You might have heard before that yoga can be a great way to lose some weight if you practice it regularly in right way. It’s very light on the joints are minimal if you do it under proper guidance of a professional. Moreover you don’t have to so much money on it like you do for gym membership. You can practice yoga from in your own home. Just grab comfortable clothes and a good yoga mat. Here are few yoga poses which can help you lose weight.
1. Half Moon Pose or Ardha Chandrasana
It tones the buttocks, inner and upper thighs. It burns off the fat in the sides of your tummy strengthening core. However, if you have digestive problems, spine injury or high BP, please avoid it.
Method: Stand with your feet together. Raise the hands above head and clasp the palms together.Extend this stretch by trying to reach the sky or ceiling. Exhale and bend sideways right from the hips keeping hands together. Do not bend forward and make sure you keep the elbows straight. Now inhale and come back to the previous standing pose. Repeat this on the other side as well.
2. Warrior Pose or Veerabhadrasana
It stretches the back, strengthens thighs, tummy, buttocks and help you lose weight. Avoid it if you have high BP, any trouble with shoulder, knees or your back.
Method: Stand with feet together and hands beside. Extend the right leg forward and keep the left leg extended backwards. Bend the right knee to get into the lunge pose. Twist the torso to face the right leg. Now turn your right foot sideways of about 40 – 60 degrees for support. Exhale and straighten the arms; raise the body upwards and away from the bent knee. Stretch the arms upwards and tilt the torso backwards so that the back forms an arch. Exhale and straighten the knee to come back from this pose to the previous pose. Repeat with other leg as well.
Warrior Pose 2 or Veerabhadrasana 2
It strengthens the muscles in the back, abdomen, thighs, and core; and helps in weight loss. Avoid this if you have diarrhea or high BP.
Method: Follow the steps as mentioned above in warrior pose or veerabhadrasana but instead of raising hands above head, twist the torso so that you face sideways and raise the hands to your sides. Now turn head so that your eyes can face the same direction as the right hand. Repeat with other leg as well.
3. The Chair Pose or Utkatasana
It strengthens core muscles, thighs and also tones buttocks. Avoid doing this if you have back or knee problem or injury.
Method: Stand in Namaste pose (both hands joined in front of you). Raise hands above head and bend the knee so that the thighs are parallel to the floor; bend the torso forward and breathe. Stay in this pose as long as you can and then go back to the previous position.
4. Tree Pose or Vrksasana
It’s great for the muscles in your abdomen and it tones the arms and thighs. Avoid if you have injured knee or back.
Method: Stand and now put most of the body weight on one leg and a little on the other. Now raise the leg with minimal weight such a way that the foot is facing inwards towards the opposite knee. Hold the ankle so that you can pull up the leg. Place the heel on the inner thigh of the second leg as close to your pelvis as possible. Raise hands above head and make sure your fingers point the sky or ceiling. Now focus your mind and balance. Breathe steadily and focus on a spot in front of you to maintain the pose without falling. Don’t take the support of any chair or wall.
5. Forward Bending Pose or Uttanasana
It stretches hamstrings and puts pressure on the abdomen muscles. With this, the blood rushes into the brain and helps your brain to switch from sympathetic nervous system to parasympathetic nervous system and make you relaxed.
Method: Stand and raise hands from front to above head while inhaling. Bend forward pushing buttocks backwards till the palms touch the floor and the forehead touches the knees. Come back to the previous position slowly.
6. Sun Salutation or Surya Namaskar
It is a set of 12 yoga poses which has amazing weight loss benefits. This can alone help you in losing weight to great extent. It detoxifies internal organs through copious oxygenation and relaxes the body.
Describing this will take so much of time and so explaining it in a separate post is better.
7. Half Spinal Twist or Ardha Matsyendrasana
It increases the capacity of lungs, stretches the spine, tones the abdominal muscles and thighs, improves digestive system and helps in losing weight. Avoid if you have back injury.
Method: Sit with legs stretched straight in front of you and keep feet together and spine straight. Bend the left leg and place the heel beside right hip. Take your right leg over left knee and place left hand on the right knee and right hand behind you. Now twist at your waist, shoulders and your neck looking right over the shoulder. Hold the position as much as possible while breathing and then come back to previous pose.
8. Cobbler Pose or Badhakonasana
It reduces fat on the inner thighs and strengthens muscles on groin, spine, lower back and knees. It also relieves menstrual cramps and improves digestion. Avoid if you have injured knees.
Method: Sit with legs stretched in front of you and spine straight. Bend the legs at the knees so that the soles of feet can face each other. With the hands, pull the legs in so that the heels touch each other. Keep them as close to the pelvis as possible. While holding legs at ankles, move the thighs up and down like the wings of a butterfly. Repeat as many times as possible.
9. Kapalbhati Pranayam
It’s a breathing exercise which can help to oxygenate the body while strengthening the muscles of stomach and abdomen, tones tummy, the fat in the sides of tummy and boosts digestion. Avoid it if you have high BP, heart disease or hernia.
Method: Sit and keep the spine straight with palms on the knees facing downwards. Exhale through nose and pull the stomach inwards towards your spine. Inhale while you loosen the stomach. Quickly pull in the stomach again and repeat this process quickly for about 50 times.
10. Plank Pose or Kumbhakasana
It strengthens and tones arms, back, shoulders, thighs, abs and buttocks. Avoid if you have shoulder or back injury, or high BP.
Method: Lie on the tummy on the floor and place palms next to face; bend feet so that the toes can push off the ground. Push off the hands and raise buttocks into the air. The legs should stay flat on the floor as far as possible and your neck should be loose. This is known as adhomukha svasana. Now inhale and lower the torso so that the arms are perpendicular to the floor, and the shoulders and the chest are over the arms. Keep fingers from flaring out and keep them close all together. Hold this pose for a while and gently go back to the previous pose while exhaling.
