Yoga Asanas For Weight Loss

Interest in practicing yoga and achieving the yoga body has grown dramatically in recent years and has captivated millions of people. And, the physical aspects of practice are undeniable with long term practice producing a leaner, more sculpted appearance without that overly muscular look. However, many people are still reticent to start yoga because they feel they simply don’t measure up on a physical level. When you are facing an instructor that has years of experience and who looks like they just stepped off the front cover of a health & wellness magazine, the feeling can be intimidating.

However, the good news is that most yoga instructors will tell you that achieving the yoga body look is all about long term change. And, it transcends the physical.   The basic reason really has to do with the core philosophy of yoga itself.

Engagement in yoga is about self awareness on a mental and spiritual level. You simply achieve that through physical practice.

It’s easy to get caught up in the end result (especially for those of us who are more out of shape than we would like to be) when we see a very fit and in shape yoga teacher. But any good and experienced yoga instructor will tell you, the reason they achieved the yoga body look has to do with an overall lifestyle change. That means slowing down, becoming self aware, understanding what you are eating, and practicing [read more]…

 

The idea of a yoga retreat is an often overlooked way to help kick start weight loss and weight management goals. Often times we view losing weight as a chore and an activity that we have to focus on in order to make progress towards our weight reduction goals. However, you can achieve greater success by viewing this less as a chore and more as a lifestyle change. One of the best ways to make this happen and establish momentum towards your health and wellness goals is to immerse yourself in an activity that is enjoyable and that provides in-depth instruction and camaraderie as well as an environment that helps you focus on the task at hand.

Get Away From It all to Get Into It

Enter the yoga retreat–a fantastic way to get yourself focused on the benefits of yoga in beautiful and natural settings–that also allows you to focus on your entire self. And by doing so, you can naturally start to understand and make the right types of physical, mental and dietary changes needed to pursue a healthier lifestyle. Generally speaking, individually qualified yoga teachers will organize a weekend or week long (or even longer) session. Although some are local, it is more common for retreats to be held in beautiful and exotic settings where you would likely want to vacation. And that is no accident as a large part of the session is devoted to relaxation and enjoyment of the natural surroundings, as well as opportunities to meet new friends and socialize. Of course, there is also yoga instruction included.  And while what is offered varies considerably, you can generally expect at least one class a day (or more) in addition to other non-yoga activities.

Get Local by Going International

Yoga retreats can be local but more and more are being offered in international destinations such as Bali, Mexico or Spain. And sometimes these sessions will also work in additional themes such as kayaking, hiking, sightseeing or even diving, depending on the location. They can even involve rubbing elbows (or extending them) with rock stars (see below). Retreats usually include a charge for accommodations (ranging from rustic to luxurious) in addition to a charge for some or all of your meals as well as transportation. Expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $2000 for a 3-6 night session, not including airfare. Regardless, the value of this type investment in your body, spirit and mind simply cannot be underestimated.

Here are 5 upcoming yoga retreat options you may want to check out given the diversity of cost, location, and session focus (please check their websites for updated date and cost information):

Perform Yoga Like (or with) a Rockstar in Bali

Offered through Yoga Tree in San Francisco, CA , and held at the world class Soulshine Bali retreat, a yoga focused holiday is yours to be had, set among the natural wonders of the Indonesian island of Bali. They have several retreats offered in 2012, and all are hosted at a beautiful villa that contains its own yoga studio and provides amazing views of the rice paddies and volcanoes of the area. Resort quality food is offered, including traditional Balinese cooking, as well as vegetarian and vegan options. Some of their retreats also involve participation from Michael Franti, rock musician and front man for the band Michael Franti and Spearhead of “Say Hay” fame as well as rock star yoga instructors including internationally recognized teachers Janet Stone, Pedro Franco, Tara Dale and Pete Guinosso. Why not put a little groove into your sun salutations?

www.yogatreesf.com/bali2012

Celebrate the Winter Solstice in Your Bathing Suit on Maui

Christy Brown Yoga is offering a 5 day yoga retreat at the end of Maui’s famous Hana Highway, a luscious tropical forest and beautiful setting. Christy provided us some very sound thoughts on the value of a retreat both in terms of weight loss and simply practicing yoga to achieve the life you want:

“A yoga retreat can be a powerful way to cultivate the empowered, grounded and centered state of mind required to make real inward or outward change, whether it’s losing weight, over-coming stress or grief, or stepping into our full potential to create the life we want.”

Christy went on to say “Using asanas as a tool and our body as the vehicle, we have, through the practice of yoga combined with meditation and controlled breathing exercises, the opportunity to simultaneously cultivate mental, emotional and spiritual well-being while also optimizing the health of our physical body. A very efficient practice! And dedicating several days or a week to deepening our practice is a wonderful way to truly benefit from the many gifts yoga offers.”

We couldn’t agree more.

www.christybrownyoga.com

Adventure Yoga by the Sea in Mexico

One type of yoga retreat we recommend helps you focus on getting fit by combine yoga with another activity for a unique health and wellness experience. Led by yoga professional Diana Estey, Sea Trek Baja is offering a weeklong yoga and sea kayaking session in Baja Mexico at the warm and beautiful Sea of Cortez. Waterfront accommodations and deliciously fresh foods are all included. This adventure combines invigorating snorkeling and sea kayaking and paddling activities interspersed with yoga sessions for a relaxed yet immersive workout experience.

www.seatrekbaja.com

 

New Year’s Eve Yoga in California

You’re all dressed up and you blow $500 on dinner, and wake up with a hangover on New Year’s Day. Sound likes fun, right? There is a better way to start the New Year. The New Year Yoga Retreat with Pete Guinosso, offers a weekend of unplugging from the party glam to get focused on what really is important: you and your health. In addition to yoga sessions, you’ll have access to beautiful trails for hiking, evening campfires and a relaxed community of like minded friends all focused on bringing in a new year of internal and external peace.

www.petegyoga.com

 

 

Yoga and Ayurveda – Cleanse the Body and Soul in Southern India

Come for a completely purifying week at an award winning resort located in Mother India with longtime yoga instructor Erika Trice. The week long yoga retreat has a specific focus on detoxifying the body. It is held at an award-winning Ayurvedic retreat center in southern India that many people specifically travel to for Ayurvedic counseling, healthful eating and to gain an understanding of natural medicine. Although the retreat is not specific to weight loss it is supportive of that goal simply because of the focus on detoxifying the body. International Yoga, the organization behind this retreat offers a range of other international locational retreats that are transformational in nature, many of them suited to supporting longer term lifestyle change.

www.internationalyoga.com

Photos courtesy of My Yoga Online

 

Yoga for weight loss can be achieved, not only for building muscle and burning calories, but because doing yoga engages your mind—and strengthens your mind-body connection. After all, it’s your mind that steers you toward a healthy lifestyle: wholesome foods, moderate exercise, sufficient sleep and a balance between work and play. Yoga will also increase your range of motion and make you more limber, which will in turn make other types of activity more enjoyable. These yoga asanas for weight loss focus on strengthening the larger muscle groups, including the legs, abdominals (core) and shoulders, which will help you burn more calories, even after your workout. To increase your metabolism, make sure you breathe deeply as you hold each yoga asana, and concentrate on the feeling of your muscles firing.

1. Vrkasana or Tree Pose
Although tree pose improves physical and mental balance, it’s also an excellent asana that anchors a yoga for weight loss routine, as it is weight-bearing and strengthens muscles in the legs and core. If you wobble, tighten your hamstrings, quadriceps and abdominals. You’ll feel more stable—and put those major muscle groups to work.

How to do it
Stand with your feet together, hands at your sides and your eyes forward. As you exhale, bend your left knee and grip your right leg with the left foot, heel in front, toe in back. Aim for your calf the first time, and as your fitness and balance improve, grip your right leg above the knee, with the left heel on the front of the thigh, and the left toes pointing back. (Never directly on the knee.) Inhale and raise your arms over your head like the branches of a tree. It helps to focus your eyes on a spot directly in front of you—a picture on the wall, or even a real tree. Imagine zipping your muscles tight from your toes to the top of your head, especially your core muscles. Hold tree pose for 6 to 8 breaths, then repeat standing on your left leg.

2. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana or Upward-Facing Dog
Upward-facing dog plays a key role in yoga for weight loss for by building muscle mass in the shoulders, arms, core and legs. To lift your hips off the floor, tighten your rear and thigh muscles.

How to do it
Lie face down with the tops of your feet on the mat. Place your hands in “push-up” position, but near your waist (instead of below your shoulders). Spread your fingers wide and feel the energy in your hands. Exhale, and press your hands into the mat and slightly back, then straighten your arms to lift your torso, hips and legs off the floor. Your weight is distributed between your hands and the tops of your feet. Pushing your hips forward, pull your shoulders back a little to broaden and open your chest. Look forward and breathe, working up to holding this yoga for weight loss pose for 6 to 8 breaths.

3. Adho Mukha Svanasana or Downward-Facing Dog
Following “up dog,” “down dog” feels like a relief, as you go from a backbend to a forward bend. As you gain more flexibility in your lower back, going from “up” to “down” and back again will feel like a massage for your spine. Downward-facing dog works your shoulders, arms and wrists, giving your upper body a long, lean look and supporting weight loss by working those muscles. By lowering the head below the heart, this yoga for weight loss asana also boosts your metabolism and combats fatigue.

How to do it
From upward-facing dog, turn your toes so the balls of your feet face the floor, then raise your rear and push back with your arms at the same time. Sometimes it helps to imagine a string pulling your hips toward the ceiling. Adjust your body so your weight is evenly distributed between your feet and hands. Relax your head and neck, with your ears between your arms. While keeping your arms straight, straighten your legs as much as you can, and visualize your heels dropping towards the floor. Work up to holding “down dog” for 6 to 8 breaths, balancing your weight between your arms and legs, and working towards an upside-down V-shape with straight knees. As a yoga for weight loss posture, downward dog is one of the most effective for long term muscle development.

4. Uttihita Chaturanga Dandasana or Plank Pose
The plank asana strengthens your core and arm muscles, making it a perfect yoga for weight loss posture. When you feel your arms burning, pull your abdominal muscles up and in to give your arms a break.

How to do it
From downward-facing dog, step your legs back one at a time so you are in the classic push-up position, as straight as a plank of wood. If you’re feeling energetic and nimble, try jumping both of your feet back together. Your weight is distributed between your hands and your toes. Take your mind off of your arms by concentrating on fighting gravity with your abdominal muscles. Pull them up and in. Your first time, you may hold this for one breath before collapsing. Work up to a full minute.

5. Vasisthasana or Side Plank Pose
Like plank pose, the side plank asana looks easier than it is—so concentrate on aligning your body and engaging the muscles along your sides. When practicing yoga for weight loss, a slow, steady pace will help you reach your goals. This pose works your oblique muscles, as well as your shoulders, legs and rear.

How to do it
From the plank position, shift your weight to your right arm and your right toe. Turn your right foot so the outside edge is on the floor. See if you can balance. Can you lift your right hand? Adjust as necessary. Stack your left foot on top or your right and put your left hand on your left hip. You’re balanced on your right hand and the outside edge of your right foot. Press up through your right arm and out through your feet, keeping your body straight. Again, it may help to imagine your body as straight as a plank of wood. When you feel ready, stretch your left arm toward the ceiling. After a few seconds, go back to plank and repeat on the other side. Work up to a half minute.

6. Virabhadrasana or Warrior II Pose
Yoga for weight loss exercises work major muscles in the lower body to build muscle. Warrior II builds muscles in the quadriceps, as well as the glutes and hamstrings.

How to do it
Stand with your feet together, hands at your sides and your eyes forward. As you exhale, take a big step forward about the length of your leg with your right foot. At the same time, point your right arm forward and your left arm back. With your left toes turned out about 45 degrees, concentrate on balancing your weight between your front (right) and your back (left) feet, putting real energy into the back leg. Your hips, eyes and right arm all face forward, as if you are going into battle. On your next exhale, bend your right knee until your right thigh is parallel with the floor, continuing to hold your left leg steady. Look forward in the direction your right toes and arm are pointing, and hold for 6 to 8 breaths. Stand up straight and reverse.

To conclude, try going back to tree pose, and see how different it feels now. Do you feel stronger and more balanced? Yoga involves using large muscle groups and burning calories by flowing from one pose to another. Combining these asanas with a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle are a long term approach to successfully practicing yoga for weight loss—as well a strong body and a calm mind.

We created this video as a companion to our post on yoga exercises for weight loss after the feedback we received on that post. This video is short, just two minutes in length, and it is designed to inspire you to do some of the basic yoga exercises we described in the companion post. The video is set to music and includes images from nature along with human demonstration poses.

The key to weight loss for so many people is to simply get moving. Start with these basic poses, or even just a few of the one’s we show here, and you will begin to feel the power of yoga, movement and healing.  Once you get going, your momentum will build and you can seek more formal options from local classes to online yoga instruction.

Special thanks to the fantastic team at Lulelemon who provided several of the images used in the YouTube video under a creative commons 3.0 license.

Remember - start slow and then glow with these simple to perform yoga exercises for weight loss!

 

Yoga is an excellent workout for supporting weight loss by building muscle in the different asanas you perform. This is a long term exercise regimen so remember to go slowly. Combined with a healthy and natural diet, yoga exercises for weight loss is a low impact form exercise approach that actively focuses on working your body into a pose, creating different and simultaneous levels of relaxation and tension. Here are five basic yoga asanas for weight loss you can use to warm up the body and start burning calories.

Mountain Pose or Tadasana
Considered one of the easiest yoga exercises for weight loss this pose improves your posture and balance. It also helps to slowly warmup the body.

How to do it
Stand with feet together, hands at your sides, eyes looking forward. Raise your toe and fan them open to the floor. Feel your heel, outside of your foot, toes and ball of your foot all in contact with the floor. Tilt your pubic bone slightly forward. Raise your chest up and out. Raise your head up lengthening lifting the base of your skull toward the ceiling. Push into the floor with your feet raising your legs. Breathe and hold the posture, staying relaxed. Breathe again. As you inhale, visualize your breath coming up from your toes, rising through your legs and torso and up to your head. Reverse the process as you the exhale. Hold for breaths, and repeat 5 times.

Forward Bend Pose or Uttanasana
Yoga exercises for weight loss often focus on the legs to build muscle. This pose stretches your legs and spine. It also works your hamstrings, a major muscle area that burns calories.

How to do it
Begin standing straight in the Mountain pose described above. Inhale and raise your arms overhead. Exhale and bend at your hips. Bring the arms forward and down until you touch the floor. Bend your knees if your hamstrings are not fully warmed up. You can grab your ankles or just leave hands resting on the floor. Breathe slowly several times. Repeat this 3-5 times. On your last asana, hold for 5 breaths. You will want to curl upward as you release from the pose pulling yourself up one vertebrae at a time.

Triangle Pose or Trikonasana
Working on yoga exercises for weight loss that stretch the spine open the torso lead to strength gains. They also improves balance as this pose does. It also works your leg’s quadricep muscles contributing to higher levels of calorie burning.

How to do it
Start with your feet apart about 3 to 4 feet and parallel. Turn your left foot 90 degrees left and your right foot about 45 degrees inward. Inhale then raise both of your arms so they are parallel to the floor. Turn your head to the left as you exhale.  Look down your left arm toward your fingers. Make sure your left knee is in line with the left ankle. Take a breath and stretch out to the left. Tilt your left hip down and your right hip up. When you’ve stretched as far as possible pivot the arms, allowing your left hand to reach down and rest against the inside of your calf. Your right arms should point straight up. Turn and look up at your right hand. Breathe several breaths. Then inhale, and straighten up. Exhale and lower the arms. Put your hands on your hips and pivot on your heels, bringing both feet to face front. Perform the pose on the other side.

Cobra Pose or Bhujangasana
Yoga exercises for weight loss should also focus on the back and arms to develop triceps, shoulder and abdominal muscles for increased fat loss.

How to do it
Lie on your stomach and keep your legs together with your arms at your side. Keep them close to your body and keep your hands by your chest. As you inhale, slowly raise your head and chest as high as possible. Keep your butt muscles tight so as to protect the lower back. Keep your head up, pushing your chest and heart out. Breathe 3 times and then come down. Repeat five times.

Bridge Pose or Sethu Bandhasa
All yoga exercises for weight loss should also help you to increase your flexibility. This challenging pose strengthens the lower back, abdominal and chest muscles.

How to do it
Lie on your back with your knees up and your hands at your side. Your feet should be near your buttocks, six inches apart. Gently raise and lower your tailbone. Slowly raise the tailbone and lift up your spine, moving one vertebra at a time until your back is completely arched upward. Push your feet firmly downward. Make sure your knees are straight and close together. Breathe into your chest. Clasp your hands under your back. Then push against the floor. Take five deep breaths. Bring your body down slowly and repeat five times.

 

Remember the yoga exercises for weight loss are only effective if combined with a healthy, natural diet. You need to consider the types and amounts of calories you eat for a holistic weight loss approach.

Find Out More About The Diet Solution Program Now, and Discover Natural Eating Plans For Weight Loss That Bring Real Results

If you understand the correct foods to eat, and change your diet, as well as practicing yoga exercises for weight loss, you can lose weight. You should also check out The Diet Solution Program as a healthy diet program. The Diet Solution Program focuses on readily available natural foods you can get at your local market. Click here to see if it is right for you.

Mountain, forward bend, triangle, cobra and bridge poses by lululemon athletica.

Affiliate disclosure: the owner of this site is affiliated with some of the products promoted.

Click yoga exercises for weight loss to return to the top of this page. Click here to go to the homepage=> Yoga Asanas For Weight Loss

Weight loss is challenge that most people wrestle with in their lives. For many people the battle is ongoing. Whether there is a need to lose a significant amount of weight,  25 or 30 lbs or more, or just to get rid of those last 5 stubborn “extra” pounds, virtually all of us think about it. Yoga asanas for weight loss is about taking a long term view of exercise and diet for effective weight control.

Generally speaking we don’t think of yoga as a type of exercise routine that promotes weight loss. More powerful yoga forms, such as Ashtanga and Vinyasa routines, work the body out and burn calories, yet softer forms, like Hatha, can also be beneficial. Whatever yoga poses for weight loss you end up practicing, they must be combined with a natural, healthy diet that works in parallel with a long term yoga routine for maximum weight loss results. The approach covered here has physiological and psychological components for successful weight management.

So this is a different approach based on yoga asanas for weight loss.

The real value in practicing yoga for weight loss, along with burning calories, is the correlation to stress reduction that occurs. Lower amounts of stress hormones and a corresponding increase to the sensitivity of insulin directly burns fat stores, turning the food we eat into fuel we burn immediately. But this is only part of the picture for effective, long term weight control.

In order for sustainable weight loss to occur, a natural and healthy diet must also be followed in an overall lifestyle routine. Read more about The Diet Solution Program as it plays an integral role in weight reduction when used with natural exercise routines like yoga asanas for weight loss.

Tips on Effective Yoga Poses for Weight Loss
Yoga is a fantastic physical fitness method. It’s low impact so the body can safely get into a routine at a comfortable pace. Here are some practical tips in following a routine centered around yoga to lose weight:

• When practicing any yoga asana focus on how it makes you feel physically. Painful or not, at least you’ll begin to feel the positive changes you’re making.

• Literally “be” in the moment and try and feel every movement you perform. You need to actively listen to your body.

• Constantly be aware of the place where your muscles feel they are being challenged, but not overly exerted. You want to push yourself in each pose but not hurt your muscles.

• Your body needs rest, so listen to it when you are tired. You need to recover. This is internal listening and a major benefit of practicing yoga asanas for weight loss.

• Praise yourself by appreciating the efforts you are making. You are your own best cheerleader. Remind yourself of this to keep motivated over the long term. You are creating a better you.

• Yoga can be practiced at any age and for long term exercise. It also develops qualities like patience, discipline and internal awareness, allowing you to develop yourself inside and out.

How Diet Supports Yoga Asanas for Weight Loss
The other critical element in a long term weight management program is a diet routine that works in parallel with exercise. Committing to an on-going workout is great but if you don’t follow a natural and healthy diet, no form of yoga will help you lose weight. By itself, a proper diet is very difficult for most people to integrate into their lifestyle. Plus the fact that there is so much competing advice as to what constitutes a “good diet” makes achieving weight loss more complicated.

Most people are simply looking for an easy plan they can follow. A simple answer is to eat more whole natural foods as part of your diet. There are healthy eating diet plans, such as The Diet Solution Program, that make this achievable. It provides methods anyone can follow to create and prepare easy to make real and whole foods. And it complements the long term activity of practicing yoga asanas for weight loss.

Find Out More About The Diet Solution Program Now, and Discover Natural Eating Plans For Weight Loss That Bring Real Results

If you focus on the right foods to eat, by changing your diet and incorporating yoga asanas for weight loss as exercise routines, you can lose weight and keep it off. You should also check out The Diet Solution Program as a healthy dieting program. The Diet Solution Program focuses on everyday foods that are natural and you can buy in your local supermarket. It is has helped thousands of people achieve weight loss success. Click here to see if it is right for you.

Affiliate disclosure: the owner of this site is affiliated with some of the products promoted.

Click yoga asanas for weight loss to return to the top of this page. Click here to go to the homepage=> Yoga Asanas For Weight Loss

We are glad you have stopped by to find information and tips on how to incorporate yoga asanas for weight loss. Whether your goals involve finding useful yoga poses for weight loss, specific forms of yoga that support losing weight, or incorporating the necessary components of a healthy and natural diet as part of an overall weight loss program, you have come to the right place.

Yoga provides a wide range of physiological and psychological benefits to the weight loss process. Active forms of yoga, such as Vinyasa, Ashtanga and other forms of power yoga can burn calories with minimal impact to the body. Yet slower and restorative forms can also be very beneficial, simply because you are getting to know the state of your body. That is often over looked in the race to take off pounds and shouldn’t be. And finally, there is the component of a proper and healthy diet. Physicians widely agree that a healthy diet, combined with appropriate exercise focusing on yoga asanas for weight loss, does support sensible and medically appropriate dietary weight reduction, as well as longer living.

Our goal is to give you the most useful and meaningful information about implementing yoga and diet into an overall weight loss routine. Please come back and visit us regularly as we will be adding more information we thing will be useful to maintaining a healthy and natural lifestyle.

Photo by lululemon athletica