It has been over social media, lately, that people are practicing different types of yoga for help with improving overall health and wellness, mental and psychological wellness but also for losing weight..
Now I don’t know about you but personally I have always thought that yoga is more for mental relaxation and it does help increase the body’s flexibility and also tone muscles off at the same time.
So in my opinion it’s an excellent form of exercise for improving overall health and wellness. But I never really thought of yoga being performed specifically for weight loss. However, after doing much research I discovered that studies have been done that prove that yoga is good for weight loss.
The reason is that performing yoga regularly helps decrease certain chemicals in your body that are produced and you are stressed out. And of course these stress chemicals also increase your body’s sensitivity to insulin and will cause your body to store more calories as body fat. But when you perform yoga it helps lower the stress hormones and also increases your body’s sensitivity to insulin which is a good thing because this allows your body to burn its own fat for fuel, instead of storing everything that you eat as fat. Now the type of yoga is called Sarundah Yoga.
And this is basically a series of specific yoga poses that should be performed at least 3 times a week. I’m going to do some research for you and in one of my next posts I will list the poses here for you, for Sarundah Yoga otherwise known as Morning Salutations Poses.
For now I am going to give you a list of yoga poses that will help you tone your muscles and assist with burning extra calories and body fat. I have several personal training clients doing these poses and they all love them. So give them a try and let me know what you think.
*But please Remember to talk with your medical doctor and get their approval before starting any type of exercise program.
Here are the yoga poses:
Crescent pose – this helps tighten your of dollar muscles, hips and your leg muscles. You start by standing with both feet together and your arms at your side. Take a deep breath and and slowly raise your arms over top of your head and reach towards the sky. Then below the air and out and slowly then forward from the hips wringing your hands to the floor. I personally have to bend my knees when I do this but That’s fine. Take another deep breath and and then exhale and while you are breathing out technique a step back with her right leg putting you into a lunge position. So now you are in the lunge position with her arms pointing upwards your head towards the sky and take a deep breath in and just hold position. I try to hold this position for about 5 deep breaths and of course breathing nice and slowly. If I feel like giving myself a challenge I will actually try to extend my left back a little bit creating a little bit of an arch in my back. Depending on the morning and how I am feeling I am not always able to do this added addition of a back extension arch.
The next pose is called the Willow pose – in this cleans up the side of your stomach. As with most poses you’re going to stand with both of your feet together in your arms hanging loosely and relaxed at your sides. Mentally focus and relax and after a few breaths in the standing position you’re going to place the bottom of your foot let’s say the soul of your right foot on the inside of your right leg. Try to go up as high as you can bringing your heel of your foot all the way into the upper thigh of the opposite leg. Then just bring your hands together, any prayer position and take a few breaths and tried to stabilize and stay balanced. When you are stabilized raise your arms upwards towards the ceiling take a few breaths in and out slowly and then bend to the side, laterally to your raised leg. Hold this position for 4 – 5 deep breaths and then switch sides. Perform this pose 5 – 6 times if you can.
Rocking boat pose – this tunes your stomach muscles in your back. We are going to sit on the floor with your feet on the floor, having your knees bent and just place your hands when your upper legs. Try to keep your upper body straight and slowly leaned back about 45° and raise your feet so that they are an inch or 2 off of the floor. Try to keep your toes pointing straight out. Breathe in and out a few times slowly and then stretch out your arms in front of your body and trying to keep your legs close together and trying to lift your legs of a few more inches so that your body forms the V. Now try to hold this position and breathe in and out slowly. Try to hold this pose for 4 – 5 deep breaths in and of course you’re going to breathe out slowly.
Hover pose – this poses great for turning your back, arms, stomach and shoulders all at the same time. Read going to start this pose by getting into the push-up position. You want to have your toes on the floor and your arms straight out with your hands below your shoulders and then lower yourself down until your upper torso is a few inches off of the ground. And hold this position for 4 – 5 deep breaths in while slowly exhaling each time.
Chair pose – this is great for toning your tush and legs. You know it, we’re going to start by standing with her feet together and arms nice and relaxed by our side. We will then inhale and slowly lift our arms over our head pointing towards the ceiling. We want to keep our hands facing each other when we do this. Slow you breathe out and lower your tush so that your lower legs and upper legs form approximately 45° angle. You should try to hold this position for 4 – 5 slow deep breaths in and of course exhaling slowly.
Give them a try and post your results here.