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Fat Burning Yogas for Weight Loss for Beginners and Busy People

woman using body tape measure while measuring her waist

Not once we have seen busy people struggling to maintain an active yoga routine. Some have even written to us for input on how to maintain a healthy work-yoga balance, that why we have prepared this piece. Here, we have recommended poses that will help you reach your weight loss goals without sacrificing your work. Keep reading to learn more!

But before we take you through these poses, it worth mentioning that the more you get into more challenging poses, the easier it will be for you to burn more calories hence transforming your body the quickest. 

Now let’s dive into what you came here for: yoga poses for weight loss.

Tree Pose

woman doing yoga near trees

Tree pose lets you test your balance. During this pose, tighten your abdominal muscles to stabilize your body and focus on drawing your balance from your core. 

Start this pose with your hands together at your heart and your feet shoulder-width apart. Gradually bring your left foot up to rest as high up on your right thigh as possible.  Make sure your hips are stacked below your shoulders and your feet. When you find your balance, slowly move your hands straight up in the air for more of a challenge.

Once you bring your left foot up to rest, hold for 30 seconds, and repeat on the other side before shifting to Half Forward Bend. 

Half Forward Bend

half forward bend

This pose is ideal for your hips, back, and hamstrings. To practice it correctly it is vital to keep the following in mind:

Concentrate on bending your lower back. You can do this by drawing your navel up towards your spine and essentially as you bend forward. Your torso needs to be elongated a bit by arching your back and pushing your butt out. Doing this will help create a “straight back” position. Hold for 30 seconds before shifting to Upward-Facing Dog.

Note that your back might remain bent depending on how flexible you are. If you do everything right, you will feel an intense stretch in your hamstrings. 

Upward Facing Dog

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana – Upward Facing Dog

This pose is best known to provide a great stretch for the back. To start, lie on your chest with your arms bent and your hands flat on the ground.  Gradually push up until your hands are straight below your shoulders. While doing this, lift the knees and hips up off the ground. 

At this time, the tops of your feet and the palms of your hands should be the only parts of the body touching the ground.

It is ok to lean back into the shoulders slightly to increase the stretch in the back, but make sure not to overdo because you will fatigue yourself before the 30 seconds elapse. 

Once the 30 seconds are up, proceed boat pose.

Boat Pose

Naukasana

Although boat pose can sometimes be challenging, it is suitable for the abs. In case you find it challenging, try bending the knees. 

Start by keeping your back as straight as possible, draw your strength to hold this pose from the core. We encourage you to try keeping your arms straight and your hands on either side of the knees.

To stay balanced, focus your gaze on your feet or the wall and hold for 30 seconds.

Revolved Side Angle Pose

Parivrtta Parsvakonasana

Are you crazily looking to open up your hips? This pose won’t let you down. It also takes a lot of work from the abdominal and quadriceps muscles. 

Start in plank pose on your toes with your palms on the floor straight beneath your shoulders.  Gradually step your left foot forward as you lift your right hand, and position your foot where your right hand was.

Now reach your right hand up over your head to form a straight line with your torso and left leg. If you cannot reach the ground securely with your left hand, use a yoga block or other props.

Lift your gaze upward to surge the stretch and hold for 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Goddess Pose

Goddess Pose

This is yet another excellent hip opener, and it can be an intense workout for glutes and quadriceps. Start when your feet are 3 1/2 – 4 feet apart. Then gradually sink into the stretch and work on toward getting low enough so that your knees are at a 90° angle.

Now concentrate on pushing the hips forward to increase the stretch in your hips. While at this position, gradually pulse up and down for 30 seconds. If you do everything right, you feel it in your quadriceps and hips.

Triangle Pose

Triangle Pose

Triangle pose is one of those poses that looks easy but requires strength and flexibility to get it right. It is suitable for hips and hamstrings.

Begin by stepping the right foot out, about four feet from the right. Your right foot should be well angled (see the above picture) and the left toe pointed straight out. 

Then slowly reach your left hand down to the ground close to your left heel.  If you cannot securely reach the floor, it is ok to use a yoga block.

Your right hand must be pointed towards the ceiling as well as your gaze to increase the stretch.  Do everything possible to keep your right hip stacked over your left. Note that this will require a lot of flexibility in the hamstrings and hips.

Again, hold for 30 seconds, and repeat on the other side before shifting to the next pose.

Warrior III Pose

Warrior III Pose

Many newbies find this pose a bit challenging, but once they get the hang of it, they really enjoy practicing it.

Begin by raising your arms over your head first for balance. Then gradually lift your leg up in the air.  Initially, you are likely to get your leg up about halfway, and that is ok. With time, if you keep on practicing, you will be able to get your leg in the right position.

Warrior III pose requires more concentration to balance. So, focus your gaze on a spot on the floor and hold it while you concentrate on flattening your body.

Again, hold for 30 seconds, then repeat it on the other side.

Half Moon Pose

Half Moon Pose

Half moon pose is not a simple pose. It is quite challenging and requires you to continue practicing to master it. You may need a yoga block if you have trouble reaching the floor.

Start by keeping your leg up and then gradually reach your left hand down towards the floor. It is ok to reach both hands down to the floor to gain balance. 

Once confident you have the right balance, slowly reach your right arm up towards the ceiling while twisting your torso and your right foot out.

Note that this pose requires a lot of concentration to balance, so make sure to focus on the wall or floor while you practice. Again, hold for 30 seconds and then repeat it for the other side.

To complete a single cycle of all those poses, you roughly need five minutes. This is time you can create even when running on a tight schedule. If you decide to perform all of them 3x over to complete a full workout, you will need about 15 minutes which are easy to spare. Are 15 minutes to much time to spare per day? 

How much weight can you lose by doing yoga?

As a matter of fact, the amount of weight one loses doing yoga vary from one person to the other and depending on other factors such as your lifestyle, the poses you are practicing, your diet, etc.

Conclusion

Yes, doing yoga contributes greatly to weight loss, but it worth noting that you need to go beyond doing yoga to achieve your goals. That means paying attention to your diet, how often your workout, poses you are actively doing, your lifestyle, etc. Otherwise, it will be challenging to get the desired result by just focusing on only doing yoga.