No matter how many times people ask me if they can lose weight doing yoga, the answer never gets easier. Yes it is a form of physical activity, but certainly not the vigorous cardiovascular training that we would associate with weight loss. Most of the poses are gentle openings that simply ask your body to let go, and the intention is usually to unite body mind and spirit rather than to get a rockin’ bikini bod. However, I feel that any reason that brings people to practice yoga is a good reason, because the myriad other benefits will inevitably creep into their experience, no matter why they initially started.
I recently came across this article that fully reflects my thoughts on loosing weight through yoga. Like the author, my body has also changed as my yoga practice has progressed, and maintaining my new, smaller frame has been relatively effortless. Her article is definitely worth a read to help understand that any weight loss obtained through yoga will be sustained if it comes from a place of balance. She discourages dogmatic or forced ways of eating, and rather encourages people to tune into and trust the subtle cues of their bodies. There is discussion of the importance of cooking, and she talks of cleansing not in a harsh or difficult to follow regime, but instead always ensuring channels of elimination in the body are open so that toxins may freely leave. My personal favorite is her suggestion to first drink water when feeling hungry, because often our physical hunger is in fact an indication of dehydration.
If you’ve asked yourself how your yoga practice can help you lose weight, her article is worth a read. You’ll find it is less about the poses you are doing with your body, and more about the qualities a yoga practice brings into your life. Know that, like most good things in life, changes will be gradual, but eventually they become a part of you and then there is no going back.