At Lifestyle Health Retreats (LHR), we understand that carrying excess body weight is becoming the norm rather than the exception. Lifestyles are increasingly sedentary, people’s diet is becoming increasingly processed and fatty and food contains more and more calories, additives and preservatives. While controlling diet and exercise are widely recognized to combat weight gain, many do not realize the benefits of yoga for weight loss. Yoga is a discipline designed to make the body strong and flexible and enhance the overall health of the digestive system as well as the hormonal and circulatory systems. It also assists us in controlling mental stress and achieving peace and clarity of mind. Yoga also has strong spiritual benefits which allow you to becoming more content with yourself. This mental component is often neglected in a physical approach to weight loss, but it is critical and should not be overlooked.
- Yoga is based on deep and controlled breathing which is a method for enhancing our oxygen intake. This allows oxygen to travel to the fat cells in our body and assist in their processing. Given these facts, yoga practise is something that can benefit you no matter what your current fitness level is. Many people think of yoga as a passive or mystical discipline, or something for hippies. This is a shame as yoga improves the physical body as well as our mental health.
- Yoga considers all the aspects that contribute to obesity, not just the physical but also the mental and spiritual reasons behind them.
- Yoga is not only relaxing but it does bring the body back towards it’s ideal weight and at the same time enhance strength, flexibility and stamina. Yoga nuts tend to end up slim, agile and efficient in everything they do and what’s more it is suitable for people of all ages.
- A more active form of Yoga, Kundalini, was introduced to America in 1969 by Yogi Bhajan. It is a more active form of Yoga combining different methods of breathing, meditation and movement to compensate for the fact the American population has been conditioned to see exercise as requiring sweating.
- Yoga can also be used to resist the temptation of snacking between meals. Techniques learned from yoga can be used to suppress impulses and minimize cravings to snack between meals.
Yoga is not just a method of losing weight, it is actually a method which restores a natural balance to our body and moves us towards our natural state. This has an interesting consequence with weight. It you are overweight yoga can help you to lose weight, and if you are underweight or at your ideal weight yoga can help you find your balance and equilibrium and maintain your biologically natural size. Incorporating yoga into your life has long reaching benefits for mental, spiritual and physical wellbeing and should be a part of any weight loss plan.
