Yoga Helps Control Your Weight
Tthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 56 percent of adults fail to get the recommended minimum of 30 minutes of exercise four days a week. “These recommendations,” the CDC stated, “are just the minimum to prevent people from developing chronic diseases.”
The Institute of Medicine then responded: “In order to lose weight, people should double the CDC’s recommendations to 60 minutes of moderate exercise a day.” To which the CDC promptly retorted, “If you really, really want to lose weight, you have to do more than that.”
The CDC most likely hasn’t studied yoga—because although it is rarely categorized as conventional “moderate” exercise, losing weight is entirely possible when yoga is appropriately practiced.
What constitutes “moderate exercise?” According to the CDC, their list includes recommendations such as “playing in a marching band, shoveling snow, and moderate housework such as scrubbing floors, washing windows, and vacuuming.”
Pul-leeze! Who do you know that gets their four-days-a-week of regular exercise from shoveling snow, marching in a band, or intensely washing windows, vacuuming, and scrubbing floors? Given our often hectic and demanding schedules, finding time for exercise is challenging enough. But if we do carve out the time, wouldn’t we rather spend it doing something genuinely relaxing and nurturing?
When we are out of shape, growing older, or managing physical limitations, merely thinking about vigorous exercise can take our breath away.
That is where yoga comes in. We are constantly told it reduces stress, yet for many, the mere thought of forcing oneself into a human pretzel induces cringing. In fact, people who previously tried yoga often disliked it because they felt inflexible, bored, overwhelmed, or turned off by an overly pious atmosphere.
However, yoga styles vary widely. Think of them like automobiles: Any car can take you down the road, but some models get you there more quickly while others get you there safer. Some are easy to drive, while others are complicated while others can be outright dangerous.
When guided by well-educated instructors, yoga can be adapted so that everyone can successfully practice and benefit; from the chronically ill and injured—to couch potatoes—from normally healthy people to world-class athletes.
Yoga is not magical, nor is it inherently difficult, but it does require a degree of discipline. It involves learning over time, how to appropriately practice attainable exercises that encourage the body to move toward homeostasis—nature’s natural equilibrium.
You rarely see overweight animals in the wild. Even when presented with an abundance of food, nature consistently seeks homeostasis. So how exactly does yoga help manage weight?
When practiced appropriately and without forcing, yoga promotes balance throughout the entire body—not just in the skeletal muscles. It works internally to help balance the endocrine system, which exerts a profound influence on metabolism and, ultimately, body weight. In fact, under an appropriate practice, those who are overweight tend to lose weight, while those who are underweight generally gain it.
Appropriately practiced, yoga offers far more than weight management alone. You will sleep better, enjoy enhanced concentration, and handle stress with greater ease. When your time is limited, an appropriate yoga practice simply gives you a whole lot more bang for your buck than conventional exercise.