Does yoga help you lose weight?
People in India have been doing yoga for centuries. We think of mental health and meditation when we hear about yoga, but yoga is more than that. When done routinely and correctly, yoga can be an incredibly powerful weight-loss tool. That’s right, yoga poses for weight loss will help you achieve your fitness goals faster!
But how does yoga help burn fat and lose weight?
Yoga involves you holding a balanced position causing your muscles to burn and shake with energy. This means that you’ve engaged with the muscle in much the same way as lifting weights. Moreover, when you activate the muscles, your body also speeds up your heart, burning more calories and fat.
We’ve rounded up some of the most helpful yoga poses for weight loss. These poses (asanas) engage with large muscle groups that are very effective for burning calories.
Here are 12 Best Weight Loss Yoga Postures
1. Plank pose (Chaturangadandasana)
Plank pose is the best way to strengthen your core. As easy as it looks, its benefits are tremendous. Only when you are in the pose, you start to feel its intensity on your abdominal muscles.
How to perform:
- Start in a plank position.
- keep your arms and legs straight
- Balance on your toes
- Face forward or down
- Keep your wrists below your shoulders.
- keep your whole body at shoulder height
- Hold this pose for 5-6 breaths and then repeat 2-3 times again.
2. Warrior pose I (Virabhadrasana I)
Warrior I is often performed as a flow with Warrior II and Warrior III (below).
Toning your thighs and shoulders and improving your concentration becomes more accessible and exciting with the Warrior pose.
The warrior routine is a vital part of the yoga asanas for weight loss and should not be ignored.
How to perform:
- Begin standing, then step your right foot forward about 3-4 feet.
- Keep your foot parallel and toes pointing to the top of the mat
- bend your knee into a lunge
- Keep your left leg straight behind you and your front knee at a 90-degree angle
- Keep your arms raised straight above your head, keeping your shoulders pressed down.
- Try to hold this pose for 30 seconds and transition into Warrior II (below).
Note: You will want to repeat all 3 of these poses as a flow on the other side of the body once you are finished with the first side.
3. Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)
From Warrior I (above), you will simply spread the arms out to both sides, like in the picture above, as you move your chest and hips to face the same direction as your back foot.
The longer you hold the warrior II pose, the more you will challenge your thighs, and with just a few minutes of this pose, you will get tighter quads and better results!!
Try to hold this pose for 30 seconds and transition into Warrior III (below).
Note: You will want to repeat all 3 of these poses as a flow on the other side of the body once you are finished with the first side.
4. Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III)
Warrior III may look easy enough, but holding this pose with the proper form for more than a few seconds can be pretty tricky for beginners!
Warrior III pose improves your balance and tone the muscle of your glutes, legs, and arms. It also helps tone the tummy and gives you a flat belly if you engage your abdominal muscles while you hold this position.
How to perform:
- Start in a lunge position with your front knee bent
- Your chest and hips should face the forward direction
- Keep your arms together at your chest
- Lean forward until your back leg stretches straight back
- Slowly raise your arms above your head
- Keep your foot flexed and your gaze downward.
- Hold this position for 25-30 seconds
5. Triangle pose (Trikonasana)
The Triangle pose can be pretty easy to perform and has immense benefits like improving balance and burning fat from the belly & waist.
The lateral motion of this asana also helps you burn fat and build more muscles in the thighs and hamstrings.
How to perform:
- Stand straight with your legs 2 feet apart
- rotate your torso to your left
- extend your arms out to your sides in a T formation.
- keep your right toes toward the top of your mat, and position your left foot at 45 degrees
- Now reach down like in the picture and raise your left hand above
- Place your right hand on your right shin
- Hold this pose for 25-30 seconds
- Now switch sides and repeat
6. Lunge (Anjaneyasana)
The lunge is one of the best asana for stretching the hips.
This pose helps with mobility in the hip flexors and the feet while strengthening the legs and Improving balance and endurance.
Make sure your front knee is as close to 90 degrees as possible when doing this pose.
Note: Your hands can be wherever you want them to be in this asana, and their position often depends on which muscles you are stretching.
Hold this pose for 30 seconds, and repeat on the other side.
7. Downward Dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Downward Dog pose tones your whole body with a bit of extra attention to strengthening your arms, thighs, hamstring and back. Maintaining this pose and focusing on your breathing engages your muscles and tones them while improving your strength and blood circulation.
How to perform:
- come onto the floor using your hands and legs
- Now Lift your bottom to form a 90-degree angle with your body
- Hold this pose for 2 to 3 minutes
8. Half Boat Pose (Ardha Navasana)
The boat pose requires strong abs to hold yourself up, meaning this is a great yoga pose for weight loss because it directly works the tummy!
How to perform:
- Lie face down
- Straighten and raise your legs
- Slowly lift your body
- raise the arms so that they are parallel with the ground
- Hold this pose for up to 25-30 seconds
9. Side Plank (Vasisthasana)
The side plank is an excellent yoga asana for strengthening the arms, belly, and legs while stretching and strengthening the wrists.
The plank and its variations are also great for reducing belly fat and improving a sense of balance!
How to perform:
- Start in the regular plank position with your palms facing down
- Tilt your feet to the left
- The right side of your right foot should be touching the mat, and the left foot should be on top of the right
- Shift your weight onto your right hand
- Slowly lift your left arm straight up towards the sky.
- Hold this pose for 25-30 seconds
- Now repeat on the other side.
10. Tree Pose (Vriksasana)
This pose may look extremely easy, but it is pretty hard to maintain balance!
The Tree pose strengthens your thighs, buttocks (glute), and ankles while improving your balance and stretching around your shoulders and latissimus dorsi, a large, flat muscle covering the width of the middle and lower back.
How to perform:
- Stand up and put your right foot on the inside of your left hip
- Keep your hands pressed together at your heart to help with balance
- Hold the pose for up to 30-60 seconds
- switch legs and repeat
11. Chair Pose (Utkatasana)
The chair pose is like holding a squat, so it gets your quads, hamstrings, and calves burning. And since it activates such large muscle groups, the chair pose is an excellent yoga asana for weight loss.
How to perform:
- Keep your feet together and arms straight
- lower into a squatting position
- Tuck your hips in slightly
- Make sure that you can still see your feet in front of your knees
- Hold this position for 30-40 seconds
- Repeat again 2-3 times
12. Lord of the Dance Pose (Natarajasana)
This yoga asana is a beginner yoga pose for weight loss that focuses on stretching the shoulders, chest, thighs, and abdomen.
How to perform:
- Start in the standing position
- Shift your weight onto your right foot
- Lift your left heel toward your left buttock as you bend the knee
- Take hold of your left ankle with your left hand
- Shift your weight forward as you lean
- Slowly raise your right arm forward
- Hold this pose for 30 seconds
- switch legs and repeat