Hot Yoga Benefits: Weight Loss

January 7, 2017 2:24 pm

Hot Yoga Benefits: Weight Loss

The benefits of hot yoga are many, from increased strength to pain reduction to relaxation. In this special series we’re highlighting 10 of these perks, each separately, to give you more reason than ever to get into the hot room now that 2017 has arrived!

First up is weight loss – an item many of us include among our annual New Year’s Resolutions. Here’s how hot yoga can help you shed those extra pounds:

Calorie burn: Let’s face it – a 90- or 60-minute hot yoga class is a great workout! While research indicates that caloric output may not be as high as originally believed, on average women can expect to burn 330 and men 460 calories per hot yoga class (at maximum effort, of course).

Heat and sweat: Sweating in the hot room can help you to lose weight via the process of detoxification. You see, sweat (along with more water and cleaner food) is one of the simplest ways to purify your insides, and this directly impacts your weight because toxins are stored in your fat cells, causing them to expand.

Strength-building moves: Flexibility may seem to be the main focus, but hot yoga can help you build muscle, too. And this is excellent news when it comes to weight loss: for every three pounds of muscle you gain, you can expect to burn an extra 120 calories a day without moving a single one of those muscles!

Mindful eating: Hot yoga may also lead to weight loss indirectly, by influencing you to make better food choices. When you practise hot yoga, you often become aware of the impact of diet – what you are eating and how much – on your body.

Side effects: The improved quality of sleep and decreased stress levels that are so often experienced as a result of a regular hot yoga practice can also lead to weight loss. (In other words, you may be able to kiss midnight snacking and stress-related eating goodbye!)

There you have it: a breakdown of how hot yoga is beneficial when it comes to losing weight. Next up: increased flexibility.

 

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