We tend to think of yoga as a way to increase muscle strength and endurance, body balance and flexibility. Yoga is thought of as a gentle exercise for mental and physical wellness.Asa yoga instructor for so many years, I can certainly vouch for all of these benefits of yoga. However, people tend to dismiss yoga as a means to lose weight. We tend to associate weight loss with strenuous exercise, profuse sweating and elevated pulse. So, can yoga help with weight loss? What do the experts say?
Yoga is much more than just stretching exercises
Anyone who managed to lose weight with the help of various diets and exercise regimes knows that it is difficult enough to shed the weight. What is even more difficult is to keep the weight off. Ultimately, only behavior-change sustains weight loss. As a yoga teacher, I find that yoga isn’t just about stretching the body into various shapes. Yoga helps us with lifestyle alteration, which is ultimately the only effective means of losing weight, and more importantly,sustaining that weight loss.
Yoga is about forming healthy habits. It is about looking after your body and prioritizing your health – both mental and physical. Yoga is a complete lifestyle guide that tells you how to eat healthy, make the time for physical activity and also reduce stress. It is about increasing mindfulness and developing self-control. You become more aware of the impacts that your actions and intake have upon your body.
Studies about yoga for weight loss
One of the things that yoga teaches is how to be mindful of what we do. According to a meta study published in Science Direct, this mindfulness helps us make the right decisions about what we eat. It helps us resist unhealthy food choices and it helps us detect signals of fullness that the brain sends. Since yoga also effectively lowers stress, one is also less likely to overeat, binge eat or indulge in comfort eating. A recent report about yoga for weight loss recommended Vinyasa Yoga and hot yoga for effective weight loss. These are more vigorous forms ofyoga that help to elevate the heart rate and keep it elevated throughout the yoga session.
A 2016 studyexamined the behavioral, physical and psychological changes associated with yoga that promote weight loss. The study concluded that these diverse beneficial impacts of yoga could help keep weight off. It was found that when people did yoga, this helped them lower stress. They experienced fewer cravings, greater self-acceptance, improved mood and self-awareness. Further, yoga was seen to help with weight loss because it improved muscle tone, which in turn was seen to up the metabolism of the body.
It is true that the kind of weight loss you will see with yoga may not be as dramatic and fast as other forms of weight loss. Rapid weight loss is something that experts deem to be unhealthy in any case.Weightloss resulting from yoga is more effective and longer lasting. More importantly, yoga helps in bringing about behavioral change, which is the only effective way to achieve a leaner, fitter body in the long term.