Why do we gain weight?

The gaining weight of the body implies the inability of your digestive system to convert the food into flesh. This excessive food ( or calories ) in the body is stored in the form of fat. Your body stores fat in the adipose tissue, (known as the fat cells of the body), either by enlarging their size or by manufacturing more of them. If you decrease your daily bread intake, your body will automatically start reducing some of its stored fats by shrinking them.

Does yoga have the solution to weight loss?

Most of the time people strive to lose weight by dieting. Some get a successful result too, but the question lies how long you can go with these tricks?

Typically weight loss occurs when your calorie intake is less than the count of calories you burn every day. Introducing yourself to yoga can be a better alternative than striving yourself to lose weight. Involving yoga in your lifestyle makes you achieve a healthy weight loss. Losing weight is based on two important factors

• Healthy fuel for the body
• Exercise

Most effective Yoga poses for weight loss

You will not see immediate weight loss results in the case of yoga. Yoga is said to be more effective when you hold the pose for a long time. The poses in yoga are simple, focus on toning the muscles and increasing their flexibility.

Some potential yoga poses for your weight loss journey

1. Chaturangadandasana ( plank pose)

Plank pose is considered as the best posture to burn fat from almost all the parts of the body. This pose is not only included in yoga but also in various forms of other exercises. It stimulates the core of the body, massages the abdominal area, and burns fat of the back and hip regions. Ideally, this posture can be practiced starting from 30seconds to 3 minutes in one go depending upon your capacity.

2. Trikonasana (triangle pose)

Triangle pose helps to burn that stubborn fat deposited in the belly and tones your digestive system. It restores the digestive heat in the system and ensures good digestion. The posture turns at the waist part helps to reduce fat on the waistline, hamstrings, and thighs. Practicing this pose creates a balance in the body and promotes the blood flow.

3. Sarvangasana ( shoulder stand)

Shoulder stand is known for enhancing the metabolism and stabilizing thyroids levels. This posture has enormous benefits from stretching to creating balance while maintaining strength in the core area. Shoulder stand emphasizes blood circulation in the upper body and known to improve the respiratory system.

4. Parivrtta utkatasana ( twisted chair pose)

This asana is commonly known as yoga’s version of the squat with increased levels of intensity involved. This poster tones your thighs like never before with a twist in the spine. Holding this posture burns the fat in the waistline and upper thigh region. It creates a stretch in the arms, neck, waist, and, abdominal region.

5. Adho mukha svanasana ( downward dog pose)

Every posture in yoga has some significant names. Downward dog is the posture relating to the position of the body resembling a dog. This posture helps you to achieve optimal flexibility in the back and creates a nice stretch all over the heels to the head. Adho mukha svanasana improves blood flow in the head and helps to release tension and stiffness in the body.

6. Dhanurasana (bow pose)

It is reviewed as the best pose to burn belly fat in the body. Dhanurasana allows you to create a curve in the back making it flexible and strong. This posture helps you to tone your thigh muscles, hands, neck and opens up the heart area. The posture enhances flexibility and promotes blood circulation in the system.

7. Power yoga

Apart from some specific postures, one can practice power yoga that includes postures to generate a comparatively high amount of heat in the body. There are several postures series such as sun salutation which when performed with high speed helps to reduce extra weight in the body and allows you to achieve a streamlined shape. Sun salutation is the most reliable form of power yoga workout session as it concentrates on all the fundamentals of the body in just one go.

 Once your body gets used to these postures you can try to hold them for long to ripe some invisible benefits as well.

The fuel factor

It is seen that people practicing yoga tend to eat little less than what is needed for the body or at least they won’t overeat. Yoga revitalizes the system in such a way that it brings so much sense into your system that you will not overindulge in food. Practicing yoga regularly creates certain chemistry within the body that it starts regulating itself and will just eat what is needed.

Food is just like a fuel in the machine, if you go to a filling station for refueling your car, you choose for that propitious fuel that allows your machine to achieve optimal performance. You can surely try some kerosene and see how it works, you know, it will drive, but may not allow you to accelerate as much as you want. This resembles most of the situations of how people are choosing their fuel today. It is your choice to have a machine that needs minimum fuel and generate maximum output or vice versa. Yoga brings you to that dimension where you know what and how much is needed, to function well.

Pranic food for your machine

Fuel is essentially something that provides “pran” to your system. How can you expect to behave lively without eating live food? It is as simple as that, if you put dull food into your system, for sure the output will be dull. Practicing yoga improves your digestive health but it is important to watch your food quality intake during your weight loss journey. According to yogic science, you must include raw food in your diet. Even modern science today states various advantages of a raw and vegan diet. It is seen that people consuming fruits and vegetables in their complete raw form are seen with a significant amount of improvement in their complaints of fatigue, nausea, and, muscle cramps. Some people have also shown improvement in their diabetes and hypertension states. You can also opt for some yogic diet recipe initially, to see how it works for you.

 Yoga does not help you to lose your weight immediately but when you do it regularly for a long time, you can see your body getting in shape. Yoga not only aid in weight loss it has several other benefits too.

Benefits of Yoga:

• Increasing flexibility
• Reducing weight 
• Manages stress and anxiety
• Balancing metabolism
• Reducing cardiac health problems
• Improving respiratory system
• Helps to increase muscle tone
• Boosts energy level

There are much yoga poses defined for weight loss. The given below are the 8 best yoga poses for reducing weight.

8 Yoga poses for weight loss:

1. Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutations) – Surya namaskar is a circle of 11 steps that include various asanas in it. It boosts your flexibility, stamina, make your body fit in shape and your muscles strong. You can do it in the morning or in the evening. In starting you can do 2-3 times but day by day you can increase the rep of Surya Namaskara. 

Steps of Surya Namaskar are:

• First, stand in a straight position while joint both hands in a namaste position.
• Then take your both hands above your head in a backward direction.
• Then, take your both hands to touch your feet in a downward direction
• After that, fold your left leg in a forward direction near your face and straighten your right leg in a backward direction.
• Then make your both legs straight in a backward direction and rest your body on your palms and feet. 
• Lie on the floor and then pull your body backward with the help of your both hands. 
• After that, hold the floor with your palms and feet and pull your body in an upward direction.
• Then, fold your right leg in a forward direction near your face and straighten your left leg in a backward direction.
• After this, hold both feet with both hands.
• Then repeat the second step.
• And end it with a namaskar position. 

2. Chaturangadandasana (Plank Pose) – Hold the floor with both palms, lift your body in an upward direction in a straight position. Try to hold it for 30-30 seconds in 3 sets. After some days, you can increase the time of sets. It helps to strengthen your arms and legs muscle and decrease your body weight.

3. Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand) – Lie straight on the floor and then lift your lower body in an upward direction with the help of shoulders. Then hold this position for some time and release. It helps to boost metabolism and balancing thyroid levels, strengthen the abdominal muscles and legs, and improves the respiratory system.

4. Dhanurasana (Bow) – Lie on your belly. Try to bring your heels near to your buttocks with the help of your hands. Your hands should take hold of your ankles. Try to stay in the same position for a few seconds and then release it. It helps to reduce your thigh and belly fat. It strengthens the muscles of thighs, arms and makes your digestive system strong.

5. Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) – Lie on the floor in a straight position. Bend your knees and keep your feet on the floor. Lift your buttocks until the thighs are about parallel to the floor. It helps to reduce lower body weight, gives strength to your arms, and reduces back pain.

6. Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) – Stand in a straight position and then bend in a side direction and touch your left foot with your left hand. Your body makes a triangle shape. After this, you can do the same with the right side. This asana helps you burn more fats from the waist and reduce your side tires, improves balance and concentration, and makes your body fit and healthy.

7. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Dog Pose) – Hold the floor with your palms and feet and pull your body in an upward direction. Hold it in the same position and make a mountain shape by your body. It helps to reduce your inner thigh, arms, and hamstring and make your lower body in shape. 

8. Virabhadrasana (Warrior 2 Pose) – Stand in a straight position. Then fold your one leg as thigh parallel to the floor or at an angle of 90 degree and second leg straight in a backward direction and hold your arms straight as a warrior make a pose for the fight. This asana gives you a tighter quad, tone your belly, legs, and arms.

These 8 yoga poses not only helps you in weight loss but also make your body flexible. So, try these easy yoga poses and make your body fit, fine and healthy. 

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