Yoga is great for helping people lose and manage unwanted pounds and making people feel really good about themselves! Practicing yoga allows us to burn calories, build muscle and reduce overall body weight.
One particular kind of yoga- Bikram Yoga- is an excellent style to choose when looking to lose weight. Bikram yoga is practiced in a sauna-style room where the temperature is around 105 degrees. There are a total of 26 yoga postures and most of them are done twice. With higher temperatures, yogis are going to sweat much more, thereby promoting increased weight loss. It might surprise some to know that one can burn as many as 600 calories in a single class.
Here are some other reasons yoga is great for weight loss:
1. Sweat. As mentioned above, sweat is great for weight loss. People go to great lengths to get in cardiovascular activity each day because it helps them work up a sweat. In fact, personal trainers often tell clients that calorie burning doesn’t begin until the sweating does. When practicing any kind of yoga in a room that is around 105 degrees, sweat will follow- Bikram or any other style.
2. Low impact. Yoga is much easier on the joints than other varieties of cardiovascular exercise. Yoga allows an individual to work the same muscle groups, but protects the joints from unwanted stress.
3. Independent paces. In yoga everyone can work at his or her own level. Postures can be mastered individually, accounting for specific levels of athleticism and flexibility. Similarly, beginners can use blocks, chairs and other props to assist them in getting into postures that are not yet mastered.
4. Breath work. The breathing exercises practiced in a yoga class promote good health. Not only can yogis burn calories, they can also lower blood pressure and reduce anxiety.
5. Torching calories. Self-explanatory! Additionally, when practicing Bikram yoga, the average calorie burn is between 350 and 600 calories in a session depending on individual weight and the length of the session.
6. Total body conditioning. When working through the varied postures, the entire body is working. No muscle group is left behind- core, legs, arms, back, shoulders and chest- it’s all accounted for! The more yoga one does, the more the muscles will be challenged. Best of all, yoga sculpts the body without adding body mass.
[button url=”https://wilmingtonyogacenter.com/classes/yoga-class-schedule/” target=”_self” size=”small” ]For a complete listing of classes, click here!![/button]
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/yoga-for-weight-loss
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/yoga/bikram-yoga
