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yoga & spirit CALORIE-BURNING YOGA Whether you'd like to lose one pound or many, yoga can definitely help By Beth Shaw M Step 3: Boat lifts. Start from a seated position, knees bent, any hot yoga and fitness fans often ask if there are specific poses, stretches and modifications that can be soles of your feet on the floor. Lift and extend right leg, release done to utilize yoga for weight loss. The simple answer and lift left leg. Repeat five to 10 times on each side. • Always do deep restorative stretches at the end of your is, absolutely! There are specific steps you can take to ensure your yoga practice. It's important to stretch out the muscles you've just practice will burn calories and work the muscles in your core, strengthened and relaxing stretches will help calm and restore the nervous system. The Lying down resulting in weight loss. Here are Spinal Twist is a perfect stretch for this: several things you can do to target While lying on your back, bring your your practice for weight loss: right knee to your chest and then twist • Make sure your warm-up and to the left side of body. Hold for five practices are very active. In order to 10 deep breathes. Repeat on your to engage your metabolism and left side. reach the point where you are Lying Down Spinal Twist • Eat consciously! When you eat burning fat, it's key to have an active warm-up and practice. The moonflower asana is a great consciously, you're taking time to really see and taste food, and to acknowledge how it makes you feel. When we consciously three-minute warm-up for an active practice: Step 1: Stand with feet three- to four feet apart and extend choose foods, we're more likely to pick healthy, weight-loss friendly options. your arms to the sky. Step 2: Bend your knees and bring your elbows toward • Remain aware of your body at all times while exercising. At the beginning and end of your workout especially, take time to your ribs, fingers pointing toward the sky. Step 3: Repeat this action 10 to 20 times. This will get your notice how you're feeling, what muscles are sore, or if there is any tightness or tension. As you become heart rate up, warm up your body, and tone aware of your body, you learn to make your legs and glutes. better food choices, because you • Use your own body as a weight. For weight understand that everything entering loss, it's important to strengthen your muscles. your body will have a consequence. More muscle equals less fat, which guarantees • Make time to get centered. Meditation a faster metabolism and therefore a better ability is key to yoga and plays a large role in using to burn fat in the future. You can really utilize your yoga for weight loss. Meditation should be body as a weight to strengthen muscles with Plank used as part of practice to clear your mind, and Crocodile poses, which, for beginners, look like reduce stress and lower cortisol levels. When a modified push-up. Plank pose works nearly every we're stressed we tend toward unhealthy junk muscle in your core and is especially helpful for those food, but when we're self-aware and relaxed, we tough-to-tone lower abdominals. make better, more health-conscious decisions. • Always work on your core. In order to be healthy A healthy diet and regular practice will put and lose weight, it's important to engage your core to you on your path to a healthier, happier you, activate your third chakra. Everything else revolves whatever your weight. around the strength of your core and no weight loss routine would be complete without core Beth Shaw is the founder of YogaFit, the strengthening exercise. To engage your core, use world's largest yoga fitness education the following workout. organization, hosting Mind-Body-Fitness Step 1: Boat angles. Sit on your mat, knees Conferences and teacher trainings bent, soles of your feet on floor. worldwide. Step 2: Sit up very tall, pull navel in, lean back to a 45-degree angle and hold for two Moonflower asana to five breaths, then pull legs forward to chest. Repeat five to 10 times. october /november 2013 17