Fitness professionals, such as contributing writer to Yoga Journal Dr. Baxter Bell, emphasize that yoga is an activity that helps create a better relationship with the body and the mind. Through increased awareness, yogis often learn to eat better. Most hatha or physical yoga classes also tone the body and help release toxins. Ralph LaForge of the Duke University Medical Center highlights that both more vigorous as well as meditative, restorative styles of yoga can lead to weight loss either through calorie-burning or through psychological changes.
Function
To help you lose weight, Bell recommends any yoga classes that include linking poses together with the breath. For example, you raise your arms arm overhead on an inhale and exhale as you fold your torso toward your legs. This flowing style of yoga creates heat similar to that created by other calorie-burning activities like walking or running. Bell encourages students who are new to fitness to start with beginner or gentle vinyasa-style yoga classes.
Holding poses for longer periods of time also helps burn calories. For example, a standing posture such as tree, which is usually held for five to seven breaths in a basic yoga class, could be held for up to one minute to build heat and muscles.
Formats
Power yoga often uses vinyasa sequences, but also takes poses to calorie-burning levels by holding them longer or by incorporating advanced poses like side crow or handstand. Styles with "power" in their name have roots in Ashtanga yoga founded by Shri K. Pattabhi Jois.
Hot yoga is another offshoot of power yoga. This style uses heat to purify the body during a practice---usually starting at 90 degrees or more. Bikram is the original hot yoga. The Bikram website includes testimonials from students who lost weight through their practice of Bikram. Another popular style of hot yoga is Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga. Hot yoga classes often incorporate techniques from standard power yoga classes including vinyasas and advanced poses.
Psychological
Yoga can also help with weight loss in less direct ways. Through relaxation, breathing and meditation exercises, you may reduce stress levels. By reducing stress, you may be able to avoid triggers that contribute to you wanting to overeat or make unhealthy choices. Bell describes yoga as a transformative activity capable of changing a person's outlook and building confidence. A more positive mindset can encourage you to stay on your weight-loss path.
Considerations
Students who come to yoga with the sole purpose of losing weight often discover much more about themselves and about what being healthy means to them. Getting fit should be a fun process, which makes you feel good on the inside and outside. Trying yoga because you want to lose weight is not a problem; just be open to the possibility that yoga may transform you on the inside as well.
Potential
Along with burning calories, yoga has other benefits. The Mayo Clinic highlights the benefits of yoga in four areas including reduced stress, increased fitness, improved ability to work through health conditions and weight loss. Combining yoga with other fitness activities should help you reach your weight loss goals in a healthy time frame.
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