Yoga for Weight Loss?

Yoga makes a great supplementary exercise. The significant stretching in this form of exercise aids in increasing flexibility and reducing risk of injury in sports or frequent gym visits. 

As almost all work-out routines (be it aerobics or strength training) involve flexion and contraction of muscle, stretching improves blood flow through your muscles to reduce stiffness and subsequently reduce stiffness in your muscle. This directly affects your Range of Motion and improves your athletic performance.

Yoga on its own can be considered strength training as it’s balancing postures aid in strengthening each individual muscle. 

But does it really aid in weight loss? 

I didn’t believe it. 

I started going for my yoga classes for a good stretch. But of course it was only 2-3 times a week and I saw myself slowly (but surely) gaining flexibility. That was my only goal, flexibility. I would do 2 hours of back to back classes and glance at my heart rate monitor that would display “Total Calories Burnt: 250”. 

But then it all changed when I left for India. I was in Kerala for one month practicing yoga everyday enthusiastically and not going easy on my food, it was carb fest! At that point of time, I thought to myself “it’s just weight. If I gain, I’ll just lose it later”. Not realizing that all that stretching shed pounds off me, although that was not my ultimate goal. I came home from India to find out I had lost a total of 6 kgs when I wasn’t even trying. Traditional yoga doesnt have anything near the calorie-burning power of aerobic or strength training exercises. So how did I lose weight?

There have been studies conducted as to how weight loss is achieved with yoga but there has not been any scientific proof. 

The key word: Mind, Body and Soul. 

The unity of these three elements - ability to observe what is happening internally in a non-reactive fashion, along with mindful breathing and steady postures, changes your relationship with your body (be it exercising or food intake). Your body starts giving you signals and you have to listen to it. It is the connection you have with your physical self that helps your body achieve what’s best for it.

Yoga does aid in weight loss. And it requires immense discipline like any other natural weight loss programs. 

Before:

After:

Yoga for the Aging Population

Our aging population is growing rapidly and many believe in “taking it easy” with the increase of age. The truth is, the more we are idle, the more our muscles shorten, tighten and weaken. Not only will this lead to lack of flexibility but several other problems:

• Excessive tightness in the quads, hamstrings, calves or thigh muscles leads to knee problems
• Lack of weight bearing activities contributes to osteoporosis 
• Lack of stretching leads joint deterioration

The older generation need to keep their muscles moving the same as anyone else or they will lose their strength. Now, we don’t need start weight training or other vigorous exercises to prevent or aid physical complications that come with age. There’s always Yoga.  

Asanas: 

Yoga asanas are postures that coordinate breath with movement and with holding the position to stretch and strengthen different parts of the body. These positions bear preventive and therapeutic benefits. The main purpose of these postures are to balance each side of the body so that no undue stress is imposed upon any muscle, joint, organ or bone. Not only does strengthen our muscles / joints and flushes out toxins (detox), it is also a form of exercise that helps relieve pain and provides a holistic lifestyle balance

Pranayama:

As we age, we stop breathing fully. In yoga, we are reminded to breathe and take advantage of our full lung capacity. As age catches on, flexibility decreases in the ribcage, and in some cases of spinal deformities, there is less room for lung expansion. Full inhalations and exhalations serves to increase lung capacity, and slows down the heart rate which, in turn, increases concentration and fitness levels.

Now who’s up for Yoga?