If we were asked about yoga, the vast majority of us would answer that it is a totally calm and relaxed activity, with which we will improve our breathing and get much calmer and de-stressed. But what we have never thought about is whether it can help us lose weight.
The truth is that a large majority see yoga as that, a relaxing activity, and in a way it is. Therefore, it is unthinkable that it serves to burn calories.
Nothing could be further from the truth. After all, it is a physical activity that will consume energy, and for this reason, we want to stop at whether or not it will help us lose weight. Also in these Covid-19 days, people spend most of their time watching kissanime, Netflix, or playing games on PS5. So they must do some kind of physical activity.
Whenever we seek to relax and connect with our body, we remember yoga. That is why it is the star activity when it comes to body control.
At our disposal, we have more and more centers and alternatives or variations of yoga for all tastes. In fact, many people do not do more sports activity than that, as they consider that it is enough to be healthy and thus control weight
Yoga is a heart activity that will activate circulation
First of all, it is very important that we bear in mind that yoga is a cardiac activity, but a moderate one that starts the blood circulation and the heart at the same time. But the question is whether this activation is enough to achieve a good calorie burn and a considerable metabolic acceleration.
As we said before, there are several modalities of yoga. We can carry out yoga in a traditional way, or instead do what is known as hot yoga or Bikram, which is performed in rooms that are at about 42 degrees Celsius. This second alternative is what most people consider suitable for weight loss.
How yoga works when it comes to burning calories
But first of all, it is necessary that we know how yoga works and what it triggers in our body to know if it is a perfect ally when it comes to losing weight with its practice. In the end, we must not forget that it is an activity that puts our muscles and joints to work. The only variation is the intensity and that makes it different.
It is important that we bear in mind that yoga perfectly alternates contraction and stretching of the muscles throughout the different postures or asanas. This causes the blood flow to increase considerably and with it the heart rate accelerates, as well as the compression and expansion of the veins.
What we have described above is multiplied if we practice yoga in a room at 42 degrees Celsius, since the heart rate will be higher. But despite this increase in the pumping of the heart, always keeping us in a medium pulse range, but never intense, much less maximum.
Given this, it is important that we bear in mind that any movement that we carry out with the body causes the heart to pump more blood. Simply raising the arm activates the blood. For this reason, yoga will do it too, since the torsion to which we submit the muscles and joints causes us to activate our circulation.
Physical benefits that we will achieve with yoga
Keep in mind that it is true that with yoga we achieve other things on a physical level that we will review below. In spite of everything, it is necessary that we bear in mind that in a normal session of yoga, a normal person usually burns an average of 280 calories, compared to 500 or 600 that can be consumed in a normal session of any aerobic activity.
For this reason, yoga is an activity that will help us to achieve a better muscular and joint state, at the same time that it will help us to relieve tension and unblock points in our body. But it is not an appropriate activity when it comes to burning calories and losing weight. It is an aid and a complementary activity, but it is not the main one if we want to lose weight.
To this must be added the balance that we are going to find when performing this type of exercise since it will help us to control our body much better and know it in depth. In addition, it will help us to eliminate part of the stress that we have in our day today. This will also help us to control the anxiety that many times appears in our life.
By controlling anxiety and feeling better through yoga, we will also be able to control our diet more and avoid excessive food intake, which in the long run will make us gain weight and avoid losing weight. For this reason, yoga, although it does not serve directly as a tool to lose weight, will help us feel better and achieve greater balance when it comes to maintaining our perfect weight.
