13 Yoga Asanas for Weight Loss

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13 Yoga Asanas for Weight Loss

1. Wide-Legged Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana)

Traditionally, your hands should be touching the floor in front of you in this pose, but we like the extra shoulder stretch!

Spread your feet 3-4 feet apart, and bend forward at the HIPS, not the waist.  This means that your back should be as straight as possible when you bend, and you should not simply “hunch” forward.

If you’re bending properly, you will actually feel a strong stretch in the hamstrings.  Practice in front of the mirror to try to get the correct form.

Hold for 5-6 breaths. If you feel comfortable enough, clasp the hands behind the back.  Try to bring them up towards the ceiling to give the arms and shoulders an extra stretch.

lunge asana for weight loss

2. Lunge (Anjaneyasana)

This is one of the best poses for stretching the hips.  Many people tend to have tight hips from sitting in front of a computer all day.  It will also help increase your flexibility for the splits, if that happens to be one of your goals.

Keep in mind that your hands can be wherever you want them to be in this asana, and their location often determines what muscles you are stretching.

If you raise the arms up and tilt them backwards, you will bring this stretch into the back as well as the hips.  You can also bring the arms down to your sides and behind you a bit to stretch the lower back.  The third option is to rest them on the knee in front of you, although you won’t get as deep of a stretch in the hips.

Make sure your front knee is as close to 90 degrees as possible.

Hold for 30 seconds, and repeat on the other side.

3. Half Boat Pose (Ardha Navasana)

This is a great yoga asana for weight loss, because it directly works the tummy!  You’ll feel your ab muscles working hard as you try to hold this pose.

Put your palms down on the ground for balance, and raise the legs first.  When you feel stable enough, raise the arms so that they are parallel with the ground.

If you feel that this is too “easy,” try increasing the space between your knees and chest by leaning back a little and moving the knees a little farther away from you.  You should feel your abs burning if you’re doing it right!

Hold for 30 seconds.

If you feel comfortable in this pose, try straightening the legs for an extra challenge.  This is full boat pose, and it is much more difficult to balance in.

Source: avocadu.com

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