surya namaskar pose

Surya Namaskar Yoga For Weight Loss

Surya Namaskar, also known as Sun Salutation is a common sequence of twelve different ‘asanas’ or body postures.

The technique has been recognized as one of the simplest and most effective methods for losing weight. It dates back to the ancient times, and has also been extensively performed for making the body flexible, fitter and stronger.

According to experts, Surya Namaskar boosts the metabolism which further paves way for building lean and slender muscles. You will hardly find any workout these days that offers results as quick and as effective as this technique. So in case you’re willing to learn more about this method, here’s a complete insight on Surya Namaskar yoga for weight loss.

Studies around Surya Namaskar

Quite recently, a scientific study that looked at obesity in India and effective exercises revealed that this workout not only impacts weight loss, but it also has a significant effect on the throat, heart, chest and intestines. It also improves your leg and stomach movement. So in other words, the Sun Salutation is a complete body workout that keeps you healthy and active, all way round.

The posture of this workout usually ranges from flexing and bending to finally stretching your muscles. While performing this workout, you will also have to rhythmically breathe in and out. This breathing movement too boosts your metabolism and helps in weight loss. Due to the phenomenal benefits that this yoga provides, most yoga experts consider the Sun Salutation workout to be the primary base of yoga.

The idea of power yoga is to offer maximum health benefits under a short life span and Sun Salutation effectively helps in fulfilling this goal. This yoga is also equally beneficial for people who do not manage to catch enough time for regular exercises. So if you have a hectic and really tedious schedule and are looking to lose weight in the lowest possible time, this is one of the best ways to do so.

Like most of the other yoga regimes, Surya Namaskar too has to be performed on a completely empty stomach. It is highly recommended by experts to keep an interval of about 2 hours between practicing the yoga and eating.

Although you can perform this yoga at any time throughout the day, the ideal time would be the early mornings. In the ancient times, yoga enthusiasts performed this workout early in the morning, while facing the rising sun, hence the name “Sun Salutations”. So if you manage to do the same, you can get a similar slender frame and flexible body.

With Surya Namaskar Yoga for weight loss you also get an opportunity to align your body, soul and your mind. The twelve different body postures have to be performed rhythmically in a proper sequence. You will also have to ensure that the postures are perfectly synchronized with your breathing.

What Are The Basics Of Surya Namaskar?

Before you actually proceed with the sun salutation workout, you will first have to understand the basics. Whether you are a beginner in yoga exercises, or an experienced performer, these basic guidelines will definitely help you to achieve the maximum results.

As we all know, sun salutation is a cyclical series of twelve to sixteen yoga poses. In case of all the poses, you will have to perform the same sets consecutively. This means, you will need to have a natural flow from one pose of the yoga to another.

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Likewise, you will also have to adhere to a particular pattern of breathing. This simply deals with inhalation, exhalation, and retention. The series and sequence of the breathing patterns will depend on the type of workout you are performing. However, for most of the cases, you will have to alternate the exhaling and inhaling patterns.

You will also have to calm your mind, concentrate on the movement of your breath, and start proper meditation. The series of yoga will commence and end in the pranamasana or the prayer pose.

Foundation Of Sun Salutation Yoga

In order to use the Surya Namaskar yoga for weight loss, you will have to follow the given guidelines. In the following section we have suggested a couple of steps that needs to be incorporated in your daily regime. Once you do this, losing weight will be simpler and easier.

To begin with, you will first have to learn all the steps that the Sun Salutation yoga is concerned with. There are twelve different poses and in order to lose weight, you will have to perform each of these poses with absolute precision. It is extremely important to understand how to perform Surya Namaskar the right way, if you are really looking out to lose weight. It will hardly take you thirty minutes to an entire hour, if you are looking to complete all the different poses at once.

Besides this, you will also have to perform the steps on a daily basis and at a particular time. When you do this, you get to lose weight faster. In case you’re lacking motivation and are looking to get some more motivation try playing a good and soothing music in the background. The yoga is supposed to soothe your soul, so make sure, you do not play something really loud.

Another thing that you need to do is perform all the steps at a really slow and steady pace. You can be excited to lose weight, but that excitement shouldn’t reflect in your performance. Do not rush as it might have adverse effects on your system. If you are a newbie who has just started to learn the poses of this yoga, it will hardly take you a fortnight to fifteen days to attain perfection in the poses. It will also effectively help you to build better strength and flexibility.

Once you have managed to build ample strength, gradually increase the total number of rounds that you are performing. You can practice the Sun Salutation yoga for six days a week and complete twelve sets of the exercise.

Surya Namaskar Yoga For Weight Loss

Surya Namaskar plays a significant role in helping you to lose weight much like Yogalates. According to studies, about one minute of this sun salutation will help you to burn about 3.79 calories. As we all know, a complete round of Surya Namaskar will take you about three minutes and forty seconds. Therefore, the total numbers of calories that are burnt through one round of this work out are 13.91. The result is likely to vary from one person to another, depending on their body weight and other relevant attributes.

We already know that about one pound of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories. So if you are looking out to reduce one pound every week, you should make it a point to burn 250-500 calories on a daily basis.

About eighteen minutes of the sun salutation will help you to burn 250 calories, about twenty five minutes of the workout will help you to burn 350 calories and about forty minutes of the workout will help you to burn about 500 calories. So if you are really looking out to lose weight, nothing can work better than this workout.

If you are a beginner, who is just getting started with yoga, try performing four rounds of the Surya Namaskar. This will help you to burn about 55 calories. As you perform more rounds of the exercise and get better at it, the count will eventually increase. However, this too will completely depend on the capacity of your mind and body.

It has been found that about twelve rounds of the Sun salutation workout help you to burn about 156 calories. This is equal to one hour of tedious workouts in the gym. There are some yoga experts who even practice about hundred rounds of this exercise in every session. However, they are experienced professionals and as newbie, you should always abstain from overdoing the workout.

The ideal number of Sun Salutation workouts you should perform is completely dependent on your strength, stamina and heart rate. As the postures in this exercise can be eventually improved according to your body type, it can be commenced by any individual who is looking out to get rid of excess calories on the go.

As a beginner, you should complete four rounds of the exercise on your first and second day. From the third and fourth day, try completing six rounds. For the fifth day try completing six rounds and on the sixth day try completing seven rounds. In this way, you should make it a point to complete about fifteen rounds of the exercise on your fourteenth day. This will improve your posture, help you to cut down on calories and also make you fitter and tad more active.

However, if you are a beginner, we would recommend you to perform these exercises under proper and expert supervision. It is only then when you can yield maximum benefits from the workout.

Benefits of Sun Salutation Workouts

Most people, usually women, perform this sun salutation workout in order to boost their metabolism and to decrease their body mass index. The exercise also plays a vital role in increasing the strength of your lower body muscles. Likewise, it also increases your overall endurance.

It has been observed, that a large number women performing this exercise, have experienced a significant reduction in the percentage of their body fat. It is also extremely useful for them as they don’t happen to make out enough time from their busy schedules.

You can also perform this exercise in order to increase the strength in your upper body, particularly in the triceps, deltoids and the pectoralis muscle.

Another remarkable reason why most people perform this exercise is simply because it is a cardiovascular one. In fact, sun salutation is one of the simplest cardio vascular exercises that not only helps you in losing weight but also helps you to burn the excess fat right away. This is a low intensity exercise and it helps you to burn much more fat than the high intensity workouts.

Each pose of the sun salutation workout comes with an individual benefit. For instance, the prayer pose gives you an opportunity to relax. It calms down your soul and helps you to relax after a tedious and hectic day.

The Hasta uttanasana helps you in stretching your core muscles. Likewise, it also makes your back muscles stronger and your posture better. As you stand forward and bend for stretching your hamstrings, your internal organs are automatically massaged.

Likewise, the ashtanga namaskara, the pank, or the pose involving your knees chin and chest plays a vital role in toning your thighs and abs.

Here, the cobra pose is also equally useful as it helps in strengthening your back and arms. At the same time, the downward dog pose plays a significant role in strengthening your chest and arms.

Perform this exercise on a timely manner to enjoy the maximum benefits from it. Also, while performing the exercise, try to practice it in the morning. This is primary because your tummy is empty during the early hours of the dawn and this helps in boosting your metabolism. Yoga experts too suggest about not consuming anything about 4 to 5 hours before you perform surya namaskar yoga for weight loss.

So follow these guidelines and perform this exercise from time to time and enjoy a healthier, slender and slimmer frame like you always wanted to.