Yoga Practice For Positive Body Image And Weight Loss

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Thursday, 18 May 2023

Written by Himanshu Joshi

Yoga Practice For Positive Body Image And Weight Loss

Amidst the chaos and rush of today’s urban life, the ancient practice of the art of yoga is trending and gaining immense popularity as a form of fitness regimen and spiritual bonding.

Be it right at your mat at home, a beachside, mountain or an ashram in India, or anywhere across the globe, the benefits of practicing yoga extend far and wide and are multifold and amazing to know! Physically, mentally and spiritually – the benefits of practicing yoga extend to all of these aspects to create a holistic healing for the body, mind and soul. Read on to explore more of such amazing and surprising benefits of practicing yoga related to weight loss and fitness.

Mirroring positive body image

Yoga allows you to embrace your inner beauty and appreciate yourself for who you are. You may be surprised to find yoga studios not really having any mirrors, and such yoga studios can be considered as focusing on providing authentic yoga teaching. Yoga focuses on the inner beauty rather than outward appearance. Not having any mirrors allows you to focus on your inner being and not easily get distracted by how you look while performing a pose or how others around you look. As opposed to body shaming , the practice of yoga lets you become more aware of your body and mind and you begin to appreciate your body more than being critical of it. Thus, yoga is very helpful in case of treating eating disorders and develops a positive body image and self-confidence.

Weight loss and maintenance

By practicing yoga, you become a mindful eater, and it helps in not becoming overweight, and for those who are overweight, practicing yoga helps shed those extra pounds. With the regular practice of yoga, a positive relationship is established between food and eating on account of mindful eating. From the view of asanas, researchers have found that practicing yoga asanas for a minimum of 30 minutes once per week and doing so continuously for a span of 4 years showed a tendency to gain lesser weight by the phase of middle adulthood. Weight loss was also seen amongst the obese population practicing yoga regularly. As compared to non practitioners of yoga, practitioners showed lower BMIs (Body mass indexes). Such results can be attributed to the practice of mindful eating and strong mentality to have discipline in choosing of food and practicing yoga asanas regularly adopted through yoga practice.

The regular practice of yoga establishes a solid fitness regimen and improves the exercising capacity of the individual. A small group under research showed non practitioners of yoga post 8 weeks of regular practice portraying greater muscle strength and stamina, flexibility, resistance power and cardio-respiratory fitness. One of the practical benefits of practicing yoga is the following of the ‘early to bed and early to rise’ regimen as part of your daily habit which encourages a healthy way of living. Your body feels better prepared for the day and your mind feels absolutely refreshed and ready to welcome the day with enthusiasm and vigour. A great stress buster and a far better alternative to anti-depressant tablets , yoga offers a natural therapy for stress and anxiety related issues as well.

Cardiovascular health

For those suffering from hypertension, the practice of yoga helps lower blood pressure, thus reducing cardiovascular risk factors. In addition, the benefits of practicing yoga include improving lipid profile, lowering excessive blood sugar levels in case of patients suffering from non-insulin dependent diabetes.

Safety practices during yoga

Considering the innumerable life-changing benefits of practicing yoga, and to learn more on how to practice yoga safely, what precautions to take , and so on, join a quality yoga program such as yoga teacher training conducted by renowned yoga schools recognised by Yoga Alliance such as Himalayan Yoga Association situated right in the beautiful birthplace of yoga – Rishikesh. Wait no more and begin your divine yogic journey today!