Most articles on yoga for weight loss are superficial. They give a few exercises that have been peeked out somewhere and general formulations that have no value. As a result, no matter how much you learn in these lessons, your stomach and hips stay with you. In fact, yoga can make you lose weight very quickly if you know how. So I will tell you about a very quick way that I accidentally discovered during a yoga class.
To be honest, I never doubted whether yoga helps in losing belly fat. It has always been obvious to me that a flat stomach is an added benefit of regular yoga practice. I have seen people who constantly go to yoga classes transform and become slim and fit. But it all happens gradually. If you want to get a result as soon as possible, read the article to the end. Once you know the simplest yoga weight loss exercises at home, I will tell you about three secret yoga exercises that will allow you to remove belly fat literally one inch per day.
Weight loss yoga for beginners at home
At home it is very easy to perform asanas - static yoga positions. To do this, it is enough to spread the carpet in the morning and do a few simple exercises. Do this yoga weight loss complex at home every morning. It only takes 15 minutes. The complex includes all types of asanas: standing poses, bending, reversals. Each asana affects specific areas of the body, improving blood circulation and metabolism, normalizing hormonal levels and gently massaging internal organs. Through these influences, this yoga complex initiates the weight loss process. Static asanas are more related to the direction of hatha yoga; Kundalini yoga has also been shown to be good for weight loss.
Why is it recommended to exercise in the morning? Because usually at that time our stomach is empty and about 8 hours have passed since the last meal. This is an important nuance. One of the Yoga masters from whom I studied said: the effectiveness of an asana depends on the emptiness of the stomach. And, of course, before you embark on this simple yoga for weight loss, drink a glass of water and empty your bowels.
- Stand upright with feet foot-width apart, inhale and raise your arms above your head with your palms facing inward.
- Exhale and bend your knees, lowering yourself to the floor, as if sitting on a chair.
- Your torso will naturally lean forward slightly. Try to straighten your shoulders, pull your shoulder blades back and lower your shoulders from your ears. Take a deep breath, take a deep breath and exhale.
- Stand in the same chair position, but instead of extending your arms above your head, lower them to chest level as you bend your legs.
- Then join your palms as in prayer and turn your upper body to the right so that your left elbow lies slightly on your right thigh.
- Keep your abdominal muscles strong and inhale and exhale deeply. Maintain the pose of five breaths and breaths. As you inhale, straighten your knees to return to the starting position, then repeat the exercise on the other side.
- Stand on all fours with your knees shoulder-width apart, palms directly below your shoulders.
- Spread your fingers and put weight on your hands.
- As you exhale, lift your knees off the floor and straighten your legs by lifting your pelvis.
- Push under your arms and legs, pushing your pelvis up and stretching your back, as if pulling a mat in different directions with your palms and feet. Relax your neck and hang your head relaxed.
- Stay in this position, taking a deep breath and exhaling 5 times.
- Starting position - dog face down. As you inhale, straighten your left leg and lift it as high as you can.
- As you exhale, slowly bend your leg, bring your left knee closer to your chin. While doing this, try to suck the belly, pulling the navel towards the spine.
- On the next breath, straighten and raise your leg again. Repeat 5 times for one leg and 5 times for the other leg.
- Starting position - dog face down. Bring your right leg forward between your arms so that you are in a low rush, like a runner before the start.
- Turn the left heel slightly outward so that the toes of the left foot are facing the right heel.
- Lift your torso as you stretch your arms up. Straighten your shoulders and bend your back slightly, pushing your chest.
- Take a deep breath, in this position take a deep breath and exhale 5 times. Then repeat the exercise on the other side.
- Starting position - warrior pose 1. Straighten your right leg and transfer your entire body weight to it.
- Lift your left leg off the floor and stretch it backwards, leaning forward so that your body looks like a T. Your whole body is parallel to the ground. The crown and hands are pulled forward, and the toes of the left foot are pulled back. If you find it difficult to maintain balance, you can help yourself by leaning on a chair at first.
- Stay in this position for five breaths, then repeat on the other side.
- Lie on your stomach with your feet folded, forehead resting on the mat, arms outstretched forward, palms down.
- Squeezing your abdomen and buttocks, lift your straight legs and arms up. Keep your legs, arms and upper body from the navel above the ground, resting only on your hips and lower abdomen.
- Take a deep breath, take a deep breath and inhale.
- Lie on your stomach, forehead on the mat, and stretch your arms out to your hips, palms up. As you exhale, bend your knees pulling your heels as close to your buttocks as possible. Grasp your ankles with your hands and place your hips shoulder-width apart.
- As you inhale, lift your upper body and thighs off the floor and push your heels off your buttocks. Be sure to relax your lower back by spreading your shoulder blades down and back. Only the lower abdomen and hip joints are in contact with the floor.
- Take 5 deep breaths in this position, then return to the starting position.
- Stand on all fours, spreading your legs slightly, arms directly below your shoulders.
- Tighten your abs and keep your back straight, lifting your right leg and left arm at the same time, straightening them as much as possible. Maintain this body position for five deep inhales and exhales.
- Then repeat the same with your left foot and right hand.
- This is the same exercise as the previous one, with the difference that we are here on the board, not on all fours.
- Start standing in a board with straight hands.
- Then, keeping your back straight, raise your left leg and right arm, stretching them as much as possible. Hold this asana for five deep breaths.
- Then repeat in the opposite direction.
Yoga for weight loss
Do you want your weight loss yoga classes to work really well? So you literally feel better every morning? Then do not be lazy after completing the complex of asanas for practicing breathing exercises (pranayama) and meditation. Meditation + pranayama + asanas - this is a magical yoga recipe for weight loss. Start each morning with yoga, including all three components in your lesson, and the result will not come for long.
Fat Burning Meditation
Yoga restores hormonal balance in the body by calming the mind and achieving inner harmony. But that is not the only reason why yoga contributes to weight loss. Let’s take a look at the exercises that make up a typical yoga class in a studio or fitness club.
A yoga lesson usually begins with meditation. In almost any class you will first be told to sit still for 10 minutes and be aware of what is going on inside and out.
Many studies, by the way, confirm that only one regular practice of meditation already has a positive effect on health, hormones and leads to weight normalization. In addition, meditation develops awareness, leading to better eating behavior and a more careful approach to nutrition. This is also important.
Pranayama
The second thing you will do in yoga is pranayama, or breathing exercises.
Some pranayama are designed to train one very important muscle in our body - the diaphragm.
A constant sedentary lifestyle leads to the fact that the diaphragm simply stops working at full power and becomes weak and tight. And most Western training systems pay little attention to this muscle. But not yoga.
In yoga, great importance is attached to proper breathing and the development of a diaphragmatic way of breathing. Therefore, you will do a lot of pranayama and allow the diaphragm to work hard and expand with full force.
Diaphragm movement during breathing is of great benefit to the whole body.
- First, with each expansion and contraction of the diaphragm, a gentle massage of the internal organs is performed - heart, liver, pancreas, gallbladder. This leads to their cleansing and stimulates their work.
- Second, the diaphragm directly affects the digestive process, affecting the stomach, if, of course, we do not forget to actively move it.
- And third, with full deep exhalation, the diaphragm, rising high upwards, affects the area of the solar plexus, where tens of thousands of nerve endings are intertwined, leading to stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for rest and recovery of the body.
The parasympathetic nervous system is often suppressed as a result of the constant search for the goals of modern man. Constant tension, stress, nervous activity blocks the body's healing and recovery processes. And the masters of yoga, perfectly aware of this, have developed breathing exercises that balance two opposing nervous systems - parasympathetic and sympathetic. It contributes much more to weight loss than constant exhausting diet and exercise.
Probably the most famous pranayama for weight loss is called uddiyana bandha. Many people today know this exercise as a “vacuum”. So, this "modern" vacuum is an integral part of the yoga system that has existed for thousands of years.
3 easy steps for fast results
For those who have read the article to the end, faithfully performing all the asanas, breathing exercises and meditations, I will tell you one interesting case from my yoga practice. I will share my personal experience.
First Secret
Practicing asanas in yoga is considered only a preparatory phase for pranayama - breathing exercises. And pranayama, on the other hand, serves to prepare for meditation - to purify the mind and focus. So at some point in my practice, I started training to hold my breath. My goal was to learn to hold my breath for as long as possible. Literally right after starting such a workout, I suddenly noticed that I felt lightness in my body and stomach every morning. And the fat on the abdomen and hips was noticeably reduced. This unusual effect piqued my interest. I started looking for information on the Internet and realized that I was not the only one who faced a similar experience. Moreover, there are whole effective weight loss systems based on holding your breath. So, you can take this method to market.
I had problems with delays on the free diving table, these are people diving into the sea without diving equipment.
Here is my exercise table:
- 1 minute delay - 1: 30 break
- Delay 1: 30 - Break 1: 30
- Delay 1: 30 - Break 1: 30
- Postponement 1: 35 - Break 1: 30
- 1: 40 delay
This table is used to hold your breath while inhaling.
While resting between sets, I also took short breaks of 20-30 seconds on a full exhale.
Another secret
This secret also has a lot to do with breathing. I am not a doctor and I have no idea how this effect is explained from a medical point of view, this is just my personal observation. So, I have noticed that belly fat does not accumulate if you try full exhalations while breathing during the day. It sounds easy, but if you look at yourself, you may find that at the end of each exhalation, there is still air in your lungs to exhale. This is especially true when sitting. It will be difficult for you to exhale completely if your back and lower back are rounded. Most likely, the effect of this method of breathing is explained by the fact that the muscles of the press, lower back and diaphragm are used for full exhalation. Therefore, they are kept in good shape.
In short, the second secret of yoga for weight loss is the following: during the day, try to exhale 2 times longer than inhaling and you will be happy.
The third secret
The third secret also flows smoothly from the second. And, perhaps this is the most important rule for weight loss with the help of yoga - to tidy up the muscles of the lower back. Working with the muscles of the lower back, stretching and strengthening them - this is exactly what removes fat from the abdomen and hips very effectively. A sedentary lifestyle literally kills the lower back, which must constantly be in an extended position. Flabby muscles that have lost elasticity are unable to withstand body weight, an imbalance occurs that leads to fat accumulation. There is one yoga exercise that can help you lose weight quickly and effectively. Do this for only 5 minutes a day and the result will be.
- Roll the blanket or towel into a roller.
- Lie on the floor and place a rolled-up blanket under your lower back.
- Stretch your arms behind your head and connect your little fingers.
- Stretch your legs and connect your toes.
- Lie in this position for 5 minutes.
This exercise returns the pelvis, lower back and abs to their natural state. As a result, belly fat becomes unnecessary and goes away quickly.
Yoga weight loss - basic principles
The most important principle of yoga for weight loss is consistent practice. I recommend exercising 6 times a week, for at least one hour every day.
If this seems like a tough schedule, start with short workouts, but every day this approach will help you create a habit of exercising. And once you get to know yoga, you will naturally start extending the duration of the session to stay on the mat a little longer.
The second principle is to do what you really enjoy. Try to find some pleasure, pleasant sensations in yoga. The main task is to connect yoga classes with feelings of joy.
The third principle - don't just think about losing weight. Keep in mind that practicing yoga is very beneficial for the body as well as for the mind, psyche and state of mind. Losing weight is just a nice bonus, and you will realize this very quickly if you practice yoga regularly for at least 2-3 months.