When it comes to weight loss, me and most of my friends have tried and tested everything from GYMing to DIETing.
While some of us find it hard to restrict our diet, others believe strenuous forms of exercises just aren’t for them. The answer to this predicament of our laidback friends is - YOGA FOR WEIGHT LOSS. And yes, it works! It's working from ancient time.
Since times immemorial, people have been using yoga to maintain not only mental but physical wellbeing.
Read this if you want to know about benefits of yoga from a personal story.
Here are some of the best yoga asanas to burn fat and lose weight:
The Surya Namaskar asana or the Sun Salutation is the best full body workout yoga pose to lose excess fat and shed the extra pounds even if you are a beginner and don't know much about yoga. One round of Surya Namaskar consists of 12 yoga poses.
In addition to the weight loss, following are some other pros of Surya Namaskar:
The 12 poses in Surya Namaskar are a good mix of various warm-up and full body workout asanas that help you keep your body healthy.
These yoga poses enhance the blood circulation in your body and keep you fresh and energized.
Surya Namaskar helps to strengthen your heart, enhances your immune system and improves your digestive tract.
The yoga poses help in stimulating your abdominal muscles, spinal nerves and improve your respiratory system.
You can either do whole 12 cycles of surya namaskar or can do individual ones.
Pranayam or Prayer Pose is the initial stage of Sun Salutation. This yoga pose fills your body with fresh energy and oxygen as you start your day. It is the perfect solution when you are doing an asana to burn fat.
Stand erect with your hands at the sides.
Breathe in deeply as you expand your chest and shoulders.
Ensure that your feet are kept together to maintain the balance of your weight.
Now raise your arms as you exhale and bring them in the position of a prayer pose.
Hasta Uttanasana or the raised arm pose, is the second pose in Sun Salutation. This yoga pose is aimed at stretching out the whole body to enhance the blood circulation.
Lift your arms up and backward as you take a deep breath.
Your biceps should be near your ears.
Try and stretch out the whole body in this pose.
The third pose in Sun Salutation is Hasta Padasana. It is also known as Hands to Foot Pose. This yoga pose works over stretching and toning your back and shoulder muscles.
From a standing position, start bending out the upper half of your body towards the lower half.
You need to keep your spine erect while performing this pose.
Try and touch the floor at the sides of your feet with your palms as you exhale.
You might bend your knees a little if required.
After touching the floor make a gentle effort to straighten your knees.
Remain in the pose for a good 20-30 seconds.
Ashwa Sanchalanasana is the fourth pose in the Sun Salutation process. This yoga pose is also known as the Equestrian pose and stretches out the complete body muscles helping to build a stronger core in the body.
Take a deep breath in and stretch your right leg as backward as possible.
Then bring the right knee towards the floor and raise your head up.
Support your body with your palms.
Your left foot should be laid just in between your palms.
Dandasana the fifth pose in the Sun Salutation process is just an extension of the previous yoga pose. This pose highly resembles the regular push up exercise.
From the equestrian pose, you need to stretch your left leg backward and parallel to your right leg.
Your arms should be placed perpendicular to the floor.
Keep the whole body aligned in a straight line as you put pressure on your arms, shoulder and your torso in this exercise.
The sixth pose of Sun Salutation is also known as the Salute with Eight Parts, called Ashtanga Namaskar. This yoga pose is also an extension of the fifth pose of Sun Salutation.
From the Dandasana posture, slowly bring your knees downwards towards the ground.
Now slide forwards while gently pushing your hips backward and your chest towards the ground.
At the final stage of this posture your palms, knees, feet, and chest should be touching the floor.
Bhujangasana or Cobra pose is also the seventh stage of the Sun Salutation and is good for losing fat from whole body. It is a good yoga that helps build your core.
From the previous pose of Sun Salutation, you need to raise your head while taking a deep breath. Try stretching out your back and abdominal muscles.
Slowly, bring your body back to the floor while releasing your breath.
Don’t over-stretch your muscles, to avoid any strain.
Ensure that equal pressure is put on both your arms.
The eight pose of Sun Salutation is also known as downward facing dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana). This pose keeps your body in an inverted V shape putting pressure on your spine and core abdominal areas.
From the Bhujangasana pose, stretch your body in the backward direction.
Your body should form an inverted V shape.
From the position, try and raise your tailbone while your heels must be touching the floor, this will further stretch your body.
The 9th, 10th and 11th pose in the Sun Salutation process are the Equestrian pose and Hands to Foot pose as studied previously as step 4, 3 and 2 respectively. These poses mark one cycle of the body in the sun salutation process. The pose will be exactly similar and carried out in reverse order to complete one full body cycle.
Tadasana is the 12th and the last yoga pose in the Sun Salutation process.
Also read a detailed guide on intermittent fasting to lose weight.
Yoga asanas to burn fat from face and cheeks:
The Simhasana or Lion Pose helps you in burning the unwanted facial fat. Regular practice of this yoga allows you to tone your facial muscles and chisel your jawline.
Kneel down on a mat with your hands on your thighs.
Now drop your jaw down with your mouth open wide.
Stick your tongue out and breathe out heavily to replicate the roar of a lion.
Helps in controlling Blood Pressure.
Helps to reduce stress.
You can use a chair to perform this yoga pose if you have any trouble sitting on the floor.
Repeat this exercise 4 to 5 times in a single set.
The Smiling Fish Face yoga is a useful exercise to make your cheeks less flabby. This yoga pose stretches your cheek and facial muscles to help you get a sleek and toned face.
This yoga pose is a good stress buster exercise and helps you to look attractive.
Start with a smiling face with your cheeks squeezed into the hollows of your face.
Retain the posture for at least 15-20 seconds.
Return to the initial position.
Repeat this exercise at least five times to firm and tone your lips and cheek muscles.
Burn belly and back fat with these yoga asanas:
Dhanurasana which is also known as the ‘bow pose’ is an effective yoga to lose weight by burning your belly and back fat. In addition to working over your abdominal muscles, this exercise helps you to increase the flexibility of your spine.
Improves your breathing cycle and strengthens your respiratory system.
Lay flat on your stomach with your hands at your sides facing up.
Your legs should be stretched out.
Grab your ankles while bending your knees and start bringing them close to your back.
The pose should resemble a stretched bow. Breathe steadily throughout the procedure.
Perform this exercise at least 5-10 times a day with each repetition of around 30-60 seconds.
Each repetition must be followed by a 15 sec rest.
Salabhasana is also known as Locust pose. It is one of the best alternatives for those well-toned and sculpted arms. The procedure for this yoga exercise to lose body fat is given below.
This yoga pose helps you to build toned arms along with working over your core abdominal muscles.
Lay flat on your belly with your arms and feet lying absolutely straight with your body.
Now slowly lift your chest while stretching out your arms away from the body.
This would stretch your arm muscles. Try to stay in the pose for around 30-40 seconds.
Try pressing your feet on the mat while lifting your torso off the mat to put more pressure on your arms.
The Chaturanga Dandasana is also known as the Low plank pose that works on your biceps and triceps muscles. This asana works on strengthening the core and arms of your body when the practitioner tries to manage his/her own weight off the ground.
Chaturanga Dandasana helps you to work on the strength and flexibility of your spine and back muscles.
Get your body in a low plank posture and raise the front part of your body upwards while stretching your back muscles.
Try and stay in the pose for a minimum of 30-45 seconds or more if possible.
Ensure that you put enough pressure on both your arms. Repeat the process after a break of 20-30 seconds.
Ensure that equal pressure is put on both the arms, otherwise it may cause muscle strain.
You need to practice these yoga exercises continuously for a visible effect on your body. You will be able to see good results within a month of regular practice.
Lose weight from hip and thigh areas:
Baddha Konasana or the Cobbler’s pose is a highly impactful power yoga for weight loss. The asana works on toning your hips and thighs areas. Along with the idea of losing fat, this yoga exercise helps to increase the stamina of your body.
Start with a sitting posture with your legs stretching out in front of you.
Now start bending your knees while bringing them closer to your pelvis.
You need to join your feet together during the process.
As you sit holding your toes you need to push your knees toward the ground.
Perform this exercise for 3-5 minutes for a faster fat loss process.
If you are or have previously suffered a groin injury then you need to take extra care while performing this exercise.
Use a blanket to support your pelvis area.
This yoga asana is also known as the Happy Child Pose. A regular practice of Ananda Balasana Yoga will help you reduce body fat from thighs and hip areas while working on strengthening your core back muscles.
This yoga helps to build up the core of your body and is helpful in reducing stress and fatigue.
Lay down on your back while taking deep breaths.
Press and hold your knees against your chest and stomach area.
Raise your ankles in upward direction, bring them perpendicular to your knees and stomach. The knees should be opened wider than your torso.
Hold on to the pose for 45-60 seconds.
Return to the initial position slowly while releasing a deep breath.
People with a back injury and Pregnant women should take extra caution while performing this exercise.
Utkatasana or the chair pose allows you to work on reducing the unwanted fat from your hip and thigh areas. The asana stimulates the process of sitting on an imaginary chair putting pressure on your thigh and hip muscles. The complete process of the asana is given below.
This asana works on your breathing cycle as you continuously inhale and exhale during the process and helps in building the core muscles from your legs.
Start with an erect posture standing perpendicular to the ground.
Then slowly start bending your knees as if you are sitting on a chair.
Keep on breathing continuously while you hold the pose for 20-30 seconds or more.
Don’t put extra pressure on the hip by going too low. Lower the hip only as much as you can, and gradually increase it over time.
Taking walks regularly in addition to these yoga exercises can help you increase the pace of your weight loss.
These yoga poses will surely assist you in keeping your body fit and healthy. But, like any form of exercise, yoga too needs to be practised regularly to see its long term results. Also, keep in mind that diet and exercise go hand in hand, so eat healthy and get your yoga mats out to start burning those extra pounds!
have you practised any of these asanas?
Let me know in the comments.