Yoga is renowned for its power to relieve stress, increase flexibility, and build muscle tone. It is not, however, as well known for promoting weight loss. Most people don’t think of yoga as a way to burn off the calories, so they’re often pleasantly surprised to discover that it can.
Traditional yoga is not an extremely active pursuit. While it conditions and tones your muscles, you’re not likely to work up a sweat during a yoga session. The muscle toning effects of yoga do let you burn off calories better, however. So if you participate in a good aerobic workout, you will see greater results than you would if you weren’t doing yoga.
An important component of yoga is discipline of mind and body, which will help you stay committed to your exercise program and healthy eating habits. Yoga reinforces the link between your body and your mind, increasing your desire to look after your body. Lack of motivation is a frequent problem among those who want to lose weight, so this is a very important benefit.
If you are looking to lose weight through yoga alone, you may want to seek out some of the newer styles of yoga. These yoga styles can provide the advantages of both yoga and aerobic exercise in one package. Here’s a look at some of them.
Vinyasa – Vinyasa yoga is centered on shifting from one asana, or pose, to another while concentrating on your breathing. Sun Salutations are frequently used, but other poses are included as well. Vinyasa yoga is often practiced in a heated room to encourage sweating.
Ashtanga – This is a complex style, incorporating six separate series of different poses. They increase in complexity as you progress, so you must perform them in order, improving your skill as you go.
Power yoga – This modern adaptation of yoga mixes active, high-speed actions with yogic breathing. It offers more of the heart-healthy benefits of aerobic exercise than the usual kinds of yoga.
While these styles of yoga won’t quite give you the workout of a cardio class, you still get the dual advantages of aerobic fitness and the muscle toning and flexibility of yoga, which will no doubt help your weight loss efforts. And they’re great for people who are too busy for more than one workout routine in their schedule.
Other than both being forms of exercise, yoga and aerobics seem to have little in common. Nevertheless, conventional yoga can boost the benefits of cardiovascular exercise, and the newer styles of this ancient practice can be a great replacement for your usual aerobics. If you are less than enthralled with the results you’ve gotten from other workouts, adding yoga to your regimen or switching from your current fitness routine to yoga may work well for you
