Hatha Yoga for Weight Loss

The reasons for the appearance of excess weight can be a whole lot, ranging from a genetic predisposition and ending with a sedentary lifestyle and malnutrition.

Yoga will not eliminate all these causes at once, but it will help you get rid of the problem of excess weight once and for all.

The most effective for weight loss is hatha yoga. She does not put weight loss the main goal, but her regular practice gives good results in this process.

Hatha Yoga is the work on oneself and, first of all, on a spiritual level, and the second one is working on your body.

Hatha Yoga contains a whole complex of physical exercises that will make the body healthy. These exercises will develop the flexibility of the joints and adjust the work of the internal organs, they will strengthen the spine and tighten the muscles.

The whole complex of exercises (asanas) in hatha yoga is constructed in such a way that promotes proper burning of calories, physical load is distributed evenly to all parts of the body, developing their mobility and endurance.

Exercises in hatha yoga are combined with special breathing techniques that contribute to weight loss. They set up blood circulation and normalize the metabolism, due to the active influx of oxygen during exercise.

Hatha Yoga classes improve the digestion process, reduce appetite. In addition, Hatha Yoga itself contains many recommendations for healthy nutrition that will be useful for losing weight.

Thus, hatha yoga offers not only physical exercises and respiratory gymnastics, but also a change in lifestyle, rejection of bad habits.

How to practice hatha yoga in order to lose weight?

Hatha Yoga will give tangible results in regular classes, but it is not worth waiting for it in the near future. The effect will be visible after 3-4 months of intensive exercises and work on yourself.

But there is a small secret of hatha yoga that will help to speed up the process of losing weight – these are breathing techniques (kriyas). They act on the digestive and excretory system in such a way that the body better absorbs food and is cleared of toxins in a timely manner.

Kryi improves skin condition and prevents the deposition of unnecessary fats. They must be performed at the beginning of the day with an empty stomach, having previously drunk a glass of water.

An important role in the process of losing weight with the help of hatha yoga is played by the correctness and complexity of the exercises, their regularity.

To properly perform the exercises, you must follow the following recommendations:

• Regularity of classes – at least 2-3 times a week, but preferably every day for 20-30 minutes.
• The complexity of the exercises is the combination of dynamic and static exercises.
• The correctness of the exercises is to start with simple asanas and move on to more complex ones, even if the process of memorizing and performing them takes a long time. The same applies to the intensity of the load, increase it gradually.
• Breathing techniques – watch how you breathe during exercise, pay attention to proper breathing.
• Meditation is an important part of the exercises, aimed at relaxing the muscles after exercising and preparing the body for physical exertion before practice.

Remember that most of the exercises (asanas) help to reduce weight due to the fact that it stimulates the metabolic processes of your body. Only with the optimal combination of dynamic asanas with deflections and other gymnastic exercises – you will achieve the desired effect.

Three simple exercises for weight loss from hatha yoga

Here are some examples of simple exercises that you can easily perform at home.

The first is an exercise for the abdomen

• Take the position lying on the back, hands should lie along the body, snug against the floor.
• Raise your legs with one swing so that your knees barely touch the shoulders.
• Stay tense and perform 5-6 deep breaths-exhalations.
• For greater efficiency, combine this exercise with the “birch” you know, it also enters hatha yoga.

The second is an exercise for the hips, legs and buttocks

• From the standing position, the legs are set as wide as possible, tilt the upper part of the body forward.
• Drag your hands to the floor, and the buttocks and thighs fix in tension so that there is not any relaxed muscle on the body.
• Do 5-6 breaths-exhalations and relax the muscles.

The third is an exercise on breathing, or kriya, it is called the “breath of fire”

• Become straight, the back should be straight, and the legs are set at the width of the shoulders.
• Take a breath and on a sharp nasal exhalation, try to maximally draw the navel to the spine.
• Fix the body in tension for a couple of seconds and relax.
• Repeat the exercise at least 10 times in two or three approaches.
• During the exercise, make sure that the muscles of the face are strained.

Do not focus on the result of the exercises and do not rush to run to the weights after each lesson, get pleasure from the slimming and exercise process and then hatha yoga will not only save you from excess weight, but will bring you satisfaction and tangible benefits.