One of the major aspects of any keep-fit regime for its practitioners is the importance of weight loss. There can be no doubting the focus that seems to be placed on the weight-loss aspect – a lot of people are overweight and unhappy about the fact. Many will look at yoga and wonder how it can impact upon a weight-loss program. The truth of the matter is that the classic forms of yoga which are recognizable to most people may not directly assist weight loss. However, if performed correctly, yoga can certainly be a foundation stone in a keep-fit program with weight loss as a major plank.
For anyone seeking to lose weight, it is vital to eat healthily so that you get the nutrients you will need and then add exercise to burn calories. Most of the popular forms of yoga practiced in the West are not cardio-vascular exercises (the kind which raises your heart rate in order to burn calories). They do, however, increase your core strength and breath control and this in turn will make it easier to do running, jogging and other forms of cardiovascular exercise that will burn fat.
If the demands on your time are such that you cannot add two types of exercise to your weekly regime, then you may be interested in Vinyasa or “flow yoga” – a style of exercise which is markedly more athletic than the classic forms and involves more exacting poses. A spell of this form of yoga will get you much closer to the weight loss you are seeking.