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How Yoga Works for Weight Loss
By Janice Elizabeth Small
Yoga is probably not an obvious choice of activity when it comes
to weight loss but despite the speed of the movements it is
deceptively effective and here's why.
1. Yoga strengthens and streamlines your muscles
During yoga practise you work your whole body, stretching and
toning your muscles, streamlining and firming them. This gives
you a lean firm body shape as opposed to the bulkier, short
muscles you might get from weight training. With yoga you build
strong lean muscle tissue which burn calories even while you
are at rest.
2. Yoga calms you and clears your mind
If you are someone who eats due to stress and tension, then
yoga will help you reduce comfort eating. The slow stretching
movements and deep breathing in every yoga movement calm
and relax you. The balance postures in particular necessitate
that you clear your mind of all your every day cares and worries
and use all your powers of concentration and focus. With
regular yoga practise you will find that you become naturally
more relaxed and able to cope with everyday problems.
3. Yoga normalises sluggish glands
The toning movements in yoga work not only on the muscles but
also on the internal organs of the body stimulating them and
normalising their function. Twisting poses, forward and
backward bends and inversions are used to stimulate the
endocrine system and postures like the shoulder stand and the
fish help regulate the mechanism of the thyroid gland in the
neck, all of which help boost your metabolism.
4. Yoga gives you energy and increases flexibility
By calming you and gently working on your muscles and
increasing the levels of oxygen in your blood and to your brain,
you finish a yoga practise (once you are used to the
movements) feeling more energetic than when you began. This
means that you tend to put more energy and movement into
your day rather than sitting around feeling exhausted. And you
build flexibility in your muscles and joints so that you enjoy a full
range of movement your whole life. Witness the difference
between the movements of a young girl and a stiff 80 year old
woman. The young girl is bound to move so much more because
muscles and joints are less restricted.
5. Yoga uses calories
This is where people believe that yoga is not helpful when it
comes to weight loss and it's true that aerobic exercise may
very well burn more calories. However you will still use about
240 calories in an average 1 hour classic hatha yoga class and
burn many more (about 400) with some highly physical forms
such as astanga yoga. And you can practise yoga every day
without over-exercising your muscles which is not the case for
many forms of aerobic exercise
6. Yoga offers psychological benefits
Through yoga practise you tend to retune into your body and
increase your self-acceptance and self-esteem. You build
positive body confidence and help quiet any negative messages
that may arise in your mind. Yoga teaches us to respect our
bodies and this helps us when choosing our food and avoiding
junk food and alcohol.
7. Yoga is for everyone
Most people can take up yoga even if they have been inactive
for a while although you should always get your doctor's
approval before beginning an exercise program if there is any
doubt about your health. While jogging and working out at the
gym might seem too much to contemplate you can start
wherever you are with a yoga class and make steady progress.
Copyright 2006, Janice Elizabeth Small
About the Author
Janice Elizabeth is a weight loss coach, slimming club owner and author of "The Diet Exit Plan", an 8 week coaching program for automatic permanent weight loss. Get her FREE 15 page report "How to lose weight without dieting - 7 secrets the diet industry doesn't want you to know" at http://www.SimplySlimming.com TODAY!
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