For those lazy, potato couches (like me), who are planing to take some exercises, who go on a bike one Saturday and decide to do that every weekend, but never go again, or take one month in a gym and give up, I came to idea, to try yoga.

Overweight person who don't get enough physical activity and is out of condition, can't become an athlete over night. And if someone is lazy and maybe even doesn't like to train hard, but still knows, that weight loss is possible only when you include some activity in your live, yoga can be the right decision.

Yoga is not just a physical discipline but more than that. Of course it is a way to get a sound body. But a sound mind is also the need of the hour. And here yoga plays an important role. Actually yoga has something to do with both philosophical and spiritual well being. That is why there a variety of yoga types and yoga postures. Different disciplines of yoga have different functions but their integrated effect is to strengthen both body and mind. Yoga does this by giving strength and endurance to the body. Yoga helps considerably in mind relaxation and many health related anomalies disappears if the various yoga types are performed consistently for longer period.

Yoga is a known stress buster, but it's also one of the most effective workouts for fighting stubborn fat stores, especially the ones that crop up after age 40. The reason: Studies show that yoga lowers levels of stress hormones and increases insulin sensitivity - a signal to your body to burn food as fuel rather than store it as fat.

Yoga For Weight Loss

Yoga for weight loss is very popular these days and is proved to be a good way to get rid of some fat and health problems. Taking medicine for health problems is not always good and most importantly over the counter medication results in many other side effects. In addition to it medication does not provide permanent solution of weight loss or other diseases caused as a result of excess pound of flesh.

Yoga provides a natural way of weight reduction where there is no fear of any side effects. It tones the entire body muscles and helps the body stay in good shape. Weight loss with the help of yoga is possible as the yoga postures help increase the body metabolism burning more calories. Yoga not only tones body muscles but proves to be a tonic for mind also. Thus stress is also reduced which ultimately results in weight reduction. Yoga generates a kind of mentality where focusing on the body and its condition becomes first priority. This mental strength is a kind of support to the efforts taken to loose weight.

Useful yoga techniques for weight loss

Practicing any type of yoga will build strength, but some types may not raise your heart rate enough to make them the only form of exercise you need to include in your weight loss regime. It depends on the type of yoga you select and how frequently you practice it.

There are two techniques that are applied usually to reduce weight. The two main yoga techniques are Astanga yoga and Bikram yoga. Bikram yoga helps burn extra calories as the yoga postures in the Bikram yoga includes aerobic, fat burning and cardio vascular workouts. These workouts have a significant impact on the body. It also reduces stress and makes feel better. It trains both body and mind and helps increase patience, endurance and determination. On the other hand Ashtanga yoga involves lost of breathing exercises which are complicated in nature. It helps get a strong and clear mind and proves effective in the weight loss program.

Yoga exercises such as those used in Bikram and Ashtanga yoga can be effective if you need to lose weight. This is not the fastest way to lose weight with exercise however, and you have to spend a great deal of time doing yoga to make it count.

Doing yoga for weight loss is not the quickest way to lose weight, but it will help to tone your body and more importantly yoga will help your mind to relax, and your body will (as is often the case with other types of exercise) not feel exhausted, the invigorating properties of yoga will help you feel better physically and spiritually. Yoga weight loss is possible if you are prepared to spend at least 5 hours a week doing it.

Ashtanga yoga

This yoga type deals with the unifying force concerning the eight limbs. Practicing Ashtanga yoga asks for attention the eight limbs. These eight limbs include Yam, Nivam Asana, Pranayam, Pratyahar, Dharan Dhayan and Samadhi. Yam is realated to moral code, Niyam is related to discipiline, pranayam means breathing exercises, pratyahar deals with self withdrawal, dharan means concentration on substances and dhayan deals with meditation whereas the meaning of Samadhi is salvation.

Power Yoga

While traditional types of yoga are based on breathing techniques paired with static poses, power yoga combines meditative breathing with faster, more active movements. The result is a workout that can be more aerobic than . . . aerobics! Aerobic means to exercise in the presence of oxygen, so when you are doing the traditional yoga breathing along with the more active exercises, you're doing exactly that.

Yoga Workouts

Yoga workouts are good form of exercises. In fact performing yoga means doing a number of workouts in succession. These workouts are nothing but the different postures that serve different purposes. The main function of the yoga workouts is to stretch the body muscles. Stretching the body muscles gives strength to the entire body. But the importance of yoga workouts is not limited to the strengthening the body only which is the case with strength exercises. Different yoga workouts act as a balancing factor between body and mind. These workouts strengthen both body and mind and relieve tension and stress. The element of spirituality in the yoga workouts make it different from the other exercises. Breathing exercise is the most important factor in the yoga workouts. Different yoga workouts involving complicated breathing exercises provide strength, endurance and determination to the mind and bring changes in thinking and attitude.

source