Yoga for Weight Loss

Yoga has long been established to bring holistic benefits to those who practice it; it soothes the soul, calms the mind and relieves stress, increases flexibility and tones muscles — among many others. Still, a LOT of people get into yoga for the sole purpose of losing weight. If you are also learning about yoga exercise to help you with weight loss, here are some helpful tips and information you should know.

Yoga Exercise Series for Weight Loss

There are no set and specific yoga poses that are guaranteed to make you lose weight. Why? Because you will only reap and maximize the full benefits of doing yoga poses when done properly and as part of a sequence or series that work the different muscle groups in your body — not just your target areas. If you want to do yoga for weight loss, below are some examples of yoga exercise series to keep in mind.

Sun Salutation Series

This series of yoga exercises is composed of 12 yoga poses that are done in a set, standard sequence. The Sun Salutation Series is the most popular set of exercises done in yogic practice, and is taught at just about every beginners’ class. It is also often used to start workout sessions and prep the body for the many other bends and stretches you will do in your classes and yogic practice in general. So why are Sun Salutations helpful in making you lose weight?

This series of poses go full circle; meaning, you start with standing poses, go through various floor exercises on your yoga mat, then come back up to doing standing positions like lunges. This 360 method helps you lose weight because it gradually increases your heart rate, which in turn makes you burn more energy and calories.

The Warrior Series

Breathing is a central element to the practice of yoga, and you will realize its importance especially when you do this sequence of yoga exercise. The Warrior Series consists of four positions: 1) Warrior I, 2) Warrior II, 3) Warrior III, and 4) the Extended Angle. This series helps you lose weight because it engages different muscle groups in different parts of the upper and lower body like the arms, core, thighs, glutes, etc. AND it requires that you do six full breaths while holding each pose. This causes the heart rate to go up, and next thing you know, you are sweating buckets because your muscles remain engaged as you maintain steady breathing.

The Half Series

The Half Series is often considered as part of the Sun Salutations, although a lot of yogis also practice it separately. This series is made up of the following positions:  1) Upward Facing Dog, 2) Downward Facing Dog, 3) the Plank Pose, and 4) the Crocodile Pose. In terms of the speed of transition between poses, the Half Series can be thought of as somewhere in between the Sun Salutations and Warrior Series. You don’t have to shift to the next position right away like in Sun Salutations, and you don’t have to hold the poses for specific number of full breaths.

With the Half Series, you can choose to shift yoga poses however slowly or quickly you want — as long as you make sure you do them properly. The Half Series is a yoga exercise sequence that will effectively help you lose weight because it engages and “warms” the muscles and generates energy, both of which help burn fat.

If you have specific target areas (like belly, arms, thighs, etc.), you can also tailor your workout sessions to include more positions that focus specifically on working the muscles in those areas. If you’re set on doing yoga for weight loss, you should also look into the different types of yoga being taught and practiced at your gym/studio. Hot Yoga, for one, is extremely popular among those whose aim in doing yoga is to lose weight because it involves practicing yoga in a heated room, making you sweat more and breathe deeper.

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