Yoga for burning calories is a series of postures and breathing exercises to aid in weight loss. Yoga is a philosophy that enables you to re-establish the connection among your body, mind, and soul. While this is the actual goal of yoga, in the current era many people practice Yoga [the right word would be Asanas] for the physical benefits they offer. Since you can put together the Asanas into whole body workout sessions, the results they deliver are, indeed, inspiring with an average calorie burn of 500 calories an hour.
Before we look at some of the yoga poses, Pranayama, and Mudra that could boost calorie burning, here is a quick idea of how many calories you can burn in a typical Yoga class!
How many calories can you burn in a 60-Minute Yoga session?
For a 35-year-old woman, who is 5 feet 4 inches tall, this would be the approximate calorie burn per 60 minutes. These figures are just approximate and indicative as it can vary from person to person.
- Hatha Yoga: 200 calories/hour
- Gentle Hatha Vinyasa: 300 – 350 calories/hour
- Ashtanga Yoga: 350 – 400 calories/hour
- Power Yoga: 350 – 400 calories/hour
- Bikram Yoga: 450 – 500 calories/hour
- Advance Vinyasa Yoga: 550 – 600 calories/hour
Yoga for Burning Calories – 5 Poses
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana – Downward Facing Dog
Adho Mukha Svanasana is the first pose in the Yoga for burning calories series. Start in Table Top pose, stacking your wrists under your shoulders. Separate your knees as wide as your hips. Roll your shoulders back and away from your ears. Neutralize your spine.
Inhale and lift your hips to the ceiling. Straighten your hands without locking the elbows. As you exhale, engage the abdominal muscles. Activate your legs, pushing the heels down to the floor. Squeeze the muscles of your buttock. Allow the head to hang down between the arms, as close to the floor as possible.
Keep lengthening the spine, drawing the shoulders down to bring the shoulder blades together. Keeping the activation in your legs, abdomen, and glutes, hold the Asana for the next 15 breaths.
2. Virabhadrasana I – Warrior I
Complete Adho Mukha Svanasana. Take two rounds of breath. Virabhadrasana is the next in the yoga for burning calories series.
Press the palms firmly into the floor. Inhale and lift your right leg to the ceiling, toes facing down. Close your hips. As you exhale, place your right foot between the palms. Bend your right knee, stacking it over the right ankle. Lower your hips in such a way that your right thigh comes parallel to the floor, but without forcing the right knee to move over the ankle. Keep the left foot firmly on the floor.
Inhale and lift your arms to the ceiling, joining the palms at your heart center. Engage the abdominal muscles, activate your legs, and lengthen your spine. Exhale here and pull your navel towards your spine.
Inhaling again, elongate your spine. Exhale and gently lean backward, opening your chest as your roll your shoulders down. Gaze up. Breathing deeply, hold the Asana for the next fifteen breaths.
3. Kumbhakasana – Plank Pose
Complete Virabhadrasana I. As you exhale, place your palms on either side of your right foot. Tuck your back toes. As you exhale, walk the right foot back to place it next to the left one. Keep the toes tucked. Inhale, lengthen the spine through the neck, leaning the torso forward.
Engage your core muscles and activate all the muscles of your body. Make necessary adjustments to bring your whole body into a straight line, parallel to the floor. Gaze forward to keep your neck neutral. Keep your elbows straight, aligning it with your wrists and shoulders. This is Kumbhakasana , the third pose in the yoga for burning calories series.
Hold the Asana for the next fifteen breaths.
4. Dhanurasana – Bow Pose
Next in the yoga for burning calories series is Dhanurasana. Complete the Plank Pose. At the end of the fifteenth exhalation, gently lie down on the floor on your belly. Stretch out the legs, tops of your feet resting on the floor. Stretch out your arms backward. Rest the forehead on the floor.
Inhale, bend your knees and bring them as close to the buttocks as possible. Exhale and hold your ankles with respective palms. Hold your ankles from outside.
Taking a slow, deep inhalation, lift your forehead and torso until the lower abdomen from the floor. Simultaneously pull your heels away in an attempt to straighten your legs. Hold the Asana for the next fifteen breaths.
At the end of fifteen breaths, gently release the legs. Place the palms on either side of the chest. Tuck your toes. Taking an inhalation, push the palms into the floor and get into Downward Facing Dog.
Repeat the cycle to practice Virabhadrasana I on your left side.
Downward Facing Dog – Warrior I [L] – Plank – Bow Pose
One set on each side, right and left, completes one round of this small Vinyasa. Repeat the same Vinyasa five to seven times to experience the calorie burning.
5. Surya Namaskara – Sun Salutations
Surya Namaskara is one of the most effective exercise in the yoga for burning calories series. In Surya Namaskara there are 12 yoga poses performed in sequence on either side. It can be done at a pace of your choice. While the slow-paced on is more meditative in nature, a fast-paced version could help burn calories. Here are the twelve poses.
- Pranamasana
- Hasta Uttanasana
- Padahastasana
- Ashwa Sanchalanasana
- Parvatasana
- Ashtanga Namaskara
- Bhujangasana
- Parvatasana
- Ashwa Sanchalanasana
- Padahastasana
- Hasta Uttanasana
- Pranamasana
Two sets – one on the right (12) and one on the left (12) – completes one round of Surya Namaskara. Start with three rounds when you are learning the practice and then increase it up to 15 rounds [30 times].
Yoga for burning calories – Pranayama
Bhastrika for Burning Calories
Various Pranayama techniques could help in enhancing the calorie burn, thereby promoting weight reduction. While Kapalbhati is often advised for weight loss, Bhastrika is known to accelerate calorie burn.
Sit down in a comfortable seated posture. Place a cushion or folded a blanket under your buttocks to elevate your hips so that your spine remains erect. Rest your palms on your knees, palms facing the ceiling. Bring the tips of index and thumb be in contact. Close your eyes and practice a couple of deep breaths, through the nose, to relax your body and mind.
Take a deep inhalation and breathe out, forcefully, through the nose. Without pausing, continue your forceful inhalation and exhalation cycles. Allow your abdomen to expand completely during the inhalation. Let the muscles of the abdomen contract into the ribcage as you exhale.
Continue breathing, in the same way, 15 times to complete one round. Take three rounds of deep breaths through your nose. Relax and breathe normally for a couple of times before resuming the practice. Aim to practice three such rounds of 15 breaths each.
Once you are comfortable, increase the number of exhalations and inhalations to 27 and then to 108 per round to reap the maximum benefits of the Bhastrika practice.
Yoga for burning calories – Mudra
Surya Mudra to Burn Calories
The Mudra practice increases the fire element within the body. Fire, or Agni, is essential to burn calories.
Sit down in a comfortable seated position where you can keep your spine erect without rounding your back for the next 30 minutes. Stretch out your arms and rest your palms on your knees. Allow the palms to face the ceiling.
Bend your ring finger inward and rest the tip of the finger at the base of your thumb. Exert a gentle pressure on your ring finger with the thumb. Stretch the index, middle, and little fingers comfortably. Close your eyes and practice the Surya Mudra for next 30 minutes.
Tips: Always practice this Mudra early in the morning on an empty stomach. Never practice this Mudra if you have a high fever.
Incorporating a healthy diet into your lifestyle along with a powerful Yoga Asana, Pranayama, and Mudra practice could help in boosting the calorie burn. Try them today and feel the difference.
This completes the yoga for burning calories series.