Yoga reduces blood pressure, increases joint range of motion, increases energy, and improves mind functions. Celebrities including Madonna, Reese Witherspoon, Kate Hudson and Christy Turlington, who has written a book about yoga, have all attributed their physiques to this Eastern practice. Different styles of hatha, or physical, yoga, can help with weight loss: ashtanga; vinyasa flow; bikram, or "hot" yoga; and power yoga. Check with your health care provider before beginning any new exercise program.
Ashtanga Yoga
"The practice of Ashtanga that's getting mainstream attention today is a fast-paced series of sequential postures," says yoga instructor Jennifer Cook at YogaJournal.com. Standing postures linked together through breathing techniques help develop strength. Back bends, inversions and deep stretches follow, creating suppleness in the body. Students can burn 300 calories or more in an hour-long class, according to ElysiumYoga.com.
Vinyasa Flow
Stemming from ashtanga, vinyasa flow features more free-form postures. Instead of performing a set series, students can explore various challenging poses in different sequences, linked by sun salutations and breathing patterns. A vigorous class, vinyasa flow will help you burn approximately 445 calories per hour.
Hot Yoga
Bikram yoga, or hot yoga, takes 26 postures from hatha yoga and puts them in a sequence to "systematically work every part of the body," according to BikramYoga.com. If you try a class, you'll perform the poses in a hot room--105 degrees--and burn more calories than with other styles of yoga, an average of 630 per hour, according to ElysiumYoga.com.
Power Yoga
The most common style of yoga in the West, power yoga incorporates vinyasas, standing and warrior poses. Beryl Bender Birch "set out to challenge Americans' understanding of what it really means to be fit," according to Cook, and published a book, "Power Yoga," in 1995. Cook says "Bender Birch's intention was to give a Western spin to the practice of Ashtanga Yoga.” Students can burn 300 or more calories in an hour with power yoga, according to Elysium.com.
Meditation
The meditative aspect of yoga also may help with weight loss as it promotes awareness of the mind-body connection. “Meditation will make you relaxed," according to Project-Meditation.org, "and it will increase your self-awareness, so you're less likely to give in to emotional eating when you're practicing meditation.”
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