Fast or slow, yoga’s the way to weight loss

June 6, 2017 Ashley 0 Comments

With all those sloth speed transitions, yoga posin’ doesn’t seem like an ideal weight loss tool.

(“Seriously? How’s this burning more calories than sofa surfing while gorging “Parks ‘n Rec”?”)

But, according to research studies, it can do exactly that.

Now, we’ve already touched before on how yoga can help you lose weight in the long run. (Hold on… lemme find the link… Ah! There it is.) The poses help limber you up to make your workouts easier. The difficulty aids in mental strength to keep you on your quest. The calming effect helps you make better lifestyle choices in general (off the mat) that make for massive weight loss. In that way, yoga’s kind’ve an investment. It’s like a an anti-virus for your brain when the day’s anxiety inducing triggers have riddled it with the kind’ve thought processes that lead you to make bad decisions. (Like ordering slimy noodles from Happy Family instead’ve cooking… Or giving the gym the finger as you speed past it… Or going to sleep late which raises your fat-inducing cortisol levels before drinking sugary coffee tomorrow to compensate for your wake-lessness.) When you delve into this peaceful practice, you’re not battling anything any longer – so wadding up into a ball of stress eating and de-motivation’s no longer a factor.

This, we’ve learned.

But, apparently, yoga can burn calories in a more immediate way, as well. According to studies done on practices with a more rapid asana transition, you can actually rev your metabolic rate on the mat. And just how much can you stand to lose? Well, the fitness researchers pitted two groups against one another. Each group was tasked with a series of sun salutations. However, one group was asked to move from pose to pose every twelve seconds, while the other was asked to move into successive poses within a mere three seconds. And what was the caloric disparity?

1.5 times the calorie blasting for the speedier group.

(“My practice so fat blastingly fast I look like a Hindu gawd.”)

So, what’s the takeaway?

Is it to take away the serene part of yoga – for the sake of slimming down? Not necessarily. You may not be eating much cake when it comes to weight loss, but with yoga you can have your cake and eat it too. And the best recipe for that might be to start your day out with a short (but slow and grounding) practice – to plant a peaceful tone deep at your gooey center and guide your day. Then, later on, during your cardio time, maybe employ this quicker practice as the perfect dynamic warmup for your cardio or strengthening routine. That, or use it as a cool down.

Either way, the story’s moral’s the same:

Whether it’s quick, slow, or both – be sure to add some asanas to your weight loss path.

Because every method’s a nearly effortless way to fire fat from your body.