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Lose Weight Through Yoga and Meditation

Updated on December 27, 2015

Yoga for Weight Loss

In the United States alone, there is a huge demographic of individuals that are obese. Hence, this is one of the leading health problems that require immediate attention given that it poses serious health risks. There are several types of diet, workout routines, or slimming products available in the market. However, some only end up in disappointment as none of these worked.

Yoga might just offer the solution you want for a balanced approach at weight loss.

Yoga Diet

The common mistake and the leading reasons why most people fail in their weight loss program is that they focus solely on diet. You need to understand that diet is just one component of your weight loss effort. Yoga is not just a physical exercise; rather, it is a lifestyle pattern. Aside from physical postures, one must also perform breathing exercises, meditation, and improve their diet patterns.

Yoga emphasizes healthy foods that are beneficial for your health and body. Some of the health food suggested in a yogi diet include beans, sprouted seeds, nuts, salads, white breads, healthy organic vegetables, and many others.

Benefits of Meditation

Dieting is considered a short-term route to weight loss. Meanwhile, combining yoga exercises with diet and meditation is considered more effective in permanently shedding off those excess fats. Relaxation and meditation is a vital component in yoga that provides effective benefits in terms of weight loss.

By regular meditation, you can reduce your weight as you are gradually lowering your stress levels as well. It is important to note that meditation serves to complement your strict weight loss program instead of relying solely on it to bring about weight reduction. Aside from producing effective results, those who practice meditation in addition to exercises and other weight loss methods have a more positive outlook and confidence to them. Hence, they are also more likely to retain their weight and avoid packing them back in.

YOGA FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Bikram Yoga for Beginners

Holistic Weight Loss Approach

Yoga is considered the best method to use for weight reduction. Not only can you effectively shed off those excess pounds, but you can also maintain them by regularly practicing yoga. When you practice yoga or execute asanas, it indirectly affects your metabolism rate that results in fat reduction, increased vitality, and toning of muscles.

Indeed, this is a healthier method of losing weight as opposed to the slimming products that can sometimes offer serious risks to your health.

Do's For Yoga Weight Loss

Here are additional tips for a more effective yoga and meditation weight loss program:

  • There are a few yoga asanas intended for weight reduction. Therefore, you can practice them to melt excess fat or tone up your muscles. These exercises include Trikonasana, Dhanurasana, Bhujangasana, among others.
  • For individuals who have gained weight as an effect of various diseases, there are a few exercises that you can try as well. This includes Matasyasana and Sarvangasana.
  • Always combine any yoga exercise that you perform with Sun Salutations for a rapid and effective weight reduction campaign.
  • Combining pranayama or proper breathing exercises into your yoga asanas helps improve endurance, produce better toned muscles, and reduce weight.
  • You must always observe proper diet guidelines and healthy approach to your meal for a more effective weight loss program.

Dont's For Yoga Weight Loss

Here are a few precautionary guidelines to observe for a safe and effective weight loss campaign:

  • Avoid carbonated drinks and unhealthy junk foods.
  • Develop a healthy diet routine. Never skip your meals.
  • Avoid eating anything in between your major meals. Always leave a 4-hour interval in between two major meals.
  • Regularly practice yoga to achieve better results.

Suggested Yoga Styles for Weight Loss

As much as there are yoga exercises created with weight loss in mind, some yoga styles and philosophies were also created with the objective of building a fitter body that successfully eliminates any form of excess fat.

One such type of yoga is the flow or vinsaya yoga. This style consists of sequence of poses known as sun salutations. It is one of those yoga styles that are intensive and will have you sweating intensely after each session.

For more ideas on what other yoga styles can benefit your weight loss program, each are discussed below.

Power Yoga

This one is the most popular yoga style in the West. In fact, it has been viewed exclusively as a fitness tool in this part of the world. Aside from offering vigorous and fitness-based workouts, it creates a distinction for offering cardiovascular exercises.

Unlike ashtanga and bikram yoga that requires participants to follow a specific sequence of poses, this one gives you the freedom to perform poses one after another. There is a certain qualification for those who wish to practice power yoga, though. You need to reach a certain level of fitness as its rigorous exercises can be difficult to adapt for beginners. This is suitable for people who enjoy exercising and require little meditation to get started.

Ashtanga yoga demo

Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga is one of those rigorous yoga practices, which make it suitable for weight loss. It features a series of 75 poses total that takes one to an hour and a half to complete. These poses vary individually in their benefits for the body but when done altogether, it can improve flexibility, build strength and boost stamina.

It offers distinct advantages for individuals desiring to lose excess weight due to the intensity of the poses to be executed. Beginners need not be intimidated with this specific yoga style, however. There are classes to you can join in to learn the basic poses until you increase your knowledge to perform the more complex ones.

Bikram or Hot Yoga

Bikram or hot yoga is a yoga system that is very effective for weight loss. It comprises of a series of 26 poses that are done in pre-heated room with a recommended level of temperature. These conditions might be considered extreme but it is ideal for those who want to effectively lose weight. Then, combine this with vigorous workout, it promotes profuse sweating.

The ability to increase your metabolic rate helps the body to eliminate excess fat. In the process, you are also releasing harmful body toxins that make this a healthy yoga style to develop.

Yoga and Meditation Videos on Amazon

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