Can Yoga Help You Lose Weight?

Yoga is one of the most popular exercises used to lose body weight. The question many ask is, does yoga help you lose weight? In fact, yoga has been practiced for thousands of years and has been shown to help a person lose weight. There are many different types of postures used in yoga which will affect a person's metabolism.

A common question many people have is, "What type of yoga is best to lose weight with?" There are three main styles of yoga practiced today which are, Hatha, Tantra and Bikram. Each of these has its own benefits and drawbacks. Hatha yoga focuses on breathing exercises and is very low impact.

According to Hatha yoga, eating habits are the cause of most obesity problems. Therefore, it is important to eat right and pay attention to your diet. It also stresses the importance of meditation and physical fitness. It advocates healthy living and suggests that you become aware of your mind and body's reaction to certain foods. Therefore, if you follow the correct guidelines of yoga, your energy levels will increase and you will burn calories more efficiently.

The third style of yoga is Vinyasa or flow yoga. This system emphasizes awareness of your breath and moving with awareness. You should be able to move with awareness without harming yourself and you should be able to feel when you are slowing down or speeding up. Vinyasa helps you change your metabolism and you can achieve long term weight loss.

There are different postures in vinyasa yoga and they are very strenuous. You will sweat a lot when you practice this type of yoga. However, you can use the sweat as a source of nourishment by drinking more fluids or by sleeping more intensely. Johnson says that the most effective way to burn calories when you are using Vinyasa postures is by breathing through the nose while doing one of the postures.

The fourth postures in yoga which has a strong influence on weight loss is hot yoga or restorative yoga. It is based on a technique of bringing your body, mind, and spirit into a state of unity. This state of unity may be achieved through controlled breathing. Some of the other hot yoga positions are sun salutation which is performed in a room with a fan and sitting in the sun with bent knees.

Finally, vinyasa yoga and hot yoga postures are combined with progressive relaxation or mediation. If you want to know if it helps you lose weight, you should try out one of the various vinyasa yoga classes which are available. Most of these classes offer a brief overview of the different yoga movements which are very useful for burning calories. As soon as you have finished the overview, you will be able to participate in a meditation which will enable you to see results almost immediately.

In conclusion, yoga is excellent at helping you shed extra pounds. In fact, it may be able to help you do so without really impacting your lifestyle in a negative way. In the case of hot yoga or restorative yoga, you can see results fairly quickly although you will not lose much weight at the beginning. In the case of vinyasa yoga, you should be able to see changes almost instantly. If you want to know if it does help you lose weight, you should try it out for a few weeks to see what happens. You may also want to make use of the many resources available to you on the internet which may give you some additional information about yoga.