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Yoga: Good for burning fat too!

Posted on Nov 3rd 2006 1:55PM by Martha Edwards

Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness

I hate, with a passion, lifting weights at the gym. It bores me, and try as I might to convince myself that it will do me good, I can never get muster the motivation to pump iron. I've always thought of Yoga as my strengthening exercise, because although I've been downward dogging it for over 2 years now, I still get really sore muscles after an intense class. I've heard from sources that Yoga is no substitute for weight lifting, but apparently asthanga (aka power) yoga can burn fat just as well, in addition to reducing stress and improving both mood and endurance. I believe it -- I have developed a lot of all-over body strength since I took up the practice.

It should be mentioned that traditional Yoga is more of a spiritual practice than a body-toner, but I think it's great that you can achieve both in one activity.

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Tags: burning fat, BurningFat, yoga, yoga for weight loss, YogaForWeightLoss

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Welding 11-03-2006 @ 4:46PM

Better way to stay thin is to keep your tonus right any methods

Howie Jacobson, PhD 11-03-2006 @ 4:27PM

It's great that you're getting away from the gym - machines and treadmills do much more harm than good, even though they're considered the default way to get a good workout.

Once you discover yoga, martial arts, and just plain playing outside, you're never go back to isolated movements, separated mind/body, and social isolation workouts again.

Here's another mindset shift that will liberate you to choose the activities that provide the greatest fitness and happiness returns for you:

We don't exercise to lose weight or burn fat. Instead, we consume the number of calories required to fuel our activities, and we work out to achieve higher levels of fitness, and because it's enjoyable.

Exercising for weight loss is like driving your car just to empty the tank. It's backwards, it means you have to spend much more time exercising than true fitness demands, and it means you'll always be chasing something that's not achievable.

If you want to lose weight, switch to a whole-foods, plant-based diet. It's our ancestral diet, and the one we're naturally calibrated to be healthy and lean on.
Then you can exercise - whether running, yoga, break dancing, freeze tag, ballet, Ultimate Frisbee, or rock climbing - for the pure joy of movement.