How effective is Yoga for weight loss?

There are several variations of yoga, some burn more calories some less. Obviously any form of yoga burns more calories than no exercise If the goal is to increase strength, especially core, and get in shape, yoga is awesome exercise. Try it, and worse case, you have lose a few hours before you decide it is not for you. And it is probably the best type of class if you are shy and anxious about working out in a class. Yoga instructors and yoga enthusiasts I know really are not at all judgemental and they come in all shapes, ages and body weights.

If you want to burn more calories with yoga, you'd need a style such as Ashtanga, Power Yoga, YogaX, etc. (But as a certified yoga teacher, I strongly discourage a yoga novice jumping right in to one of these styles.)

Less vigorous styles of yoga have weight loss benefits other than burning calories. Yoga was instrumental in reducing my emotional eating.

How Yoga Can Help End Binge Eating

One breath at a time, end the suffering of binge-eating

...According to Juliano, yoga gives people the skills to stay with what they are feeling, rather than turning to food to escape. People who are obese or suffering from eating disorders have a tendency to dissociate from their bodies -- to choose not to feel what they are feeling when they are angry, anxious, or sad. Often, they turn to food to numb themselves. "There's this sense that I have to feel better right now, " Juliano says. "There is a complete intolerance of what is happening right now." This need to escape unpleasant feelings triggers a binge.

When you eat to escape what you are feeling, you lose touch with the experience of eating, as well. This is one reason binges can spiral out of control. "You have no understanding that you are full, way past full, into uncomfortable, because you're so out of it," Juliano explains. "You have no connection to what you're eating. You're eating a pint of ice cream and can't even taste it. Or you go to make yourself some toast and before you know it, half the loaf is gone."

Mindful yoga directly challenges the habit of dissociating from your body and your present-moment experience. "The whole point of yoga is to stay connected to your body. You learn it through practice, through breathing, and through breathing through the sensations."

Read more: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-science-willpower/201007/how-yoga-can-help-end-binge-eating

tristen_leigh wrote: »

Only some types of yoga is "just stretching". Power vinyasa yoga (a fast flow) can burn hundreds of calories in an hour, strengthen your core and tone lots of areas of your body all at once. If nothing else, yoga can help you mentally as well especially if there is a good sense of community like you mentioned.

Good luck on your journey!

I agree with this.

Also, keep in mind that there are many types of yoga: power yoga, vinyasa flow class, Bikram, Ashtanga yoga and most hot yoga classes tend to be more dynamic and burn more calories because you are pretty much moving constantly and doing body weight exercises
For example: Chaturanga is a move that's pretty much like push ups and there are some yoga classes where you are constantly going through series that incorporate it.
I've attended non-heated classes where I'm sweating like crazy just from the effort.

On the other hand, types of yoga, like Gentle yoga, or Yin yoga, are more passive and promote min-body awareness, flexibility, range of motion etc...

I love yoga -- all types (well, I love/hate Bikram, but that's another story) anyway, I don't rely on Yoga for weight loss, despite of my love. The most important thing in weight loss is a caloric deficit.
I love yoga because it feels it makes me mellow, keeps my back pain free and helps me with muscle soreness after I do kettlebells or run.

You should try it! And just know that if you don't like one type of class, there are many more to try.

I am a huge fan of yoga myself. Mostly because I look phenomenal in yoga pants (that's a lie), but also because I enjoy running and yoga is great for stretching and relieving sore muscles after a run (that's the true part).

try to wrap your head around the idea of fitness for the sake of fitness...and yes, yoga is part of my overall fitness regimen. weight loss and weight management in general is going to be far more dependent on your overall diet.

I'm a pretty active guy...I try to ride at least 80 miles per week (more if training), run a 5K once per week, and lift 2-3x per week depending on the season...to boot, I do some swimming, hiking, walk my dog, chase my kids all over the place and get in a couple yoga sessions per week just to put my mind in a good place and work on some flexibility.

I've lost weight, maintained weight, and gained weight all the while being active as feck...the difference in my weight was attributable to how many calories I was ingesting, not the exercise I was or wasn't doing.

Vinyasa (faster paced, not a lot of staying still in a pose) Yoga has helped me a lot in breath control. Which I REALLY needed for jogging cause I get side stitches really bad and I'm not good at controlling my breathing without thinking about it.

@enterdanger it sounds like Pilates might be more your style. My yoga teacher calls Pilates yoga without the spirituality.

My teacher always keeps the studio a little cool, which I appreciate.

emhunter wrote: »

Often, one doesn't have to exercise to lose weight. When I first started my journey, I ate about 1400 cals and did not exercise and still lost weight.

However if you want to workout, yoga can help you burn calories. But you will need to do a power yoga or a vinyasa flow class. The other styles burn a lot less. Either way, the fact that you are moving and not just sitting on the couch will help you be active and get healthy and ultimately will help in your long term weight loss. I recommend combining yoga with some other forms of cardio to ensure you are getting the best results on your weight loss and fitness journey.

NEVER, does one have to exercise to lose weight. One has to eat in a deficit to lose weight. Exercise is for health.