7 Effective Yoga Postures for Weight Loss: Target Your Abdomen and Legs

Cardio is important for burning fat, but contrary to popular belief, cardio is not the only exercise to lose weight and must be accompanied by toning exercises to achieve the best results. In this sense, yoga is perfect for toning and losing stubborn areas such as the abdomen and legs. For this, there are yoga postures to lose weight in the legs and abdomen. We tell you everything below.

Yoga postures to lose weight

Yoga can be the main focus of training or be a complement to cardio, running, or weight-lifting exercises, among others.

In addition to strengthening, The practice combines both aerobic and anaerobic resistance so it is a very complete exercise.

In the yoga postures to lose weight or donkey abdominal area is active practically throughout the exercise and in almost all positions. Some yoga postures to lose weight combine core work with the legs, in addition to strengthening other muscles.

1. Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

The mountain pose is perfect for activating circulation and warming up the body before the most intense yoga session.

Standing with your back straight, chest forward, and feet slightly apart, inhale and raise your arms in a cross, palms facing upward above your head. Hold the pose for 20-30 seconds and exhale.

2. Hands to Feet Pose (Padahastasana)

From the Tadasana posture, you bend your trunk forward and if you can reach it, place your hands under the soles of your feet. If you can’t reach it, you can hold the big toe. In yoga, breathing is essential, so inhale as you hold your hands up and exhale as you bend. Hold the posture for 60 seconds and repeat the sequence about 10 times.

During this exercise, the abdomen keeps you activated and compressed, and therefore, abdominal fat is burned.

*Precautions: This position is not indicated for pregnant women or people with back problems.

3. Sun Salutation Pose (Surya Namaskar)

This is one of the best-known postures in yoga, but carrying it out correctly is not easy. Among the benefits of this Yoga posture made up of 12 steps are weight loss, facilitating the expulsion of toxins from the body, and also helping to maintain healthy skin.

• Starting by performing a sun salutation, we stretch our arms and legs, curving our back backward, and then move on to the Padahastasana posture.
• We rest one knee on the floor with the leg straight while we rest the weight of the body on the other bent leg.
• We move on to stretch both legs and make the entire body weight rest on the stretched arms and on the balls of the feet.
• From this step, we flex both arms and legs and rest our forehead on the floor or yoga mat.
• We return to the previous position but this time resting our legs on the floor and arching our back.
• From here we support the palms of the feet and hands forming a triangle.
• We rest one knee on the ground again and perform the first 4 steps in reverse.

Sun salutation should be performed several times at the beginning of the day to provide all the necessary health benefits.

4. Wind Release Pose (Pavanamuktasana)

This posture helps improve conditions such as constipation and various gastric problems, thus helping to relieve stomach bloating.

Lying on your back, hold both knees on your chest with your hands and hold for more than a minute, this way you will be burning fat in the area. Remember to inhale as you begin the pose and exhale as you hold it.

*Precautions: This position is not indicated for pregnant women or people with back or cardiovascular problems.

5. The Boat (Paripurna Navasana)

One of the most complete postures for the legs and abdomen. It requires more resistance, and therefore, the muscles are worked more. With your legs stretched out forming a ‘V’ shape concerning your trunk, stretch your arms forward and hold for more than a minute if you can. Do you want to go further? Rock back and forth like a boat, you will notice the results.

*Precautions: This position is not indicated for pregnant women or people with back or cardiovascular problems.

6. Camel Pose (Ushtrasana)

On your knees, bring your trunk back and touch your ankles with your hands. Inhale as you begin the exercise and exhale as you maintain the posture. It is perfect for toning and stretching both the abdomen and legs. Hold for 60 seconds.

*Precautions: For people with lower back problems or high tension, this exercise is not recommended.

7. The bow (Dhanurasana)

Another complete posture to work the lower extremities and abdominals, in addition to the arms. As the illustration shows, hold at first for 15-30 seconds, then you can increase up to 60 seconds.

Some recommendations

As you will see, the yoga postures to lose weight that we propose are very simple, but there are some recommendations that you should take into account:

• Breathing: To achieve good muscle oxygenation and detoxification, as well as improve concentration, breathing is coordinated with movement. When you start to inhale and when you hold it, exhale. Over time you will get used to it.
• Repetitions: We recommend that you repeat each posture 10 times and do not force the posture if you feel pain.
• Smooth transitions and movements: In yoga, transitions, and movements are smooth, it is better to do the exercises well and feel the body’s reactions. Be careful not to make sudden movements.
• Back alignment: Something essential in yoga is maintaining good spinal alignment. The back should always be straight, and not curved.
• Scope: If you can’t do the full exercise, keep your reach as far as you can. As you practice, you will notice how you take your body into positions you had never thought of, which is very rewarding.

As you can see, yoga postures to lose weight are very easy and will not take you much time. Although at first you may not carry out the donkeys to perfection, With time and practice you will be able to master these yoga postures to lose weight.