10 Yoga Poses To Jump Start Weight Loss

Yoga is an excellent way to get your body used to daily fitness. A few years and 100 pounds ago, it was 30-day yoga challenges and home fitness workouts that helped me build and establish the fitness routine that I have to this day. Daily yoga helped me get used to moving my body regularly and added to the foundation of my fitness lifestyle. Yoga challenges especially, had me trying a variety of different yoga poses and pushed me to try poses that were outside of my comfort zone.

You might be thinking, but wait, isn’t yoga a relaxing activity? And yes, different types of yoga can be very relaxing. However, there are other types of yoga that will have you working up a sweat and burning some calories. Including yoga into your daily routine will help you to build lean muscle, improve flexibility, and overall, help you drop pounds.

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Weight Loss and Yoga

Yoga for fitness can have incredible effects on your mental health, as well as your physical health. Yoga is well-known for reducing stress. Lowering your stress also lowers your cortisol levels. Cortisol is largely known as the “stress hormone” that causes weight gain. Naturally lowering your cortisol levels will help you to naturally lose weight.

That being said, it is important that you treat your yoga practice as a workout in order to take advantage of any weight loss. Casually moving through yoga poses will help increase flexibility and lower stress, but it won’t raise your heart rate or have you burning many calories.

Ready to add some yoga to your life and jump-start your weight loss? Check out below my collection of yoga poses that will have you sweating and building lean muscle. Your goal is to hold each pose for at least 15 seconds, and for at least 5 seconds, allow yourself to relax into any discomfort you may feel while holding the pose. The poses will become easier over time as your flexibility grows.

Yoga Poses For Weight Loss

Plank

High plank is a great foundation pose as it targets so many areas of the body. It is a great pose for strengthening and tightening your core, your shoulders, back, and booty.

When performing a plank ensure that your hands are underneath your shoulders and that your core is engaged. Be conscious of your hips and not to let them dip down toward the floor. Pretend you are balancing a glass of water on your back and you don’t want to let it spill.

Start with holding a high plank for 15 seconds and work on adding an extra 5 seconds every few days. It will feel uncomfortable but challenge yourself to breathe deeply into the discomfort. Work towards holding a plank for a full minute!

Downward Dog

Down dog is another foundational yoga pose. It will strengthen your back, arms, shoulders, core and hamstrings.

When doing down dog make sure that your head is between your shoulders and that your shoulders are relaxed. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed amongst your fingers, and press your palms into the floor. Elongate your back, and raise your hips towards the sky. Don’t worry about reaching your heels to the ground, breathe deeply and you’ll get there over time.

Hold this pose for at least 15 seconds and gradually increase the time spend in the pose.

Runners Lunge

Runners lunge will strengthen your legs and build lean muscle.

When in runners lunge make sure that your knee is placed above your ankle with your hands on either side of your foot. Straighten your back leg, lift your hips and focus on keeping your core tight. Don’t overstretch! Focus on your breath and holding good form.

Hold runners pose for 15 seconds when starting out and increase time spent in the pose. Repeat each leg twice.

Warrior II

Warrior II is another total body pose. This pose will tone your legs, core, arms and shoulders.

Similar to runners lunge, it is important to keep your knee placed above your ankle and your hips facing toward the wall. Keep your chest up and your shoulders relaxed and away from your ears. Center your body above your hips and extend your arms in front and behind you. Hold the pose for 15 seconds breathing deeply through any discomfort.

Repeat pose on both sides.

Chair Pose

Chair pose is a great pose for working your whole body in one easy pose. It strengthens and tightens your legs, booty, and core.

When in chair pose ensure that your knees do not push past the end of your toes. Drop your bottom as if you are truly going to sit on a chair. Keep your chest raised and eyes looking ahead of you. Extend your arms above your head. It is important to keep your core tight and your back straight. Focus on creating straight lines with your body.

Begin holding chair pose in 15 second increments, slowly building your stamina.

Side Plank

Side plank will build up strength in your shoulders, arms and core.

Keeping your core tight in side plank will help you to maintain your balance in this pose. If you need extra stability place your top leg slightly behind you for extra balance. Keep your balancing hand on the floor directly underneath your shoulder. When extending your arm above your head do your best to create a straight line. If that pose feels really challenging, come down to your forearm and do the pose from there.

This pose will definitely have you working up a sweat!

Warrior III

Warrior III is one of my favorite yoga poses. It took me a little while to master this pose but it has become a favorite over time. This yoga pose is excellent for building lean leg muscles and building a firm booty.

The most important thing to remember when performing warrior III is to maintain a flat back. Focus on lengthening your spine and keeping your hips facing the floor. Your arms can be extended in front of you, behind you, or brought to your chest in prayer.

This move will challenge you! Try holding the pose for 10 seconds and slowly increase as your balance improves.

Forearm Plank

Forearm plank is very similar to high plank but this pose is all about engaging your core.

Focus on keeping your abs tight and your hips lifted above the ground. Don’t allow your back to curve, use your core muscles to keep your back straight. Ensure your elbows are under your shoulders and away from your ears.

Hold this pose for 15 seconds!

Half Moon

Half moon will tighten and tone your whole body.

To get into half-moon begin in warrior III and bring your hands down to meet the floor. Once you have established your balance, slowly twist to the side and open your chest up to the wall. Bring your arm that isn’t balancing you up as high as you can while still maintaining good form and balance. This pose is supposed to be challenging! Allow yourself to be a beginner and enjoy this pose.

Boat

Boat is probably one of the best yoga poses for core strength.

When you are practicing boat pose make sure that your back is straight. If keeping your back straight means that you can’t extend your legs, that’s okay! Start with your feet flat on the floor and knees bent. Slowly raise your feet, keeping your back straight and your chest up. Raise and extend your legs over time and as your core strengths and builds muscle.

Building a yoga practice takes time and effort. To build muscle, lose weight, and see results, you need to show up on your mat on a daily basis. Have patience with yourself and your practice and you will see the results!

Looking for more yoga posts? Check out these!

• Easy Yoga Poses For Runners
• Yoga Playlist For An Uplifting Practice
• How To Start A Home Yoga Practice
• 31 Days Of Yoga