Can you really lose weight with yoga?

firstnamekaren

Bikram Yoga is estimated at 1532 cal's/hour on MFP and that sounds about right to me (if not more).

When I wore my HRM to bikram yoga, it was less than HALF that amount.

For me, I love yoga. It releases stress and gives my muscles a good stretch. I feel worked afterwards, but it's probably not going to give that big caloric burn most are looking for. I also loved bikram yoga - it gave me a sense of accomplishment and awesomeness few workouts provide.

giggitygoo

To actually answer your question YES! Yoga kicks my butt. Bikram Yoga is estimated at 1532 cal's/hour on MFP and that sounds about right to me (if not more).

1532 calories an hour? dafuq?

That's an incredibly high estimate. For me, it was closer to 600. Granted, I'm really light (110), but this is still a pretty big difference.

I do yoga often, but not for weight loss benefit. I practice at night to help me prepare for sleep. I find the mind/body connection to be incredibly peaceful, and it's a decent tool to manage my insomnia.

Yoga is also an incredible recovery tool for sore and tired muscles. I always leave feeling refreshed, and lighter on my feet than when I began. Of course, I'm not talking about "power yoga" here. I mean slow moving, meditative yoga like Yinyassa.

In case you're interested, last time I did a 60 minute Hatha class, I only burned about 220 calories. This is also using advanced poses and hand balances.

EDIT: I never answered the question. Yes, you can lose weight with yoga. However, there are other more efficient ways to burn calories. Yoga is a wonderful thing to add to your life, and the benefits are far greater than a simple caloric burn.

BOLO4Hagatha

Thanks for the input.