What do you think about when you think about weight loss?
I bet “cardio” is the first thing that comes into your mind. Along with an image of long, boring treadmill sessions, or some type of organized aerobics class.
If you’ve been around the fitness world for a while, you might have thought about high intensity interval training, or maybe bootcamps or circuit training.
But I bet you didn’t think about yoga. And I can understand that. Because yoga is sort of a fat loss secret..
Seriously—Yoga for Weight Loss? YES!
Regular yoga practice is actually a great way to kick start your metabolism and build lean muscle tone.
A recent clinical trial — funded by the National Cancer Institute — looked at 15,500 healthy, middle-aged men and women. All of them completed a survey about their physical activity (including yoga) and their weight between the ages of 45 and 55.
Researchers then analyzed the data and factored out diet and other forms of exercise that could trigger weight changes. They discovered that people who were already overweight to begin with lost about 5 pounds on average, simply by doing one 30-minute session of yoga a week!
Meanwhile, those who didn’t practice yoga gained nearly 14 pounds. That’s a 19-pound difference… or the difference between wearing a size 8 dress and a size 12! All from doing a mere half-hour a week of yoga.
And there’s more…
Burn Fat While You Sleep!
Research has also shown that regular yoga practice can give you deeper sleep. And that’s important, because sleep reduces your levels of the hormone cortisol and helps increase your levels of growth hormone.
This is good news, because high cortisol levels cause your body to store fat around your belly. And growth hormone helps you sculpt shapely lean muscle.
Are you ready to give it a try?
How to Get Started Today
Start by adding these three body-reshaping poses to your day — they’re an important part of a full daily yoga fat burning routine.
1. Cat-Cow Pose
This pose tones your core and upper body muscles, and provides badly needed relief if you spend your day sitting at a desk — or your evenings sitting in front of a television!
Begin by kneeling on the floor. Lean forward and place your hands flat on the floor beneath your shoulders, with fingers facing forward. Your hands should be in line with your knees, and arms and thighs should be perpendicular with the floor. Your knees may be together or slightly separated. This is the starting position. (Table)
Inhale while raising your head and depressing your spine so your back becomes concave. Expand your abdomen fully and fill your lungs with the maximum amount of air possible. Exhale while lowering your head and stretching your spine upward.
At the end of the exhalation, contract your abdomen and pull in your buttocks. Your head will now be between your arms, facing your thighs.
2. Bow Pose
This pose tones your belly, improves your posture (which helps you look even slimmer!), and gives your entire upper body a fantastic stretch.
Begin lying face down on the mat. Bend your knees and bring your feet close to your buttocks.
Take the arms behind the body and clasp the hands on the ankles. This is the starting position. On an inhalation, arch your back and simultaneously lift your shoulders and thighs off the ground. This is the final position.
While in the final position, your abdomen should be the only part in contact with the floor. There should be tension in your legs, but the rest of your body should be relaxed. On an exhalation, slowly lower your shoulders and thighs to the ground.
3. Half Moon Pose
This is a great hip extension that also helps stretch your quadriceps. It’s the perfect antidote to those tight hip flexors you get from sitting all day. And when combined with Downward Facing Dog, it’s a heck of a great fat burning sequence too!
Begin on your knees. Inhale and step your right foot forward and bend into your right knee. The knee should be aligned over the right foot. Lift your arms alongside your ears and lock your fingers together, with the index fingers pointing upward. Keep your head in between your elbows and arch your back. This is the final position.
Exhale bring your arms to your sides and shift your weight back so that your right knee comes back under your body next to your left knee. Continue to alternate right and lefts sides.
You Can Burn Fat Even Faster With the Right Combination of Poses
Practicing these yoga fat loss poses every day is a great start.
But they’re only the first step towards the slim, toned, attractive body of your dreams…
If you want to see the greatest possible benefits, you really need to link these movements into a dynamic flow, just like I do every day.
Don’t worry. It’s easy. And it’s fun.
And doing these poses in a flow will put your body right in the fat burning zone!
Next ==> Get your sexiest body ever — without setting foot in a gym