Obesity is a cause for concern with even children that are overweight. Hence, it is worth looking at the importance of yoga and weight loss, apart from eating healthy.
How can Yoga Help us Lose Weight?
Weight gain is not only about the number of calories taken in. There are other underlying causes in the body that will result to weight gain if they become unbalanced. The use of yoga posture can be very helpful in redressing this balance. Consequently, it helps the body to burn fat more effectively resulting in healthy weight loss.
Some vital functions of the body that can be improved by yoga and help promote weight loss are below:
The Liver
The liver is the body’s own detoxifying machine. A healthy liver works effectively to cleanse the blood of bad fat and helps the blood make use the good fat. Certain yoga postures help increase the functions of the liver. A healthy liver will remove bad fat effectively. Yoga postures like cobra pose and bow pose can be used.
The Thyroid gland
Yoga and weight loss program can also involve poses that stimulate the thyroid gland. The hormone that governs the body’s metabolism is in the thyroid. So, how high or low a body’s metabolism is depends on how active the thyroid is. Most weight gain issues are due to hypothyroidism meaning “low thyroid activity”. Activating the thyroid function by using postures like fish pose and shoulder stand will help greatly towards weight loss.
The Nervous System
It is not necessary to attend a hot yoga class to generate body heat. Internal heat is created in the body using nerve tension heat and length. This internal heat can burn deep and low seated fat. And this can be achieved using the lunge and the seated forward bend.
Heart Rate
It is very common to see people jogging to get their heart rate up in the quest to lose weight. This has been proven to stress the nervous system.
Yoga and weight loss programs require a perfectly working nervous system. Hence any activity that adds stress to the nervous system should be avoided.
Therefore, it is better to use activities that raises the heart rate for a short period and then back down. This can be easily done using yoga.
Body Movements
Yoga exercises that work to lengthen and shorten the muscles will aid in weight loss. Also, muscles use fat as fuel and will continue to do so even while in rest position.
Strength exercises such as arm balancing will work well as they work all body muscles at once. Recommended yoga postures include crane and scale pose.
