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Does Yoga Help You Lose Weight? Benefits, Poses & How Often 2024
Updated on
- Written by Sevginur Akdas, RD
Medically reviewed by
Kathy Shattler, MS, RDN
You may be in a stressful and busy period of your life. Maybe this stress caused you to gain weight. But there is a mind, spirit, and body exercise from which you can get many health benefits in many ways. Yes, it’s called yoga. You can regain inner peace and body health by practicing yoga. Let’s examine how yoga can help you lose weight.
Does Yoga Help You Lose Weight?
Body weight management is one of the leading health problems worldwide. Many of us are trying to avoid weight gain in an obesogenic environment due to food industries, stressful lives, or hormonal dysfunctions arising from things such as pollution or untreated medical conditions, etc.
It makes us nervous and very upset sometimes to fight the weight battle. But to go further in our daily lives, we need mental health, too. At this point, yoga comes into the stage. Yoga practice assists you in burning calories and motivates you to healthier eating.
Researchers[1] indicate that the social support and motivation provided by the yoga community contribute mainly to people who are in the weight loss process. When you join a yoga group, it may motivate you to see other people who try to be healthy, exercise regularly, and eat mindfully.
Benefits Of Yoga To Help Lose Weight
Relieves Your Stress
One of the most critical factors in gaining or losing weight is the effects of stress on our bodies. While some people lose weight or lose their appetite during stressful periods, many people tend to overeat when stressed.[2]
Cortisol, a hormone released during stress, increases body fat storage, especially in the central part of the body. Central obesity is the riskiest weight gain for chronic diseases. Further, cortisol leads to muscle loss, which causes a decrease in the energy expenditure of the body.
The main purpose of yoga and meditation is stress management,[3] mental health benefits, and well-being. All the remaining benefits are advantages that come with the effects on the emotional state. Still, the main focus of yoga is mental and spiritual integrity.
When you start to control your stress,[4] you will see that the hormonal balance in your body improves, your stress-related eating attacks decrease, and your body image perception improves.
Aids Mindful Eating
Emotional eating is the leading reason for food cravings and binge eating episodes. Controlling your eating habits and mental state to make conscious food choices[5] for your health is the simplest definition of mindful eating. The key to mindfulness practice related to eating behaviors is focusing on the food and feeling physiological satiety and hunger cues.[6] When you realize that you want to eat healthier food choices for your body. you will find your taste buds changing, making unhealthy food no longer appealing.
It starts with paying attention to the eating experience to feel the texture, taste, smell, and reactions inside your body. Yoga helps you this way because it is also about focusing on your feelings and your experience during the yoga practice. When you get this mindset, you can be aware of things you may get that benefit your entire body, such as healthy eating.
Boosts To Burn Calories
Yoga is a sport you do with your body weight and includes movements with many aspects,[7] such as stretching, mobility, strength, flexibility,[8] balance, stability, and endurance. In addition to the psychologically relaxing effects of yoga, it provides a good stretch for your body, allowing relaxation.
Yoga has the capacity to burn calories at different levels, depending on the movements and poses involved in the flow.
Increases Muscle Tone
Yoga is a mindful exercise that develops[1] many muscle groups in your body. You increase your muscular endurance while trying to stay in stable poses, your muscle mobility when repeating flows, and your muscle strength when you practice poses with your body weight against gravity.
Increasing muscle mass in your body will cause both a significant improvement in your body image and an increase in your body’s energy expenditure. In addition, increasing muscle mass and increasing muscle/fat ratio in your body offer metabolic protective effects.
Helps To Lose Belly Fat
Performing movements that include balance in yoga is highly related to the strength of the abdominal muscles. Therefore, yoga helps you have a flatter and tighter belly when you practice regularly.
At the same time, most of the weight you gain due to stress increases fat accumulation in your abdomen. The weight loss that yoga brings with this relaxation will also help to reduce the fat in the stomach.
Includes You In A Healthy Community
Above all, attending a yoga club, yoga class, or yoga-related activities makes you part of a healthy environment.[1] One of the most important factors in leading a healthier overall lifestyle and losing weight is to minimize the obesogenic environment.
Best Yoga Poses For Weight Loss
Regular yoga practice changes your mindset about eating and body shape while increasing your energy level. There are many types of yoga of varying difficulty and theme. You can see that most yogas have different roles in achieving a healthy body form. Even raja yoga, known for its meditative qualities as the kingly science of yoga, contains instructions for asanas or physical exercise; the only yoga without asanas is yoga Nidra.
Hatha Yoga
Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga that uses physical techniques to conserve and transfer force or energy. The Sanskrit word Hatha means strength. It represents physical techniques that increase the strength of the body and its ability to perform powerful movements. Therefore, hatha yoga is one of the types of yoga that will help you spend the most calories and gain strength with your own body weight.
Ashtanga Yoga
It is a type of Hatha yoga that is more about muscle training and physical strength development. Practicing Ashtanga helps to improve your body functionality and makes it stronger, flexible, toned, and balanced. The poses in Ashtanga yoga require upper body strength such as core and arms.
Hot Yoga
Hot yoga is a form of yoga practiced under hot and humid conditions that cause significant sweating. This is said to be due to trying to imitate the warmth and humidity of India, where yoga originated. You may wonder if hot yoga can help promote weight loss. Yes, but the only thing you lose in this type of yoga practice can be salt and water due to high sweating in the short term.
Therefore, if you enjoy doing this type of yoga, you need to pay attention to hydration. Drinking water alone does not contribute to hydration. The intake of salt lost through sweat is crucial in minimizing fatigue, weakness, mental confusion, and exhaustion. Drinking electrolyte replacement drinks are the best beverages to replace the fluids and electrolytes lost in sweat.
Vinyasa Yoga
It is a form of yoga that consists of sequences of movements that follow each other fluently and in harmony with the breath. Just like aerobic exercise, it warms the body and relaxes the muscles and joints. It is an excellent method to warm up before any fitness regimen. It can also be done as a stand-alone exercise. Vinyasa yoga aims to achieve synchronization between breathing and movements. In this way, it is a type of yoga used in transitions between asanas. It will be a good aerobic capacity-regulating exercise for you.
Yin Yoga
Yin Yoga is a slow-paced type of yoga involving asanas performed over long periods. Although it may seem easy due to its slow flow, advanced asanas require strong stability, endurance, and flexibility. It increases physical and emotional resilience.
Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra is a type of yoga with a meditative aspect that includes yogic sleep. It is a state of consciousness between wakefulness and sleep, typically achieved with guided meditation. It does not contribute to calorie expenditure in promoting weight loss, but it contributes to stress management and emotional recovery.
How Often Should You Do Yoga For Weight Loss?
You might be thinking about how many times you practice yoga for weight loss goals. It is quite an important question to ask. We can look up literature to get this answer.
In a study[9] held with obese or overweight women, researchers got promising results on weight loss with two times of yoga practice per week.
In another study[10] they started with the frequency of doing yoga three times a week. They decreased this time as the weeks passed, and this study also revealed that yoga significantly affected weight. Moreover, this study was carried out in the child and adolescent groups. This is another advantage of yoga because yoga is a healthy weight management method that can be used in children and young people and will not adversely affect the growth and development process.
One of the most important things in yoga is not to stress the body. It can be a valuable approach to stop at the point that you get uncomfortable by listening to your body. In addition, thanks to this soft approach, it can be practiced daily without harm.
Summary
Does yoga help you lose weight? Yes, yoga is a suitable exercise for appetite and weight control. While providing you with inner peace, you will take a step towards a healthy body.
Starting the day with yoga with a nice stretch and an intense pose can keep you motivated and boost your metabolism all day. And in the evening, end with a calmer yoga flow that will prepare you for sleep. You can improve your sleep quality and remove the stress of the day from your body with yoga.
+ 10 sources
Health Canal avoids using tertiary references. We have strict sourcing guidelines and rely on peer-reviewed studies, academic researches from medical associations and institutions. To ensure the accuracy of articles in Health Canal, you can read more about the editorial process here
- Ross, A., Brooks, A.T., Touchton-Leonard, K. and Wallen, G.R. (2016). A Different Weight Loss Experience: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Behavioral, Physical, and Psychosocial Changes Associated with Yoga That Promote Weight Loss. [online] 2016, pp.1–11. doi:https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/2914745.
- van, Savas, M. and F.C, E. (2018). Stress and Obesity: Are There More Susceptible Individuals? [online] 7(2), pp.193–203. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-018-0306-y.
- Martin, R., Prichard, I., Hutchinson, A. and Wilson, C. (2013). The Role of Body Awareness and Mindfulness in the Relationship Between Exercise and Eating Behavior. [online] 35(6), pp.655–660. doi:https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.35.6.655.
- Wang F;Szabo A (2020). Effects of Yoga on Stress Among Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review. Alternative therapies in health and medicine, [online] 26(4). Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32088671/.
- Dalen, J., Smith, B.W., Shelley, B.M., Sloan, A.L., Leahigh, L. and Begay, D. (2010). Pilot study: Mindful Eating and Living (MEAL): Weight, eating behavior, and psychological outcomes associated with a mindfulness-based intervention for people with obesity. [online] 18(6), pp.260–264. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2010.09.008.
- Miller, C.K. (2014). Comparison of a Mindful Eating Intervention to a Diabetes Self-Management Intervention Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial – Carla K. Miller, Jean L. Kristeller, Amy Headings, Haikady Nagaraja, 2014. [online] Health Education & Behavior. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1090198113493092?casa_token=Zf5sZHNPR2AAAAAA%3A58jKegdlVpgrILJeYPaskSBemEErcZHfE-pqEub5hFquRvSsCUfjD1vbIExJr0–X2zrjfsnh9k&journalCode=hebc.
- Ranjan, P., Gopal, A., Anwar, W., Kumari, A., Pradhan, B., Satyapriya Maharana and Venkataraman, S. (2022). Physical Activity, Yoga, and Exercise Prescription for Postpartum and Midlife Weight Management: A Practical Review for Clinicians. [online] doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-022-01627-w.
- Myles Jay Polsgrove, Eggleston, B. and Lockyer, R.J. (2016). Impact of 10-weeks of yoga practice on flexibility and balance of college athletes. [online] 9(1), pp.27–27. doi:https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-6131.171710.
- Unick, J.L., Dunsiger, S., Bock, B.C., Sherman, S., Braun, T.D. and Wing, R.R. (2022). A preliminary investigation of yoga as an intervention approach for improving long-term weight loss: A randomized trial. [online] 17(2), pp.e0263405–e0263405. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263405.
- Jain, V., Kumar, B., Sharma, A., Chawla, V., Rajkumar Singh Yadav, Grover, S., Sharma, R., Sharma, R., Kumar, A. and Raj, N. (2022). A comprehensive yoga programme for weight reduction in children & adolescents with obesity: A randomized controlled trial. [online] 155(3), pp.387–387. doi:https://doi.org/10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_525_20.
Written by:
Sevginur Akdas, RD
Medically reviewed by:
Medically reviewed by:
