Yoga Health and Fitness Notes

Well known for its ability to bring down your stress level, promote flexibility and build and tone lean muscle, yoga is less known for its equally powerful effects for weight loss. You may not have heard yoga mentioned in this context, but it can be a great way to burn off calories.

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. So, cardiovascular exercise will yield better results if you also practice yoga regularly.

Yoga can also give you the discipline you need to stick to a diet and exercise program. It enhances the relationship between the mind and body, giving you the motivation to take better care of yourself. Lack of motivation is a frequent problem among those who want to lose weight, so this is a very important benefit.

New Incarnations of Yoga

Those who want to lose weight solely through yoga might find what they’re looking for in non-traditional yoga classes. There are a number of yoga styles that can give you the traditional benefits of yoga and a cardiovascular workout at the same time. These include:

Vinyasa yoga - Vinyasa yoga is centered on shifting from one asana, or pose, to another while concentrating on your breathing. The Sun Salutation is a typical position, but there are many others. Vinyasa yoga is often practiced in a heated room to encourage sweating.

Ashtanga yoga - This is a complex style, incorporating six separate series of different poses. These increase in complexity, so you should start at the beginning and learn as you go.

Power yoga - This is an Americanized version of yoga. It combines faster, more active movements with traditional yoga breathing techniques.

These yoga techniques offer more of the heart-healthy benefits of aerobic exercise than the usual kinds of yoga. While they won’t quite give you the workout of a cardio class, you still get the dual advantages of aerobic fitness and the muscle toning and flexibility of yoga, which will no doubt help your weight loss efforts. And they’re great for people who are too busy for more than one workout routine.

One the surface, aerobics and yoga have few similarities. Nevertheless, conventional yoga can boost the benefits of cardiovascular exercise, and the newer styles of this ancient practice can be a great replacement for your usual aerobics. If you’re dissatisfied with the results you’re seeing from your normal exercise program, why not give yoga a try?

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