Take your time learning yoga poses, then once you feel comfortable, try changing from one pose to another with an inhale or exhale. To create a different yoga workout, focus more on the feel of poses by holding each for seven breaths or longer. MayoClinic.com emphasizes that you might lose a lot of weight when you first start a new diet and exercise plan, but that you should generally aim to lose one or two pounds per week.
Home Practice
Step 1
Take off your shoes and socks, then stand at the top of your yoga mat with your posture tall and your eyes closed for one minute or longer.
Step 2
Raise your arms straight up toward the ceiling. Fold your chest toward your legs in forward fold pose.
Step 3
Put your palms on your shins and raise your torso up so it is straight over the floor. Move back to forward fold pose.
Step 4
Bring your palms to the floor, then step or hop your feet back so your body is in a push-up or plank position. Lower your body halfway to the floor, keeping your elbows next to your waist and your shoulders pressing back toward your ribs.
Step 5
Flip the tops of your feet to the floor as you straighten your arms and press your chest forward. You are in upward-facing dog pose. Keep your thighs and knees hovering above the ground. Your support is on the tops of your feet and your hands.
Step 6
Raise your hips toward the sky so your arms and the backs of your legs form slopes like a mountain. Keep your fingers spread wide apart and your heels pressing toward the floor.
Step 7
Lift your right heel toward the ceiling, keeping your leg straight. Place your right foot between your hands, then raise your arms straight up toward the ceiling. Keep your right knee bent directly over your right ankle. Flatten your left foot into your mat. You are in warrior one pose.
Step 8
Bring your hands back to each side of your right foot. Step back into plank position then lower your body to hover above the floor. Rise back into upward-facing dog, then back to downward-facing dog.
Step 9
Move into warrior one on your left side. Add plank, upward-facing dog and end in downward-facing dog.
Step 10
Step or hop up to forward fold. Move your arms out to your sides as you rise up to a standing position. Repeat the entire sequence five to 10 times or more to burn calories, build strength and sweat.
Yoga Classes and Lifestyle
Step 1
Take classes labeled as "power," "Ashtanga" or "vinyasa" style. "Yoga Journal" contributing writer Baxter Bell, M.D., says you should do vinyasa, or link movement with breath, if you have weight loss goals.
Step 2
Try a few Bikram or hot yoga classes if you want to lose weight quickly. The Bikram yoga website, Quickfit Yoga, recommends three sessions of Bikram per week, while the Bikram's Yoga College of India recommends a daily practice.
Step 3
Eat in moderation, adhering to the yogic principle of ahimsa, or nonviolence. Think of overeating and eating unhealthily as being harmful to your body.
Tips and Warnings
- Avoid locking your knees when you practice yoga.
- Check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program.
Things You'll Need
- Yoga mat
- Comfortable clothing
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