Yoga For Weight Loss: 5 Reasons Why And How It Works

Yoga is much more than a workout, it is a philosophy and a state of being. But can practicing yoga help you lose weight? Read on and find out the 5 ways in which yoga can help you reach your goal weight and so much more than that.

When typing the question "is yoga good for weight loss" into the google search bar, google provides 164.000.000 results for this exact question. So it's easy to say that you are not the only one wondering if yoga will in fact, help you to lose weight.

So let’s get straight to the point, is yoga good for losing weight? The short answer is yes, yoga in combination with a healthy and balanced lifestyle, can help you to lose weight.

But before we get into the topic of “yoga for weight loss”, it is important to address something else first. Yoga is so much more than a workout. Yoga itself is a philosophy. Yoga is a balanced and holistic practice, it will help you in many areas of your life, not just with your weight. After all, health is about so much more than your weight or a number on a scale.

Yoga is like a toolbox, full of life lessons and ancient stories that yogis are encouraged to take with them, out of the yoga room and apply those lessons in their day-to-day lives.

It is said that “yoga does not make life better, but it makes us better at life”. Yoga gives us the means to be able to do more. In every capacity, helping us to become the best version of ourselves.

With that said, if you want to know more about yoga and how it can help you lose weight, read on, this article is for you.

Yoga for weight loss

Yoga is a low impact practice, and classes can can range from high intensity to very low intensity, the beauty of yoga is, that yoga is for everyone. There will always be a class suited to you and your goals, be it to gain muscle and functional strength, to become more flexible or to correct muscular imbalances and recover from injury.

Yoga can be everything and more for you. If you have started your yoga journey to lose weight, take a look at our article about the benefits of hot yoga to learn more about how this particular type of yoga can help you to reach your goals faster.

Click here.

So, back to our original question; will yoga help you to lose weight? Let’s get into the details.

How does yoga help you lose weight?

Here are 5 reasons why yoga is great for weight loss:

Yoga can be practiced everyday.

Because yoga is low impact, if postures are performed with the correct alignment, which will be explained to you in detail by a skilled and certified yoga teacher, it is not likely that you will get injured. The most common injuries for yogis occur in the wrists, shoulders, primarily the rotator cuff, as well as over stretching the hamstrings.

It is always important to remember that, yoga can look like anything. Yoga does not have to look like the pictures we are accustomed to seeing on the internet. Yoga is for everyone. Although yoga attracts the most flexible people, you should never feel pressure to force your body’s limits to fit the yoga “aesthetic”. Resist the urge to push yourself to look or feel like someone else. Never surpass your limits in class, listen to your body.

Like this you will be able to practice yoga more often than you would other forms of exercise, you will need less recovery time, as yoga is something you can partake in daily. That will add up to more activity for you, more feel good and healing movement, and less down time in between classes needed.

Fall in love with your body and be amazed at how strong and capable you are. Even when trying to lose weight, try to look at it like this: you are already perfect and unique, there is nothing to lose but more health and wellbeing to gain.

"Change the way to talk to your body, like this anything and everything will be possible."

Yoga helps realign hormones and reduces stress levels

Yoga helps to realign our entire system, therefore, our hormones will follow suit. Especially in women, changes in the mensural cycle can happen when the body is over worked, overly stressed, and when our digestive system is not working optimally (more on that later).

There are many yoga postures that can help us open up our detox pathways, which is important for better excretion of toxins and balanced hormones. Yoga can be our answer as it will help us; get our sweat on, move the lymphatic system, calm the mind, stabilise the adrenals, and balance our cortisol levels. The following will be particularly helpful for those suffering from hormonal weight gain or chronic stress related weight gain.

Yoga improves digestion

Yoga is incredible for improving digestion. Our gut health and digestion are direct links to our hormones, weight, and overall health, so it’s an important factor to consider on your weight loss journey. Twisting asanas or postures will be your best friend, you can even try these at home or practice them when you need them.

Twisting helps to address the Manipura Chakra or the solar plexus chakra which is linked with issues such as; bloating, indigestion, constipation, and discomfort in the belly. Twisting asanas help to stimulate the digestive tract and get things moving in the body. It is especially helpful if your stress is related to issues at work and/or in your working relationships with colleagues or due to performance anxiety or issues with self image.

Yoga will help you build more muscle

When your goal is to lose weight, it’s important to be specific about your goals. Most of us would say its really fat we want to lose, not weight. Weight is something that fluctuates day to day, because of variables such as water retention, hormonal fluctuations (in women), stress related weight gain, and our body’s natural changes that we undergo throughout the day.

Our overall “weight”, aka, that number we see on the scale, will also include our bones (which practicing yoga increases bone density and resilience- YAY) and of course, our muscle mass, which we know (or should know) that muscle weighs more than fat. So when putting on muscle, try not to worry about the number on the scale and focus more on how you look in the mirror and most importantly, on how you feel!

The more muscle we have on our body the more calories we burn just sitting around. If you have an Apple Watch or a Fitbit, these methods of tracking daily output can help you understand how much energy or calories your body burns in a day. Our “active” calories are burned while exercising or simply by walking, and our resting calories are burned by just existing. (Yes, you also burn calories while watching Netflix, crazy.)

However, and this is a big however, counting calories or worrying about calories is the last thing you should be concerned with. Counting your macros is not going to make you healthy and counting calories burned is not going to change your health, especially not long term.

Again, start by loving your body as it is now, remain open to learning, and begin by adopting some new healthy habits and a daily yoga practice. The results will come and you will be much happier doing it.

Yoga helps to curb cravings & creates mindful eating habits

Practicing yoga, especially in the morning can help curb sugar cravings and help control mindless over-eating throughout the day. Yoga will help jump start your metabolism and get your lymph and digestion moving, but as the practice is rooted in being present, mindfulness when eating is a key component in your road to weight loss.

So what does being present mean? To be present is simple to say but hard to do. To be present is simply to be focused, integrated, and engaged in the here and now. Being present helps us to avoid being distracted or mentally absent in any given situation.

We can easily define being present, yet are we capable of it? In our Western society we are praised for always being busy, for “doing all the things”, for chasing our dreams, and making that hustle happen, but all of these things often make it impossible for us to just sit in a moment and simply be there. Right there.

I mean, ask yourself, when was the last time that you were able to listen to someone, whole heartedly without distraction, look at one screen without having another one open, or eat a meal without thinking about where you have to be later that day? (That is, if you aren’t already eating on the go as many of us do)

Yoga helps us to take that time, yoga tells us, it’s ok to be quiet, to be soft, to take this moment for ourselves to enjoy the simple things.

Likewise, when we remain present when eating, we taste more, enjoy our food more, and break down our food better, and better digestion means a happy, balanced system.

I know that it's tedious (aka boring), but we should be chewing our food 12-20 times before swallowing. Chewing is an important step in the digestion process. When we remain focused and present while eating, we help our body out before our food even reaches our stomach. So from a physical and mental health perspective, yoga can help improve our connection and relationship with food.

Those who practice yoga also say that they feel more energetic, experience less bloating, and drink more water though out the day. Note: remember to bring your water bottle (preferably filtered water) to every class!

Eating, especially when trying to lose weight, does not mean that food should be seen as the enemy. We need to fuel our bodies and savour the moment (quite literally). Yoga can help us to improve our relationship and overall experience when it comes to eating.

Final Thoughts

Is yoga good for weight loss, as we now know, the answer is YES! Yes, practice yoga, do it everyday.

Be open to it, let it in, let it become more than just a workout for you as it concerns so much more than the physical.

Yoga will change your body and help you reach your weight loss goals, but always keep in mind that yoga is and can give us much more. Think of it as a way to gain, not as a way to lose. This outlook will help keep your mind present and motivated long term.

Remember that, we want to move our bodies because we love them, not because we hate them.

Don’t get into yoga just to lose weight, get into yoga to gain. To gain strength, confidence, peace of mind, alignment, openness, and then yes, lose those inches too. Before you know it, yoga will also help you become more content and kind to yourself. Before you go changing yourself, be compassionate and loving first.

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Jasmine Melrose

Director & Founder of DECO the Blog

Jasmine Melrose is a Toronto native living in Amsterdam. Once a professional dancer, her passions include movement, fitness, yoga, healing, and all things vegan. Jasmine is a 500-hour trained yoga teacher, who loves to get you deeper into your practice. She is also a certified barre teacher who loves making raw vegan, guilt-free and good-for-you treats. Check out her recipes and articles on everything from fitness to yoga, to notes on a journey towards healing.

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