Yoga is renowned for its capacity to reduce stress, enhance flexibility and improve muscle tone and strength. But it’s not typically associated with helping you lose weight. Yoga isn’t typically your first thought when it comes to burning off calories. That’s why many people are surprised to find that it’s a great way to help you lose weight.
Conventional yoga isn’t a vigorous type of exercise. While it conditions and tones your muscles, you’re not likely to work up a sweat during a yoga session. However, the fact that your muscles are being given a workout means your body is utilizing calories more effectively. Therefore, you’ll get more benefit from your aerobic workouts if you include yoga in your fitness routine.
At the core of yoga is the discipline of both your body and mind. This should lead to stronger motivation to stick with your fitness routine and to eat healthfully. Yoga reinforces the link between your body and your mind. This increases your desire to look after your body. This is very helpful for people who want to lose weight but have trouble getting motivated.
Conventional forms of yoga have been supplemented with some new techniques that can help you lose weight more easily. You get the benefits of cardio and yoga all in the same workout. It’s worth your while to investigate the wide assortment of yoga DVDs that are available for this purpose.
Here’s a look at some of the more common kinds of yoga.
Vinyasa Yoga: This particular form of yoga involves moving from one pose to another, all the while paying attention to your breathing. There are lots of different poses that you might recognize the name of, including the Sun Salutation. This style of yoga is typically performed in an overheated room so that you sweat profusely.
Ashtanga Yoga: This is an intricate approach to yoga, integrating six series of individual poses, or asanas. The moves become progressively more difficult, so you have to learn them in the correct sequence so you can slowly develop the skills necessary to handle the more complex positions.
Power Yoga: This is 21st century yoga, a combination of breathing techniques mixed with fast paced yoga moves.
These yoga techniques offer more of the heart-healthy benefits of aerobic exercise than the usual kinds of yoga. They won’t quite give you the workout of a cardio class. However, you still get the dual advantages of aerobic fitness along with the muscle toning and flexibility of yoga. Your weight loss program will surely benefit. And these kinds of yoga are great for people who are too busy for more than one workout routine.
On the surface, aerobics and yoga have few similarities. Nevertheless, yoga training can boost the benefits of cardiovascular exercise. As well, there are new ways to practice the art of yoga that have more aerobic benefit for your body. If you’re not happy with the progress you’re making with your usual fitness routine, consider adding yoga to the mix.
