How to Use Bikram Yoga for Weight Loss

Bikram yoga is a challenging type of yoga where students are placed in a room that is heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit for a total of 90 minutes of 26 different yoga poses. Losing weight may not be the forefront of what bikram yoga may be used for, however, it is definitely a possibility.

Go to bikram yoga at least 3 times a week or 10 times a month. Going any less can not produce the kinds of results you are looking for with weight loss. Many avid participants of bikram yoga frequent the classes from 5-6 sessions a week and see optimum results.

Yoga Exercise For Losing Weight

By Wayne Mcgregor

For thousands of years, yoga has been a revered form of physical fitness. It is well-known that yoga provides many physical and mental benefits. It helps the body to be more flexible, it helps to improve posture, it improves muscle tone, and it helps the mind to be relaxed and centered. It is a full mind and body workout and a popular form of exercise that can be done at home or in a class with the help of a certified instructor.

When it comes to weight loss, you might not think of yoga as being an effective means of exercise. But the benefits of yoga can reach much farther than simply making you more flexible. If performed properly, and on a regular basis, yoga can be an efficient means of burning excess calories, which can help you to shed some of those unwanted pounds.

Yoga is typically performed through a series of stretches and postures, along with controlled breathing techniques. Through holding these postures in a precise and controlled way, muscle lengthening and tone is eventually achieved. These postures require endurance and energy, and therefore calories from the body. Yoga works to create a more efficient metabolism, which will turn your body into a calorie-burning machine. The more calories your body burns, the more weight you are apt to lose. And the more muscle tone that your body has, the more calories your body will burn around the clock, whether moving or at rest.

Practicing yoga requires an open mind, and the willingness to take it slow. Several stretches and poses take weeks, even months, to achieve. It is important to not give up on it, though! By gently pushing your body, you will come to experience a greater feeling of flexibility and muscle tone, you will move more gracefully, your posture will improve, you will experience a greater sense of inner calm, and you will lose weight. In order to achieve these goals, it is important to perform yoga on a regular basis, up to several times each week.

If weight loss is one of your goals through performing yoga, it is important to also follow a healthy and balanced diet. In addition, adding some type of cardiovascular activity to your fitness program, whether it's running, walking, biking, or swimming, will help you to burn even more calories, and encourage weight loss. With those three weapons, you will win the war on fat and lose the weight!

Fat-Blasting Yoga

By Selene Yeager, Prevention

If you bypass yoga because you're more interested in firming your body than raising your consciousness, here's a mind-body routine your muscles will love.

This fat-blasting yoga-inspired workout, designed by Beth Shaw, owner of YogaFit in Redondo Beach, CA, turns up the burn with multiple repetitions of each pose. Once you complete one pose, you flow directly to the next, with no resting between sequences. Yoga, when practiced in this vigorous style, works just as well as strength-training for shedding fat. It also makes your heart stronger and boosts cardiovascular fitness, found a study from the University of California, Davis. Practice regularly to stay slim, fit, and serene.

Workout Basics:

Reps and sequences
Start by quickly inhaling and exhaling through your nose for 20 breaths. Then perform each sequence the specified number of times before moving on to the next without a rest. Aim for 4 or 5 workouts a week. Each should take about 30 minutes.

Equipment

A sticky yoga mat (available at most sporting goods stores for about $20).

Technique

To oxygenate muscles and relieve stress, do one movement per inhalation or exhalation.

Cooldown

Relax by lying on your back with hands on abdomen, legs extended, for 15 breaths.

Results

You should feel stronger and look slimmer in 2 to 4 weeks.

Sequence 1

Chair Flow

Tones thighs and glutes

Stand with feet hip-width apart. Extend arms straight out in front. Lower body (don't let thighs go lower than parallel to floor). Straighten legs and raise arms overhead, palms facing forward. Return to start. Do 10 to 15 reps.

Sequence 2

Moon Flowers

Tones thighs, glutes, and core (abdominal, side, and back muscles)

Stand in a wide straddle, toes pointed out slightly. Extend arms straight up.

Lower until tailbone is almost level with knees (keep knees behind toes) and pull elbows down toward ribs. Return to start. Do 15 to 20 reps.

Sequence 3

Cat to Cow

Tones core and upper-body muscles

Get on hands and knees. Pull navel toward spine and round back, dropping chin to chest and tucking buttocks.

Lift head, chest, and tailbone. Allow belly to lower toward floor and arch back. Return to start. Repeat 10 to 15 times.

Sequence 4

Downward Facing Dog, Warrior I, Plank Push-Up

Tones and shapes all major muscles and improves balance

From Cat position, move into Downward Dog by tucking toes, pressing palms into floor, and lifting hips. Straighten legs and press heels down. Hold for 10 to 15 breaths.

From there, step forward with right foot (keeping palms on the floor, left leg extended) and bend right knee (knee should be directly over ankle). Come up and extend arms overhead to perform Warrior I (see image). Go back into Downward Dog by bending at hips, planting hands on floor at each side of right foot, stepping right foot back, and lifting hips.

Shift into a modified Plank pose by dropping knees onto floor. Body should form straight line from head to knees, and hands should be directly beneath shoulders.

Do a Plank Push-Up by bending elbows back, close to ribs. Slowly lower chest toward floor. Press back up to Plank position. Lift hips back into Dog. Repeat sequence, this time stepping left foot forward into Warrior I. Repeat sequence 10 times per side.

Sequence 5

Boat Angles

Tones core and abdominals

From Downward Dog, lower knees to floor, sit back, and raise torso. Shift butt to floor and bring legs around to sit with knees bent and feet flat on floor. Grasp lightly behind thighs.

Pull navel toward spine and, keeping back straight and feet on floor, lean back to a 45-degree angle. Hold for 2 to 5 breaths. Straighten back up. Repeat 5 to 10 times.

Sequence 6

Boat Lifts

Tones core and thighs

From the start position for Boat Angles, contract left quad and lift and extend left leg. Lower leg to start. Repeat with right leg. Repeat 5 to 10 times on each side, alternating legs.

How To Lose Weight With Yoga - Melt Away The Fat

By Tracy Boseman

Yoga is an extremely healthy form of exercise to practice, but many people wonder if yoga can help them to lose weight. The answer to this, is yes. Weight loss with yoga is possible, and you can use yoga to not only lose pounds, but help maintain your weight as well. There is however, a bit of a catch if you are considering using yoga as a form of weight control.

Yoga itself is a great strength building form of exercise. It is also good for maintaining flexibility to your body. Given the nature of yoga however, it can often be difficult to obtain the raised heart rate that is necessary in order to actually burn calories and melt away fat.

If you want to practice yoga for weight control, it is important to note that you will need to perform a vigorous form of yoga, at least 90-minutes three times a week. Fortunately, there are various forms of yoga that you can try that are vigorous enough, including Ashtanga yoga and power yoga. You can also do your yoga routines in a hot room, such as a sauna, which will induce more of a sweat and raise your heart rate.

Once you decide to give yoga a try, there are different options available to you. You can try to locate a yoga studio in your area that offers yoga classes, or you can find a private instructor that will teach you the yoga style you are interested in. If there are no yoga studios or instructors in your area, or you are uncomfortable trying yoga in front of other people, you can also find yoga videos that you can play right in your very own home, which will teach you all that you need to know in order to successfully lose weight with yoga.