Yoga

I’m sure it’s no surprise that yoga can help with weight loss – especially more stamina-driven styles such as hot, power or vinyasa yoga. Breaking a sweat and getting moving is a great way to stay in shape. But did you know that beyond the physical aspects, yoga can also help you manage your waistline? Here are three ways that the regular yoga can help you with staying slim.

1. You will start to have healthier diet habits. With a regular practice of yoga, you begin to develop healthier diet habits inevitably. Not convinced? Well, if you have a hot yoga class after work, you most likely won’t be binging on heavy, rich junk foods beforehand. In fact, you will be making sure that your body is hydrated enough for a good sweat after work! Maybe it won’t happen immediately, but after a bit of trial and error (say, a couple of bad dehydration headaches and feeling nauseous in your downward dog because you’ve over eaten), you’ll surely move towards a healthier diet! :)

2. Your schedule will most likely revolve around your yoga class schedule. Along with a healthier diet, your activities consciously become healthier so you can fit in your yoga class. Regular yoga after work? Then say good bye to that regular calorie-laden happy hour with your colleagues and unnecessary alcohol consumption. Regular morning yoga? Means getting to bed earlier and no more late drunken nights out. Turning down invitations have never been so easy. “Sorry guys, I’ve got my yoga class!” If you want to hang with a yogi, the best time is a healthy time!

3. You will inevitably be less stressed. As the practice of yoga helps you to connect your mind, body and breathe – it naturally calms you down. When we are nervous or anxious, we tend to take quick, shallow breaths. Yoga helps us relax by elongating and deepening our breath. In this way, we are more mindful, aware and less hectic. It prevents us from making rash decisions, such as overloading on alcohol or processed foods. We are less likely to binge eat or eat our emotions. We are more likely to make conscious, healthy choices for our life!

Life is already extremely hectic in itself. Living healthily can be very difficult when our stressful lives take over. We may feel that we don’t have the time or the money to give our bodies what it really needs. However, yoga can help with this by calming our minds and ultimately changing our lifestyles. There is obviously not one solution to living a balanced life, but yoga does the job for many!

I will usually slot in a yoga class per week to balance out with my cardio classes (i.e. spinning & body pump). I don’t deny my aim of going for regular yoga classes is to 1) lose weight, 2) being able to control my emotion (my bad temper particularly) & 3) aid in my back pain. Though I’ve yet to see/feel any visible results on my 3 targeted aims, I believe that with constant yoga practice, I’ll achieve what I desire for, hopefully by the end of my gym membership (: To add on, I only master chaturanga pose (the most common post as per below) after 8 months of yoga practice!!!! It is really not easy for me to do this position i swear, my elbow somehow just can't bend :S

Give YOGA a try and let me know how it feels! (: