is attached to the ceiling with carbines, and in the summer you can attach it to a tree or outdoor horizontal bar to practice outdoors.
What time of day is best to practice and what is the optimal duration of classes
Indian yogis begin their practices in the morning at dawn, and it is no coincidence. Morning yoga helps you wake up and recharge your energy for the whole day. It is the morning hours that are considered the best for yoga. Unfortunately, not everyone in the morning has time for full-fledged classes. Do not be upset: to perform morning asanas, 20–30 minutes are enough to increase blood circulation, start metabolism, warm up joints and muscles, and prepare the whole body for the working day.
Approaching the choice of exercises for a morning workout, especially for beginners, should be reasonable - in the morning there is a higher risk of injury. For the morning complex, unhurried stretching exercises are more suitable, for which you do not need to make great efforts, for example, the pose of a cat or a butterfly. Power and dynamic loads are best left for evening workouts.
What other exercises to choose for the morning complex, find out from the video.
Video: a fifteen-minute awakening complex from Katerina Buida
The optimal duration of a yoga session is from one and a half to two and a half hours, depending on the level of training. The length of the training time should be increased gradually. Be sure to exercise regularly, at least 3-4 times a week. At first, you should not exhaust yourself with daily exercises - the body, especially the unprepared one, needs days of rest.
Those who cannot fall asleep for a long time, and feel overwhelmed in the morning, should pay attention to a set of exercises before bedtime. To avoid problems with falling asleep, the room must be ventilated the day before, and the last meal should be 3 hours before bedtime.
You can start the complex with the Sirshasana exercise (headstand), but you need preparation for it: lying on your back, you first need to relax as much as possible, then slowly inhale and exhale, imagining how the air comes out of all parts of the body. Now you can go to the wall and stand on your head, trying to hold out in this position for as long as possible, ideally up to 3 minutes.
The Viparitakarani Mudra exercise, which is reminiscent of the “birch tree” familiar to everyone, is well suited before going to bed: from a lying position on your back, you need to tear your legs off the floor, while your elbows should rest on the floor, and your palms should rest on the lower back. In this position, you should linger for 2 minutes.
More yoga exercises before bedtime - in the video tutorial by Katerina Buida.
Video: evening complex "Sweet Dream" from Katerina Buida
What else you need to know about classes
Often women are interested in whether it is possible to conduct classes on “critical” days? Yes, menstruation is not a contraindication to yoga. For this period, only strength exercises are excluded; twisting and back bending should also be refrained from.
Clothing for yoga should be made from natural fabrics, loose and comfortable. Yoga shoes are not needed at all - it is better to practice barefoot, in extreme cases - in socks.
You need to train on an empty stomach. In the morning - before breakfast, in the afternoon or evening - 3-4 hours after eating. If unbearable hunger torments, shortly before the lesson it is allowed to drink a glass of juice, milk or tea.
There is no age limit for yoga classes. Children can be taught asanas from the age of 5.
Yoga for weight loss at home
It is better to start yoga classes with an instructor. But if there is no time to visit the gym, you can also work out at home with the help of video tutorials from experienced experts. Consider a few simple exercises for beginners, performing which problem areas are well worked out and extra pounds disappear.
Get rid of fat on the stomach and sides
Before performing asanas, a warm-up is always necessary. For this purpose, bending forward and to the side, turning the body to the right and left, rotating the hips are suitable. Now you can start static asanas.
Paripurna navasana
- You need to sit straight and stretch your legs in front of you, connecting them together. The body with the legs should form a right angle.
- Then the body must be tilted back by 45 degrees, and the outstretched legs should be raised so that the right angle is maintained.
- Stretch your arms straight out in front to maintain body balance.
- Hold in this position for 10 seconds.
Repeat the exercise 5 times.
Uttanasana
- Starting position standing: spread your legs wide and straighten your back.
- Pulling the kneecaps up, tighten the muscles of the legs.
- Taking a deep breath, simultaneously stretch your arms up and clasp your elbows.
- Tilt the body down, trying to reach the legs with the forehead, while the hands should touch the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles.
- Hold this position for a count of ten.
- Return to starting position.
Repeat the exercise 5 times.
Rdha navasana
- Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you.
- Cross your fingers and place them on the back of your head.
- On the exhale, tilt the body back, and tear off the legs from the floor by 40 degrees.
- Hold this position for 10 seconds and return to the starting position.
Repeat the asana 5 times.
Savasana
Relaxation exercise to complete the complex.
- Lie on your back, stretch your legs and arms out to the sides.
- Relax the muscles of the whole body. Remain in this position for 20 minutes.
We work out the hips and buttocks
A few simple exercises will help to significantly improve the shape of the legs and tighten the buttocks.
"Flying Eagle"
- Put your feet shoulder-width apart, put your right leg forward, hands on your belt.
- Squat low.
- Rise sharply, as if pushing the body up, at the same time bend the right knee, bend the arms slightly at the elbows, while bringing the right back and pushing the left forward.
- Hold in this position for up to 10 seconds.
- Squat low again.
Repeat the exercise 10 times with a change of legs.
"Swivel chair"
- Sit on the floor, put your legs in front of you, bending at the knees, rest your feet on the floor, place your hands on your belt.
- Raise your legs so that together with the body they form an angle of 45 degrees, while spreading your arms to the sides.
- Trying to keep the angle between the legs and the body, take both arms to the right, and legs to the left.
- Then, without touching the floor with your feet, turn your legs to the right, and hands over your head to the left.
Run 10 cycles.
"Winged Legs"
- Get on all fours, straighten your back.
- Bend the left leg at the knee so that the heel is on the same level with the buttocks.
- Straighten your right leg slowly and take it back.
- Hold this position for up to 10 seconds.
- Return to starting position.
- Repeat the same with the change of legs.
Run 10 cycles.
Take more exercises for the hips and buttocks from the American fitness trainer Denise Austin, who has taken Ashtanga yoga and Pilates.
Video: a set of exercises for the hips and buttocks
Beautiful arms and a healthy back
Good posture always helps to look young and confident. It is also an indicator of back health. You can find a beautiful posture at any age, and a few simple asanas will help with this.
child pose
- Get on your knees, connecting your big toes, and spread your knees shoulder-width apart.
- Tilt the torso, placing it between the knees, while sitting on the heels.
- At the same time, the hands are located shoulder-width apart, from the elbows to the palms, they are firmly pressed to the floor and stretch as far as possible.
- Forehead touch the floor.
- Without lifting the buttocks from the heels, slowly stretch the lateral parts of the body.
- Breathing should be even.
Hold in this position for 1-2 minutes.
Downward facing dog pose
- The previous asana is the starting position.
- While inhaling, lift the pelvis up, straighten your knees.
- Transfer the weight of the body to the legs, do not tear off the heels from the floor.
- Tighten your hips, tighten your kneecaps.
- The back and arms should form a single line.
- The head and neck should be relaxed.
- Breathing should be free.
Stay in this pose for 1 minute.
- Lying on your stomach, stretch straight arms forward, press your forehead to the floor, and connect your legs.
- On inspiration, mentally stretch the lower back, pull the buttocks to the heels.
- As you exhale, raise your right arm and left leg.
- On inspiration, return to the starting position.
- As you exhale, raise your left arm and right leg.
- Return to starting position again
Repeat cycle 3 times.
Now you can rest for a minute, and then complicate the task.
Repeat the exercise 3 times.
Learn more back exercises from Katerina Buida.
Video: fifteen-minute back strengthening complex
A universal yoga complex from American trainer Jillian Michaels will help to work out all muscle groups at home.
Video: a set of exercises for all muscle groups
Principles of nutrition combined with exercise
Regular yoga practice can gradually lead to a change in eating habits. Yes, all yogis are vegetarians, but this does not mean that you should immediately adopt vegetarianism. Yoga teaches you to feel your body, and over time, you will want to eliminate obviously unhealthy foods from your diet. If you are not yet ready to radically change your eating behavior, then the use of certain foods should be limited and minimized.
Yoga is considered harmful:
- Any meat - it has a lot of toxic substances that contribute to premature aging and cause aggression.
- Any animal fats, including dairy products - they cause atherosclerosis.
- Any narcotic substances, including alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, opium, hashish, marijuana and other drugs.
- Any sweets, except for honey and candied fruits.
- Any flour products, especially from yeast dough - they adversely affect the intestines.
In yoga, it is considered correct when:
- 60% of the diet consists of natural raw food: fruits, vegetables, greens, nuts;
- 40% is food that has undergone heat treatment.
By following this ratio, you can create a healthy menu for every day to your liking.
