Weight loss is a goal for many people. While there seems to be a new weight loss product advertised every week, experts agree that the only way to really achieve permanent healthy weight loss is through diet and exercise.
There are many forms of exercise that you can use to lose weight and tone your body. Yoga helps strengthen the body, improve balance and tone the muscles. You can use yoga alone or in combination with strength training to reach your fitness goals.
While yoga won’t produce rapid results, this shouldn’t be your goal. When you lose weight in a slow and steady process that incorporates real change in your eating and exercise habits, you are more likely to reach your goal and sustain the weight loss over time. That is the real goal of everyone trying to lose weight.
Yoga and healthy living go hand in hand. Most people find that when they begin to practice yoga, they experience an increase in awareness. This includes both inner awareness of emotions and the inner being, as well as body awareness and changes in thought patterns that can lead to changes in action.
Caring for the body and nurturing it with healthy foods and physical exercise is a big part of the yoga lifestyle. Some people begin to develop an increased feeling of connection to other beings and the world around them. This often leads to changes in lifestyle, such as eliminating processed foods, switching to organic foods or becoming vegetarian or vegan.
When combined with a healthy diet, the practice of any type of yoga will help you lose weight and tone your body. Power yoga, Bikram yoga, vinyasa flow class or yoga for weight loss DVD at home is good choices for burning calories and enhancing weight loss.
You can alternate the type of yoga classes you practice. For example, use power yoga or vinyasa flow on days when you aren’t working out and try a restorative or gentle stretch hatha yoga practice for the days you work out with weights to counter balance the weight training and stretch the muscles.
Consistency is the key with any form of exercise for weight loss. In order to experience results, you need to practice yoga regularly. This can be daily or at least four or five times per week, depending on your individual goals.