Yoga practice builds muscle strength and flexibility and boosts our overall health and vitality. So, it’s not a surprise that it also helps in body weight management since by muscle toning and improved body metabolism, excess fat is burnt. Also better sleep quality and mindful eating with the help of Yoga keeps the body weight at the optimum level. In this article, let us look at a few poses which are beneficial for reducing weight.
1. Boat Pose (Navasana)
Lie on your back with feet together and arms by the side. Take a deep breath and exhale lifting your legs and chest off the ground and arms stretched towards your feet. Keep your eyes, fingers and toes in one line. Stay in this pose for a few deep breaths, and then relax. Repeat 3 times.
2. Plank Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)
Lie on your stomach. Bring your hands close to the shoulders, with palm facing downwards and lift your body, as you breathe in, making a straight line. Your arms should be perpendicular to the floor and torso parallel to it. Stay for 30 seconds and relax, taking deep breaths.
3. Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)
Stand straight and spread your feet wide apart. Turn your right foot outwards by 90 degrees and your left foot inwards slightly. Keeping the weight balanced, bend your body to the right and raise your left hand upwards and right hand towards the ground and rest it on your ankle or shin, as your body allows. Look towards your left hand. Repeat on the other side.
4. Bridge Pose (Setubandhasana)
Lie on your back, fold your knees and keep the feet apart as much as the hips. Palms should face down, besides the body. Inhale and slowly lift your lower, middle and upper back off the floor. Touch your chest to the chin, supporting the weight on your shoulders, arms and feet. The thighs should be parallel to each other and to the floor.
5. Wind Relieving Pose (Pawanmuktasana)
This Asana is particularly useful for relieving gas and constipation. Lie on your back with your feet together. Breathe in, exhale and bring both the knees towards your chest and press the thighs to the abdomen. Lift your head and touch your chin to the knees. You can rock gently in this pose. Stay for 30 seconds. This pose can be done with one knee at a time as well, keeping the other knee straight on the ground.
One can also try the Warrior Pose, Shoulder Stand and Downward Dog pose. The Surya Namaskar sequence is also very good for losing weight. More active forms of Yoga such as Flow Yoga and Power Yoga are particularly useful for burning calories. Combining Yoga with aerobic exercises such as walking, cycling or swimming have additional cardiovascular and weight loss benefits.
This article is part of a series on Yoga.