Yoga lowers your metabolism?!

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yogi_meg
yogi_meg Posts: 26 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just read an article on the book "The Science of Yoga" by Willam Broad and he said that yoga slows down your metabolism and can actually cause you to gain weight. I was surprised to read this. Thoughts? I hope this isn't true because as you can tell from my name I'm a fan of yoga.

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  • Samanthabrinton
    Samanthabrinton Posts: 12
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    I think that is total crap because you are moving your body and you build muscle during yoga which raises your metabolism. I just don't see it.
  • moushtie
    moushtie Posts: 371 Member
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    Unless you're going for the more meditative, lowering your heartrate for ages, kind of angle. I think most people here do it for the strengthening...
  • newCourtney
    newCourtney Posts: 168 Member
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    I've done yoga for years and have never noticed it causing me to gain weight.
  • islandjumper
    islandjumper Posts: 369 Member
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    I would hardly say yoga makes you gain weight (from fat anyway). If you're doing it properly it's a strength training exercise and can add muscle mass, which is denser than fat, so I suppose in a way you could gain pounds but not in the way they're implying.
    yoga itself can get your heart rate up to a cardio level (depending on the type you do) which would have the exact opposite effect on your metabolism.
  • katinka13
    katinka13 Posts: 41
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    some yogis use very special trainig methods AND also reduce their total caloric income to slow their metabolism, so that they are able to meditate longer due to religious reasons, special celebratory days, etc. so that does NOT apply to regular people like us ;) doing their yoga lessons.
  • surfrgrl1
    surfrgrl1 Posts: 1,464 Member
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    I'm not drinking that kool-aide either. :wink:
  • icemaiden17_uk
    icemaiden17_uk Posts: 463 Member
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    Yeah! I think its rubbish to! I mean the more you relax the slower your metabolism is I guess but any movement will burn fat and increase your metabolism! I'm pretty sure he is talking about the medatative Yoga and not Power or other types of intensive Yoga! I hope not anyway! I do lot of Yoga to! Mind you since I have been doing less I have platued!! Hmm, interesting!
  • surfrgrl1
    surfrgrl1 Posts: 1,464 Member
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    some yogis use very special trainig methods AND also reduce their total caloric income to slow their metabolism, so that they are able to meditate longer due to religious reasons, special celebratory days, etc. so that does NOT apply to regular people like us ;) doing their yoga lessons.

    Agree. It also brought to mind the old CSI episode 'Felonious Monk'.
  • yogi_meg
    yogi_meg Posts: 26 Member
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    Phew, I agree that didn't seem to ring true. I know it's not a crazycalorie burn, but weight gain-sheesh? Since I read the review and not the book, I'm sure there is more to it. Thanks for feedback.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Here is an article that investigates the question:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1564415/?tool=pubmed
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    Here is an article that investigates the question:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1564415/?tool=pubmed

    This is really interesting though I see that this was done at a facility where the subjects were practicing several times per day. I wonder if the same effect would occur for the more casual yoga practicioner.
  • yogi_meg
    yogi_meg Posts: 26 Member
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    Thanks for that link. Interesting read.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Here is an article that investigates the question:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1564415/?tool=pubmed

    This is really interesting though I see that this was done at a facility where the subjects were practicing several times per day. I wonder if the same effect would occur for the more casual yoga practicioner.

    I did not read the whole article--all I would say is that this is something you have to look at very carefully before trying to generalize the results. My general impression is that there is a significant difference between someone who is practicing yoga for religious/meditative reasons vs someone doing it as part of a fitness/wellness program.

    My gut feeling is that, for the vast majority of people, this "concern" will have little practical significance.
  • Sassafras1234
    Sassafras1234 Posts: 1
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    Hi, I'm a yoga teacher and have looked closely at this since Broad published his book. The whole topic of metabolism and exercise/diet is complicated and unclear in current scientific studies, as recently discussed in the New York Times. Dieting vs Exercise for weight loss. Recent studies suggest metabolism drops as we lose weight. Also there may be a relationship between lowered metabolism and lowered levels of cortisol, which encourages your body to put on weight.

    The studies done of the kind Broad relied on included relaxation segments, so there were not a study of dynamic yoga practice or stronger postures. In fact one of these studies outlines that metabolism is raised during these parts of the class. And there is the aspect of strengthening. Not to mention a lot of people have in fact lost weight with a yoga practice, including in scientific studies like the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Anyway it's not black and white like he puts it. See my site if you're interested. www.yogaforlosingweight.com

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