Let's face it: a
lot of people have a severe misunderstanding of yoga. For every one
person who knows how effective yoga can be in maintaining a positive
outlook, improving posture and digestion, staying in good health, and
maintaining a high level energy just to get you through the day, there are probably a dozen skeptics who think it is all just new age baloney.
Maybe we can't
convince everybody that yoga is much more than ineffective hippie stuff,
but if we can summarize the concept of the traditional yoga culture
real quick, it might just be a start.
A Brief History of Yoga
It's not clear exactly when the practice of Yoga first began in India, but it may have been as early as 3300 BC.
There are five major branches in yoga: Raja, Hatha, Jnana, Bhakti and
Karma, but Hatha yoga is probably the only one we really need to discuss
in relation to health and fitness.
Yogi Swatmarama, a
fifteenth century Indian sage, developed Hatha yoga as a way to prepare
oneself for intense meditation, by first subjecting oneself to intensive
physical training. Whether or not a person's end goal is enlightenment,
the physical benefits of the practice have proven to be effective.
Yoga for Weight Loss
Even if you believe in the potential yoga has to keep your body
healthy, you may still be asking "Is yoga really all that effective in
helping one to lose weight?"
Let's start by saying that Hatha
yoga is an intensive, low impact exercise, involving lots of stretching
and conditioning that helps the blood flow more smoothly, and which aids
in healthy digestion.
One of the main goals of yoga is to
maintain the intestinal organs in order to improve digestion and
minimize the amount of undigested food or waste in our bodies without
having to resort to invasive cleansing routines.
A
low-intensity yoga session will not burn as many calories as other
workouts. An average woman may burn 150 calories in a one-hour Hatha
yoga session and 300 calories from walking briskly for one hour.
Ashtanga Yoga and Power Yoga, on the other hand, will burn about 300
calories per hour and Vinyasa Yoga (also known as flow yoga) can burn
even more.
If you are just
starting out with Yoga and plan to keep your routine slow and steady to
start, the quickest way you are going to see weight loss results is to
combine your yoga practice with a healthy diet plan and an aerobic exercise.
Still, it's important to understand that weight loss is about a lot
more than calories. Yoga can really give you a better relationship with
your body, which can really help you on the weight loss journey. As you
deepen your understanding of the way the mind and body relate to one
another through a dedicated Yoga practice, don't be surprised if your
mindset and habits begin to change, which, in turn, can make it much
easier for to make healthy changes in your body.
Why ARE Yogis so Thin?
One of the reasons yoga masters are so thin is generally because of their diet.
The traditional yogi diet is strictly vegetarian and free of caffeine,
however, you can still learn how to eat well from yoga without becoming a
monk. Here are some simple rules for those of us not willing to give up
on hamburgers and coffee just yet:
The Yoga Diet for the Everyday Yogi
- Drink lots of water
- Eat lots of vegetables and fruit
- Eat spicy foods and red meat only in moderation
And that's it. A healthier diet plus intensive Hatha workout sessions,
and you are sure to see results, both in your body and your mind. If you
want to ramp up your weight loss and calorie burning, try Power Yoga,
which can give you an aerobic exercise, too.
Starting your Yoga Routine
What you'll need to start yoga will be some comfortable clothes
(nothing fancy, just some old sweats will do), and a mat. (Some yoga
schools provide yoga mats.)
You can easily take a couple
lessons and just practice yoga at home, but one of the greatest
motivators for any exercise program is to be a part of a group, sharing
knowledge with one another and pushing each other to really dedicate the
time and energy it takes.
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