Yoga for Weight Loss: Yoga Poses to Improve Mindset and Healthy Habits

Yoga is about determining who you are as to what you want to be, changing the very fundamentals of one’s existence. Today there’s enough medical and scientific proof to show that the very fundamentals of the exertion of your brain, your chemistry, indeed your genetic content can be changed by practising different systems of yoga. This demanded no confirmation because we’ve always witnessed this, but today there’s scientific data to prove this.

Yoga offers a deeper consciousness and higher awareness. Yoga, meaning union, is a Hindu spiritual quest to experience the breath mind or divine by balancing our mind. Hinduism recognises there are many paths to the divine, and so there are many types of yogas. Besides hatha yoga, there are four primary yogas.

Overview of Yoga for Weight Loss

Some people use yoga as a form of exercise. They like to sweat. Maybe they go to hot yoga even though they like to move fast and that is what makes them feel good. Then other people like more restorative aspects of it they like that yoga is meditative and relaxing and kind of distressing from the rest of their day.

Therefore yoga can be a primary way for weight loss but it depends on how one uses it. There are plenty of variations in between and if you are doing more intense versions of yoga-like vinyasa flow or ashtanga where you are working up a sweat where you can feel your heart rate is getting elevated that is certainly going to be one effective tool for weight loss.

But just doing yoga alone and not changing your diet is not going to help you lose weight. So whatever kind of yoga you figure to use, be assured that you pair it with a clean and healthy diet.  

5 Best Yoga Poses for Weight Loss

1. Dolphin Pose – Ardha Pincha Mayurasana

This posture will help you open up your shoulders and tone down your biceps thus helping to build strength in the upper part of the body. The dolphin pose is kind of similar to the downward-facing dog pose but the difference is that you will be doing this pose using your elbows.

This pose can help you to calm your brain, relieve your stress, anxiety and mild depression. It improves balance, memory and concentration. It also helps to improve digestion and relieves headache, insomnia and back pain

 2. Chair Pose – Utkatasana

This yoga pose can be characterized as simple and effective but it can turn out to be one of the toughest yoga postures to maintain the pose. This particular pose is very beneficial for having a good body because this posture strengthens your whole body.

Since you will be in a squat position during the middle of the movement, you can consider it as the squat of yoga. This pose works on your quads, hamstrings, and calves. This pose also helps to stimulate and strengthen the organs of the abdomen, diaphragm, and heart.

 3. Twisted Chair Pose – Parivrtta Utkatasana

This pose imparts a sense of great determination and balance in the body with regular practice. The torso and lower back are strengthened. Practising this pose gives hips, spine and chest muscles a good stretch. Thus this is a beneficiary yoga pose for weight loss, especially from the buttocks.

4. Bow Pose – Dhanurasana

Bow pose is a seated chest opening pose that gives a nice stretch to the whole front body right from your ankle to the knee, thigh, pelvis, belly, chest, shoulder, and neck. It also has a nice impact on the spine. This pose is good for people who are suffering from asthma, anxiety, menstrual disorders, and poor digestion. This pose strengthens your spine and the front of your body.

5. Boat Pose – Navasana

 This is a strengthening pose that requires strength from the lower back string, hip flexes, and core. But it is mainly considered as a core strengthening pose thus working on your muscles helps you to burn more calories.

Importance of Yoga for Mindset & Healthy Habits

Yoga causes your brain to release a variety of hormones that help you relax as well as reduce stress and anxiety. It also aids in the suppression of neuronal activity, preventing your brain from being too excited. It does so by regulating how much fear, tension, worry, or nervousness you experience. It also helps to release happy hormones that improve your self-esteem and well-being.

Yoga gets you moving and burns calories and the spiritual and emotional aspects of the practice may urge you to address any eating or weight issues more deeply. Yoga may also motivate you to eat with more awareness. One of the advantages of yoga is how the practices may be applied to various aspects of your life.

Top 5 Yoga Poses for Mindset & Healthy Habits

1. Tree Pose – Vrikshasana

 It’s a standing stance in which the leg on the ground mimics the trunk of a tree when completed. The arms are raised above the head, and the palms of the hands are joined in a namaste stance. One leg’s heel is put on the thigh of another leg, which is firmly planted on the ground.

This pose cultivates balance while also bringing in focus and concentration, which helps to maintain our minds sharp and our bodies in perfect harmony! It’s a simple yoga stance that can help you strengthen your legs and enhance your balance.

2. Half Lord of the Fishes Pose – Ardha Matsyendrasana

 Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose) is named after Hatha Yoga’s founder, Matsyendranath. Half Lord of the Fishes Pose is derived from the Sanskrit words ardha, Matsya, and Kendra. 

This seated posture, which is one of the most powerful in yoga, is a fantastic twist that detoxifies the body, releases any tension in the spine, and also opens up the hips.

3. Cobra Pose – Bhujangasana 

 Bhujangasana is derived from the Sanskrit terms ‘bhujanga’ (snake) and ‘asana’ (posture) in Sanskrit. As a result, it’s commonly known as the Snake Pose, as it resembles a cobra’s posture with its hood raised.

Backbends are a great way to get a boost of energy. They assist keep the spine mobile and healthy by opening up the entire front body. Bhujangasana is a straightforward and effective backbend that may easily be included in your everyday practice. It can also aid in the reduction of lower back discomfort.

4. Supine Thunderbolt Pose – Supta  Vajrasana

The yogi starts in vajrasana, then holds the feet and places the elbows on the floor as the torso bends backwards until the arms, back, and head are resting on the floor. The posture should be held for at least 30 seconds. A supine twist that helps to relieve spine stress. It’s a beautiful way to end your yoga session because it soothes both the mind and the body. It also aids in the improvement of respiratory health.

5. Cat-Cow Pose – Marjaryasana-Bitilasana

The cat-cow position keeps the spine healthy and mobile. This position works on all spine regions while also relieving muscle tension. This asana can help you relax and enhance your coordination.

It’s important to note that the yogic practices outlined above should be taught gradually and under the guidance of a yoga teacher. Yoga allows a practitioner to develop developmental skills and better understand themselves and others, leading to a more relaxed view of life. Yoga practitioners are advised to keep their hearts open. Many yogic thinkers believe that the entire practice connects figuratively to our hearts. The heart is located in the centre of the chakra system, in the centre of the seven chakras.