The system of yoga exercises develops strength, flexibility, endurance, coordination. With the help of yoga you can improve your physical health and psycho-emotional state. But how effective are yoga asanas for weight loss?
The Benefits of Yoga for Weight Loss
Yoga asanas are exercises performed in a static manner. Due to the low intensity of exercise, the practice of yoga is considered ineffective in the fight against excess pounds. In order for the effect of weight loss to become apparent, static loads must be practiced for a long time and often. Therefore, they are rarely used as an independent tool for weight loss. In its ability to burn calories quickly, yoga can not compete with intense dynamic exercise, but it has an important advantage: it encourages the body to get rid of excess pounds without stress and overload. It is also important that thanks to the normalization of metabolism and the improvement of the work of all organs and systems, the weight loss achieved with the help of yoga to continue for a long time.
Basic rules of yoga
In order for yoga for weight loss to be effective, you need to practice regularly: preferably every day, but in any case at least three times a week. You need to move from simple to complex, slowly and gradually. First, the simplest asanas are mastered, and only after their adjustment can the load be complicated. Do not increase the intensity and difficulty of your workout prematurely. Haste leads to injury and a violation of one of the main principles of yoga: asanas should not be performed through pain and discomfort, the practice of yoga should be enjoyable.
You need to do the exercises slowly and thoughtfully, focusing on breathing and muscle work. You will need comfortable clothing and a yoga mat to practice. You need to exercise on an empty stomach. There should be at least two hours between your last meal and your workout. The study area should be well ventilated. To detach from outside sounds and create the right mood, you need to activate quiet relaxing music. Melodies can be obtained from special selections for yoga and meditation.
Yoga exercises for weight loss
- Straighten and spread the legs as wide as possible. Bend forward and place both hands on the floor. Tighten and tense the gluteus muscles. Stay in this position for about a minute. Make sure your breathing is free, deep and rhythmic. Finish the exercise and enter the asanas two more times. By practicing regularly, you can strengthen your buttocks, inner thighs and back of your thighs.
- Take a comprehensive step forward with one foot. Sit yourself in a lunge, transferring body weight to the treading leg. The other leg remains extended back. Touch the floor with your hands on the sides of your bent knee. Stay in this position for at least a minute. Check your breathing. Open three times with each foot. Exercise works well with the muscles of the lower body.
- Place the belly down on the carpet. Pull the upper limbs forward, the lower ones straightened and connect. Constantly raise your head, shoulders and chest to the floor. Leave your tummy pressed to the floor. Stay in the asanas for as long as possible. With its help, you can strengthen your chest muscles.
- In a standing position, direct your body, place your feet wider than your shoulders. Bend your knees, lower your shoulders. Cross your arms in front of you, push the pelvis forward. After a pause for a moment, straighten your legs. Do three repetitions. Pose burns fat on the thighs and back, strengthens muscles.
- The starting position is the same as in the previous exercise: standing upright, the legs are wider than the shoulders, the arms to the chest. Spread your socks and get up on them. Jump down and, sitting on your toes, roll over on your heels. Perform ten of these jumps. Exercise makes your legs thinner and stronger. Caviar gets a particularly good load here.
- Lie on your back on the mattress. Extend your arms to your sides, rest your palms on the floor. Raise your straight legs smoothly, bring them to a vertical position and keep moving further so that they are finally placed on your head parallel to the floor surface. Stay in this position for a minute. Breathe evenly. Lower your legs slowly. Do two or three repetitions. In this asana, the press muscles are well processed.
- While continuing to lie on your back, bend your legs and raise your knees up to your chest. Then raise your legs by stretching them towards the ceiling. At the same time as you straighten your legs, support your back with your hands, thus helping to keep your legs, pelvis and lower back in an upright position. Rest your elbows on the floor. Stay in the asanas for as long as possible. Try not to move, do not bend your legs, watch your breathing.
- Roll over your stomach. Place your palms on the mattress near the shoulder joints. Place your toes on the floor. With one exhale, suddenly bring your pelvis back and up, pulling your heels toward the floor. The body should take the following position: the head is between the arms, its occipital region lies down, the legs and back are straight. After a pause for a moment, move your legs into your palms with a jump. Straighten your legs and wrap your arms around them. Bring the chest cage to the knees and the top of the head to the legs. Keep your legs as straight as possible. Repeat the asana three times.
- Sit with your palms below your thighs near your knees and raise your legs. They should be as straight as your back. Hold your head so that your gaze is directed diagonally: up and forward. As you exhale, run your arms in front of you parallel to the floor. In this exercise, the abdominal muscles are strengthened well.
- Get into a standing position. Take a wide forward kick with an emphasis on your right foot. The knee of the back foot should touch the floor, the toe extended. Keep your back straight. Raise your arms above your head, running them across the sides. Lift your head, spread your arms up, stretch your body in a line - from the tip of the pelvis to the fingers. Pause for a minute. Lower your arms to shoulder level and stretch to the sides. Gently turn your body to the left, keeping your back straight. A parallel should be formed between the lines of the arms and legs. Turn your head to the left as well, stretch your arms. After twenty seconds, gently turn to the other side. Pause again for twenty seconds and turn, placing the body straight. Place your left hand on the left side of your right foot with your forearm on the floor. Turn the body to the right. Lie down with your right hand, turn your head to your hand. After one minute, place your right forearm on the left side of your right foot. Raise the other hand and extend it upwards. Crawl again for a minute, then lower your arms and head up. Perform the next repetition on the other leg. The abdominal muscles, especially the oblique muscles, and the back of the thighs are actively working here. Exercise strengthens and stretches the spine, improves posture.
Yoga not only helps to lose weight but also improves coordination, makes the body flexible and strong. The first results of the "Yoga for weight loss" program become visible after about a month of teaching.