Table of contents:
- Introduction
- Does yoga help with weight Loss?
- Mindfulness and yoga
- Yoga and improved sleep
- Yoga and calorie burning
- How often should you practice yoga in order to lose weight?
- Can yoga help your body tone?
- How does yoga help with balance?
- The fundamental point
Introduction:
Does yoga help you lose weight? Since its origins, numerous health benefits have been associated with yoga, ranging from increased flexibility to stress reduction. It’s easy to think this when social media is inundated with ab-tastic stars and yoga gurus posing on the greatest yoga mats.
Is there, on the other hand, scientific evidence that yoga is beneficial to your health and can aid in weight loss? After all, cardio-based exercises such as treadmills, exercise bikes, and rowing machines can help you lose weight. We discuss the discipline of yoga and if doing downward dogs might help you lose weight.
Does yoga help with weight loss?
The general benefits of yoga, according to Harvard Medical School, extend beyond the mat. Yoga advantages may even involve indirectly influencing weight loss by encouraging a mindful eating style, which leads to a more positive connection with food.
Indeed, people who practised yoga for at least 30 minutes once a week for at least four years gained less weight in their forties, according to the research. Overweight people, on the other hand, were able to lose weight.
Another Harvard study investigated how many calories yoga may burn in adults of various weights. 30 minutes of Hatha yoga burnt 120 calories for a 125-pound person, 144 calories for a 155-pound person, and 168 calories for a 185-pound person, according to the study.
Mindfulness and yoga
Yoga’s mental and spiritual parts emphasise the cultivation of mindfulness. This raises your consciousness on multiple levels. It can assist you in becoming more aware of how certain foods affect your mind, body, and spirit.
According to a 2016 study, persons who practise yoga and practise mindfulness may be better able to resist unhealthy meals and comfort eating. They may also become more aware of their bodies’ fullness.
Yoga is regarded to be especially effective for persons who are having difficulty losing weight in other ways. According to a 2017 study, mindfulness training delivers short-term benefits for impulsive or binge eating and physical activity.
Although there was no direct effect on weight loss, longer periods of mindfulness training are thought to be connected with weight loss. More research is needed to validate these findings.
You are more likely to eat healthily before doing yoga because it should not be done on an empty stomach. You may find yourself craving fresh, healthful foods after a yoga session. You may also learn to thoroughly chew each bite and to eat more slowly, which may result in less consumption.
Yoga and improved sleep
Yoga can assist you in sleeping better at night. Regular yoga practice may allow you to fall asleep sooner and sleep deeper. Sleeping 6 to 9 hours every night is advised. A good night’s sleep is frequently linked to weight loss.
A 2018 study found that persons who slept poorly 5 times per week lost less weight than those who slept well. Both groups reduced their calorie intake, implying that sleep deprivation had a negative impact on body composition, including fat loss.
Yoga Nidra is a type of guided relaxation that can help you sleep better and be more attentive. You can also make intentions during yoga Nidra, which can help you formulate weight loss objectives.
A small study published in 2018 revealed that 8 weeks of yoga Nidra practice boosted levels of mindfulness among healthcare professionals. This meant acting with awareness and not criticising one’s inner experiences.
At the follow-up, their weariness levels had not altered much. However, the more they practised, the higher their score became. To expand on these findings, larger, more in-depth research is required.
Yoga and calorie burning
While yoga has traditionally not been considered an aerobic practice, certain types of yoga are more physically taxing than others.
Yoga that is active and demanding may help you burn the most calories. This may aid with weight loss. More physical kinds of yoga include Ashtanga, vinyasa, and power yoga. Vinyasa and power yoga are popular in hot yoga studios.
These yoga routines keep you moving virtually constantly, which helps you burn calories.
Yoga can also assist tone your muscles and increasing your metabolism. Restorative yoga is not a difficult form of yoga, yet it may help you lose weight.
According to one study, restorative yoga can help overweight persons shed weight, including abdominal fat. These findings are especially encouraging for people whose body weight makes it harder to practise more demanding styles of yoga.
Yoga can help with behavioural change, weight loss, and weight maintenance by burning calories, boosting focus, and decreasing stress. These factors may help you reduce your food intake and become more aware of the repercussions of overeating.
How often should you practise yoga in order to lose weight?
Yoga should be practised as much as possible to lose weight. Three to five times every week, you should exercise for at least an hour.
Alternate your activities with slower, more leisurely instruction on the other days. Classes in Hatha, Yin, and Restorative Yoga are all wonderful options.
If you’re just getting started, start with a 20-minute practice session and gradually increase your time. This allows you to stretch and strengthen while staying safe. One full day of rest per week is recommended.
Combine your yoga practice with sports like walking, cycling, or swimming for further cardiovascular benefits. As part of your practice, avoid weighing yourself immediately after a yoga class, especially hot yoga, because you may lose water weight during the class. Instead, weigh yourself at the same time every day.
Yoga and medical conditions
We’ve all heard about yoga asanas that are good for your heart. Unfortunately, yoga is not a “miracle treatment” and has restrictions. If you have a chronic medical condition, talk to your doctor and a yoga instructor before starting.
Blood pressure
According to the Telegraph, while yoga is the best method to stay active and healthy, it can also aggravate carpal tunnel syndrome, and unstable joints, and contribute to tendinitis. It also raises blood pressure, which might be dangerous if you take blood pressure medicine.
Surgery or medical treatment
If you have recently recovered from surgery or medical treatment, yoga may not help you heal faster. Some advanced yoga positions, such as headstands and backbends, may aggravate your pain.
According to the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, 62% of Ashtanga Yoga practitioners had at least one month of musculoskeletal pain. Yoga can also cause back pain, muscle strain, and difficulties with glaucoma.
During Pregnancy
Starting a new sort of exercise while pregnant is rarely a good choice. If you’ve never done yoga before or have only had a little practice, pregnant yoga sessions are your best chance. Twisting should be done from the shoulders rather than the abdomen.
Keep your entire baby bulge open, with no folds or bends. Rather than twisting, try slightly rotating your upper back and stretching your collar bones.
Heart diseases
Avoid any asanas that put too much strain on your heart.
Chakrasana (Wheel Pose): This is a difficult backbend that demands both strength and a consistent breathing rhythm. It makes your heart work harder to pump blood and should be avoided as a result.
Halasana (Plough Pose): In this pose, you lie on your back, lift your legs, and place them behind your head. Your heart must also pump blood to your lower body while under pressure and against gravity in this position.
Karnapirasana: Like halasana, you must extend your legs closer to the ground, with your knees adjacent to your ears. This, like halasana, puts strain on the heart.
Can yoga help your body tone?
While there are many different types of yoga, they all need you to move through a series of positions (asanas). When the body adapts to holding certain poses for prolonged periods of time, flexibility and strength improve.
A 12-week study published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine monitored 60 patients with abdominal obesity who practised 90 minutes of yoga twice a week.
Compared to the control group, the yoga group had a substantial reduction in abdominal circumference and an improved waist-to-hip ratio. Furthermore, the yoga group had a lower body weight, fat percentage, and a larger percentage of body muscle mass, demonstrating that yoga can successfully grow muscle mass.
According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, yoga has inspired 63% of adults to exercise more frequently. As we all know, increased physical activity causes us to burn more calories. However, weight loss and fat loss are not mutually exclusive.
Because of factors such as hormones, the amount of sleep we’ve gotten, injuries, and water retention, our physical weight can fluctuate substantially from one day to the next.
This, however, does not imply a change in body fat. According to Harvard Health Publishing, in order to be in a calorie deficit, we must consume fewer calories than we burn.
Meanwhile, another Harvard Medical School study found that losing weight is essentially a matter of fundamental math. Because one pound of body fat contains 3,500 calories, we’d have to cut 500 calories from our diet every day to lose one pound of body fat each week.
There are various online fat-loss calculators that may help you calculate the average number of calories you burn based on your height, weight, and age.
However, focusing solely on the number on the scales during a fat-loss journey may lead to frustration on days when body weight is greater due to any of the aforementioned reasons.
Take weekly photos and measure your inch loss using a measuring tape to track your progress if you wish to lose weight.
While yoga may not be the most efficient technique for fat loss, studies suggest that practitioners are more likely to be motivated to exercise, more in tune with their bodies, and more aware of hunger cues. As a result of enhanced muscular tone and concentration, fat loss may occur gradually.
How does yoga help with balance?
Because yoga incorporates a variety of balance poses into its practice, having a strong core is essential for achieving rock-solid postures. According to popular belief, maintaining a strong core involves devoted ab workouts and several sit-ups.
The good news is that as you move through the positions, yoga may naturally help you activate your core. In reality, your balance will improve as your core and other body muscles strengthen.
According to a review of a study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine encompassing a healthy population ranging from school age to old, yoga improved balance as well as other physiological markers.
It did, however, suggest that more research is needed to determine the measurable amount of balance obtained, as well as which postures contributed the most to improved balance.
The fundamental point
If you want to lose weight with yoga, you must commit to yourself and you’re practice. To increase your chances of success, make small, gradual changes and set realistic targets.
You may find yourself naturally drawn to healthy meals and ways of life as your practice and awareness improve. While weight loss is not guaranteed, it is very likely, and the advantages may extend far beyond weight loss.