Q: CAN I LOSE WEIGHT BY PRACTISING YOGA?
A: Did you know that the #1 Question asked of the London Yoga instructors we surveyed was this. Weight loss is a small benefit from practising yoga, but not a key outcome. Increased exercise will help control weight and even reduce over time but the key to weight loss is bursts of high-intesity activity.
Yoga students often sweat during classes or practice and this results in the impression of weight loss but this will return as soon as you hydrate. If you are really looking for weight loss as one of your Yoga goals build upto a high intensity style such as Ashtanga Yoga or Hot Bikram Yoga (again differentiate between temporary water loss and real weight reduction).
Training tip: after yoga jog for 5minutes then sprint for 30 seconds at 80% of your full speed, jog for 30 seconds, sprint for 30 seconds – repeat until you have completed 5 sprints then warm down by jogging for 5minutes and walking for 5minutes. This ‘sprint pattern’ follow up to a yoga session is the best formula we have found!