How To Lose Weight And Improve Your Mental Health With Yoga
Practiced by millions of people worldwide, yoga has been an effective tool for spiritual development, increasing overall health, and losing weight. You may be glad to note that this gentle and relaxing practice can help you achieve inner peace, reduce stress and bring out your healthy weight. Read the article by our guest author Lotuskitty.com on how yoga can help you improve your mental health and lose that extra weight.
Burning Calories Through Yoga to Lose Weight
Though yoga practice may not be as physically aggressive as other forms of exercise like aerobics, some types of yoga can be more physical than others. Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and Power yoga are intense and active forms of yoga that can help you burn more calories and help prevent weight gain. These yoga types are often practiced in hot yoga studios and will keep you constantly moving, so you burn more calories.
Most yoga enthusiasts practice yoga to increase strength and muscle tone, improve their metabolic rate, and help with weight loss. Although restorative yoga isn’t physically tiring, it’s very effective in improving your overall fitness, reducing stress, and losing weight.
The best part about yoga is that you can practice it anywhere. Equipped with the best travel yoga mat, you will always have the right place to do yoga anywhere.
Yoga for Better Sleep and Mental Health
Yoga also helps you get quality and better sleep. You may be able to fall asleep quickly and deeply at night when you do yoga. And good quality sleep will improve concentration, get you in a better mood, increase your willingness to work on your weight goals. In addition, just one sleepless night can make you insulin resistant and interfere with your weight loss progress.
Yoga Nidra, in particular, is a guided relaxation that helps you sleep more quickly and deeply. It also increases your mindfulness, making you more aware of how various foods can affect your mind and body. Some studies show that people who develop mindfulness by doing yoga are better at resisting unhealthy food and binge eating. In turn, they become more in tune with their body and can tell when they feel full.
Yoga Exercises You Can Do at Home and Lose Weight
Here are some simple yoga poses you can do at home to help you in your weight loss journey.
The Sun Salutations
You can do at least ten sun salutations at home. You can opt to heighten the intensity by making you pace faster or holding your positions for a longer time.
- To start the salutation, stand straight and inhale while lifting your arms over your head.
- Exhale while diving down to your Forward Bend position.
- You can step, walk or hop back into your Plank pose.
- Stay in this position for at least five breaths.
- Slowly, drop your knees as you lower your body towards the floor.
- Extend both of your legs and turn the top of your feet towards the mat. Put your hands directly under your shoulders.
- Inhale to lift halfway or up to your full Cobra pose.
- Hold your pose for not less than five breaths.
- Exhale as you step, walk or hop to the top of the mat to your Forward Bend.
- Inhale once again as you lift your arms over your head.
- Lower your arms back while exhaling.
The Plank Pose
You can perform various variations of plank pose for about 20 to 30 minutes.
- From the tabletop pose, walk your feet back until they are fully extended with your heels raised.
- Make sure your body is in a straight line. You can check yourself in a mirror.
- With your core, legs, and arms engaged, hold the position for at least a minute.
The Boat Pose
This pose will help you reduce stress and engage your whole body and core.
- Sit on your mat with both legs extended together in front of you.
- Bend your knees slightly while lifting your feet off the floor. Make sure your thighs are at an angle and your shins are parallel to the floor.
- Straighten your legs if you can while you keep your torso lifted.
- Hold it for thirty seconds and do this at least five times.
Conclusion
Yoga helps improve mindfulness and concentration, and the quality of sleep. It can also reduce your stress level and help you lose weight. Regular yoga practice improves muscle tone and metabolic rate. You can practice yoga anywhere, at a yoga studio or in the comfort of your home. All you need is a yoga mat! No matter how old you are, you can reap the benefits of this practice, improve mental health and prevent weight gain.