How Yoga Can Help You Lose Weight: Burning Calories and Beyond

Over the years, yoga has exploded in popularity worldwide. The United States has become a
major hotspot for the ancient practice, with 38.4 million Americans practicing yoga in 2022. Its
physical, mental, and spiritual benefits have attracted many to yoga, especially for relieving
stress, improving the emotional state, and enhancing flexibility. Beyond its calming properties,
yoga can also be a valuable tool in your weight loss journey. It may not be the first thing that
comes to mind when you picture weight loss, but its holistic benefits can target all areas of your
life and aid in shedding pounds. From physically demanding postures and routines to putting the
mind in a mindful and relaxed state, practicing yoga can help you lose weight healthily and
sustainably; here’s how:

Physical activity
Yoga may not seem as intense as other exercises, but it’s a great way to work up a sweat and get
your body moving—crucial for weight loss. Active yoga styles like Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and
Power Yoga can get your heart rate up and keep you moving, leading to more calorie burn during
the session. These styles are also often done in heated environments or studios for hot yoga.
Whether you do more standard yoga poses or go for the intense styles, the heat aspect helps you
sweat more, aiding in burning even more calories than usual. It also helps build strength, boosts
flexibility, and builds an awareness of your breathing technique to help you with stamina and
endurance. These benefits can also make it easier for you to practice all kinds of yoga and other
physical activities as well.

Building weight loss motivation
Weight loss requires you to make major changes in your regular routines and habits, which is not an easy feat. This can make it hard for you to start your journey or continue once you’ve begun your efforts; you end up losing drive, and it becomes harder to keep up. However, yoga can be a great way to encourage weight loss motivation in various ways. You can pick up yoga to give yourself a goal outside of losing weight, which will give you another way to measure your progress and keep you going. Case in point, doing yoga can be great for your health, especially if you’re struggling with a specific condition like diabetes. When you join a weight loss program for diabetics, you’ll be asked to meet a daily physical activity target of 30 minutes, which helps you reach the expert-prescribed 150 minutes of weekly moderate-intensity aerobic activity and strength training. Yoga is perfect for this, as you can start slowly and gradually track your progress as it becomes easier for you to hold your postures, get into a position, or how more in tune you are with your body and mind. Seeing yourself improve and benefit from better health outcomes can motivate you to push on with your yoga practice. Doing an exercise you enjoy can also encourage you to do it more regularly, building consistency and making weight loss sustainable.

Sleep management

Good quality sleep can help you regulate your hunger hormones, provide energy for physical
activity, and keep you refreshed and motivated for weight loss, but it’s not always easy to get a
good night’s rest. You can use the power of yoga to encourage better sleep and aid in shedding
pounds. Yoga is an amazing stress reliever; it can help lower cortisol and stress levels in your
body, improve sleep by helping you feel more relaxed at the end of the day, and keep weight gain
at bay by combating food cravings. You can do yoga poses like seated forward fold, sphinx
pose, child’s pose, and more to relieve tension in your body parts, combat cortisol, and get you
into a relaxed mindset for bed. Doing these poses as part of your relaxing bedtime routine can
encourage you to go to bed and sleep for a sufficient amount of time regularly, boosting your
wellness and weight loss.

If you are unsure what target weight will be the healthiest for you, try evaluating your body composition with the most accurate body composition scale from InBodyUSA.