Can you lose weight with yoga? This is a question I hear often. A lot has been written about the relationship between weight loss and yoga exercises and all kinds of claims are made about it. So: will you lose weight with yoga or not? Does yoga slow down or speed up your metabolism? And what other aspects play a role?

From my experience, I can tell you wholeheartedly: yoga definitely helps when you want to lose weight. Today I will take you through 4 aspects of losing weight with yoga. I hope this will be a motivation for you to really go for it.

1. Losing weight with yoga: Metabolism

When people talk about yoga and losing weight, the first thing they often hear is about your metabolism. There are scientific studies that say yoga slows down your metabolism. For men, this is on average eight percent and for women even eighteen percent. But there are also scientific studies that say that your metabolism becomes faster. Are these reasons not to practice yoga if you want to lose weight?

No, they are not. Anyway, yoga helps to balance your hormones, including your thyroid gland which is one of the largest endocrine glands. A properly functioning thyroid gland ensures a properly functioning metabolism. Your whole body reacts to yoga: you slow down your breathing, which lowers your blood pressure and oxygen intake. You have less energy and also need to eat less, which reduces your calorie intake.

2. Less stress (and that emotional roller coaster) makes you slimmer

Stress is a big factor in obesity and body fat. When you are under stress, your body produces cortisol and energy. This originates from long ago when danger and stress often meant life or death.

But stress nowadays is not caused by real danger anymore, so you have an abundance of energy, which your body stores as (belly) fat. Yoga makes you experience less stress, you learn to live in the now, you learn how to put your thoughts aside and yoga teaches you how conscious breathing plays a major role in this. Through yoga you experience less stress, so your body has less energy to store as fat.

Yoga also allows you to be more in control of your own emotions. You learn to feel and experience what you need at the moment. You learn to appreciate your body, your feelings, and your emotions for what they are. You are allowed to be there, including everything you feel and experience.

As you feel more comfortable in your own skin and have more control over your own emotions, your binge eating will also become less. And fewer binges means fewer calories. In this way, yoga also helps you lose weight.

3. The yoga detox to lose weight

Cleaning your body of waste products is what various yoga postures do. Your organs are sort of squeezed, for example in the twisting postures, which releases the waste and allows it to leave your body. Following a detox treatment can certainly help you with this.

This is an important part of losing weight, because your body cannot do anything with these waste products. If they remain in your body, you will have less energy to move and your digestion will also be lower.

4. Yoga changes your attitude to life

Yoga has many physical benefits, such as becoming stronger, more flexible, and losing weight. But yoga also helps you to be mentally stronger. You become more aware of who you are, who you want to be, and what you find important in life. Yoga ensures that you make choices that fully fit who you are. These can be healthy eating choices that make you lose weight, but it can also be that you start to live healthier and accept yourself as you are.

Can you lose weight with yoga?

Yoga can help you lose weight. This is because through yoga you experience less stress, toxins are better discharged and you are more aware of life. This gives you more control over your own lifestyle. Therefore, in essence, yoga is a good way to lose weight.

On top of that, yoga provides a good hormonal balance and removes toxins from your body through its detox effect. Of course, yoga isn't a miracle cure for losing weight and you'll just have to get started and persevere, but yoga has all the tools to help you lose weight.