Yoga For Weight Loss? Yes, it is Possible!
Yoga for weight loss is a topic that has aroused controversy in fitness circles. True believers in the principle of yoga claim that yoga is the only form of exercise most people need to address specific problems with the human body, such as excess weight. For this group of people, yoga for weight loss is the best weight loss methods there is.
However, opposing groups claim that while yoga can help improve strength and endurance, it does not perform significantly better than other forms of aerobic and strength training exercises. They say that that the idea of yoga for weight loss is just wishful thinking on the part of yoga enthusiasts.
The Strength of Yoga
Most kinds of yoga exercises are low impact which help develop flexibility and strength and at the same time, try to help the mind unlock the mysteries of the ego and the mysteries of nature. Generally speaking, yoga exercises do not burn too many calories; they were never intended to intentionally do so. However, some types of yoga, such as power yoga and Ashtanga are aerobic workouts by themselves and can help one lose weight provided one does not consume too many calories.
Which brings us to our next point, any one of us will lose weight if we burn more calories than we consume. It’s just good science. Knowing that yoga can be very strenuous at times, we can most certainly say that yoga for weight loss is no myth, even if there may be better or more efficient methods for weight loss out there (running, swimming, cross-country skiing, rollerblading, etc).
This is especially true if we consider that following traditional yoga precepts regarding diet. The diet of a yogi, following ancient rules and standards, is vegetarian, with meat, fish and eggs being completely off the menu. The resultant diet is quite low in calories in contrast to most western diets.
Just think about it for a minute. You don’t even need to do yoga exercises in order to make the idea of yoga for weight loss work for you. The ideas behind yoga for weight loss being ineffective stem from the fact that the exercise that are associated with yoga burn comparatively few calories to other exercises.
However, when combined with the dietary system that accompanied those exercises for thousands of years, it becomes apparent that yoga for weight loss is no myth and is fairly effective. When combined with other forms of exercise like aerobics and strength training, the yoga aspect will generally help keep joints from straining during the other forms of exercise, helping one do weigh loss workouts properly and safely. All things considered, following yoga principles will certainly help one to lose weight.