Shed Those Extra Pounds And Tone That Body With Yoga
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010There are many different reasons for doing yoga. Connecting with our inner self, reducing stress, enjoying “personal time”… and to get that tone yoga body! If yoga is new to you, you may just think of it as stretches. Several friends of mine have said this to me. However there’s a lot more to yoga than you may think. If shedding some extra weight and keeping it off sounds like a good benefit, then taking some yoga classes is your best bet. Here’s why:
1. If you have motivation issues, like myself, once you get in class, you’re committed! Most classes are 1 – 11/2 hours long and yes, you do have the option of leaving, but why would you want to waste your money? Compare that to exercising on your own, where you can stop at any time. Of course you should practice safely and take breaks when needed, but being surrounded by everyone else pushing through it is great motivation to continue.
2. When you do yoga you’re working your muscles and doing cardio at the same time. Forget sweating your ass off at the treadmill, then grunting your way though lifting heavy weight. Yoga is the all-in-one workout. When you have more muscles, you actually burn more calories when you’re resting!
3. Stretching even elongates your muscles which also helps you to have a leaner body. After practicing yoga regularly, you even start to feel a difference in your posture. You can actually feel taller when you start doing some more advanced spine stretches.
4. Quicker results in fewer workouts has been my experience. If you practice 2 -3 sessions a week for a month, you WILL see and feel results like you never have before if this is your first yoga venture. The heart-pumping and toning postures have that effect. Just make sure you take a somewhat challenging class for your level and always listen to your body to avoid injury.
5. Be conscious of what you eat. This one is tricky if you go home after a yoga session and eat half a pizza, you’ll just undo all the good that was done. It can be a scary challenge making big changes to your eating habits. Yoga will help you with this because it will teach you to unite the body and the mind. If you set your intention beforehand to eat healthier and really visualize feeling great during your meditation, you’ll find it to be a more natural change.
Not sure where to start? Firstly you’ll need a thick yoga mat and yoga mat bag. There may be free classes in your area as some studios offer them periodically. Also check out your local YMCA or YWCA.
