Yoga is a body and mind practice with an ancient history of 5000 years and has quickly gained prominence globally. Although yoga helps you lose extra fat, power yoga is quite different. Power yoga poses for weight loss is quite similar to a cardiovascular workout. This beautiful connection makes yoga a perfect answer to several health issues.

Without further ado, let us go through this article to know more about how power yoga aids weight loss. You will shed some pounds while enjoying the practice.

What is Power Yoga? Is It Different to Yoga?

Power yoga is a dynamic version of traditional yoga, which is much faster and intense, which focuses less on meditation or chanting and more on building strength.

Power yoga shares common qualities with the ashtanga branch of yoga that increases your stamina and builds internal heat. You will become more flexible, robust, and stress-free with regular practice. According to their preferences, the power yoga teachers have more flexibility in arranging postures since there is a fixed set of asanas.

Power yoga is a perfect blend of fitness, weight loss, and traditional yoga values, which is why it is gaining popularity globally.

How Power Yoga Helps to Lose Weight:

Yoga is one of the sought-after options for everyone who wants to lose weight by making lifestyle changes. But some people want to lose weight quickly but with the benefits of yoga. This is where power yoga is very beneficial since it is a vigorous form of yoga.

Besides making you more aware of the connection between mind, body, and spirit, power yoga includes good aerobics or cardio session properties, building up your strength.

Practicing power yoga strengthens your gluteal muscles and tones your entire body in a physical sense, thereby helping in weight loss.

Benefits of Power Yoga:

Power yoga is gaining popularity, which helps tone your body’s muscles, making your body healthy and flexible. Here is the list of some of the power yoga benefits for weight loss:

  • Increases metabolic activity.
  • Burns calories.
  • Relieves stress.
  • Increases flexibility.
  • Strengthens the glutes.
  • Tones your body and core.
  • Builds stamina.

Power Yoga vs Cardio Exercises:

We all heard about cardio workouts such as treadmills, jogs, and aerobic exercises that help you burn more calories than power yoga. But a cardio session may not aim at toning your body, and doing them in excess may deplete your muscle reserve.

On the other hand, power yoga aims towards flexibility, toning, stronger core, and streamlining your body, aiming towards burning calories and increasing lean muscle mass, which leads to a boost in metabolism.

Therefore if you are looking at long-term weight loss, power yoga is the way to go. But if you are a beginner, make sure you perform it under supervision.

Is Power Yoga More Effective Than Cardio in Weight Loss?

Adding two power yoga sessions to your routine can be beneficial if you wish to lose weight and burn fat. But if you want to lose weight sustainably, combining cardio and power yoga is the key resulting in permanent weight loss.

Although power yoga can help you shed all those extra kilos, adding cardio will help you balance to avoid injury by stretching your muscles. Power yoga also adds flexibility to your body, along with leanness.

Best Power Yoga poses for Weight Loss:

Below we have mentioned the 15 best power yoga poses you can incorporate into your daily routine that helps you lose weight:

1. Wind Releasing pose:

Level: Beginners level.

Workout Time: Practice it on an empty stomach early morning or evening.

Muscles Worked: It works on the lumbar spine and relieves pressure on spinal nerves.

Steps:

  • Lie down on your back and place your hands on either side.
  • Fold your legs, placing the knees up to the chest.
  • Use your hands to press the legs across your chest.
  • Stay in that pose for 15 seconds.
  • For effective weight loss, repeat the process for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Side Stretch Pose:

Level: Beginners, mid-level, and experts.

Workout Time: You can perform this stretch early in the morning or in the evening on an empty stomach.

Muscles Worked: This pose helps you strengthen the intercostal muscles.

Steps:

  • Stand straight with hands on either side, palms facing down.
  • Bounce your hands upwards, boosting them in the rising direction.
  • Put your left leg forward.
  • Slowly bend down, touching the floor with your palms.
  • Make sure to keep your knees straight.
  • Stay in this position for 14 seconds.
  • Repeat the same process on the other side.

3. Dhanurasana yoga or Bow pose:

Level: Expert level.

Workout Time: Perform this pose on an empty stomach, either early in the morning or evening.

Muscles Worked: This pose helps strengthen the throat, ankle, thigh, and thorax muscles.

Steps:

  • Lie down on the ground on your stomach.
  • Fold your legs backwards.
  • Twist your arms and try to hold your feet with your hands.
  • Make sure to keep your back arched up.
  • Stay in this pose for as much as your body allows.
  • Get back into a resting pose.
  • Repeat the process at least ten times.

4. Garudasana Yoga or Eagle Pose for Losing Weight:

Level: Mid-level, expertise.

Workout Time: The best tie to perform this pose is either during the morning or evening on an empty stomach.

Muscles Worked: This power yoga pose helps you strengthen your ankle and calf muscles. It also allows you to stretch your shoulder, upper back, ankle, calf, and hip.

Steps:

  • Stand erect with hands on either side of the body.
  • Balance your body weight on your right leg by lifting your left leg, and slightly bending your knees.
  • Now wrap your left leg around your right leg.
  • Raise your arms above, where your elbows are parallel to the ground.
  • Twist your arms and stay in this position for 10 seconds.
  • Come into the resting position and repeat ten times.

5. One-legged Downward-Facing Dog Pose:

Level: Beginner level.

Workout Time: Perform this pose early in the morning with empty bowels.

Muscles Worked: This is a power yoga exercise for weight loss that strengthens your bones, back, leg, and thigh muscles.

Steps:

  • Place yourself on all fours on the ground.
  • Press your hips up and back by inhaling.
  • Place your head and neck in the same line.
  • Place your palms facing the ground.
  • Slowly raise your left leg upward as much as you can.
  • Stay in the pose for five to seconds and come into a resting position.
  • Repeat the same process with the other leg.

6. Bhujangasana Yoga or Cobra Pose:

Level: Beginners, mid-level, experts.

Workout Time: The best time to perform this pose is on an empty stomach during early mornings or evenings.

Muscles Worked: This is one of the best power yoga for fat loss that strengthens the muscles in your chest, back, and arms.

Steps:

  • Lie down on your tummy, facing the ground.
  • Place your palms level with your shoulders while your palms face the ground.
  • Slowly make a transition by lifting your upper body.
  • As much as your body allows, bend your body backwards.
  • This procedure puts pressure on your muscles resulting in weight loss.
  • Repeat the pose ten times.

7. Sun Salutation Pose or Surya Namaskar:

Level: This is power yoga for weight loss for beginners, mid-level, and experts.

Workout Time: Perform this routine first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

Muscles Worked: Performing Sun salutations regularly will tone your body adding flexibility and strength, making it one of the best power yoga routines to lose weight in 10 days.

Steps:

  • Stand straight facing the sun, feet in the shape of v.
  • Join your hands performing a namaskar, and inhale while raising your hands.
  • Stretch your arms and bend backwards. Touch the ground slowly while exhaling.
  • Let your head touch the knees and keep your hands and legs in line.
  • Now raise your head slowly while moving your right leg.
  • Bring your head into a resting position.
  • Move your left leg backward, making it in parallel with your right leg, while exhaling.
  • Coordinate your head, and arms, forming an arch pose by slowly raising your hips and keeping your arms straight.
  • Touch the ground with your feet, knees, chest, forehead, and palms by lowering your body to the ground level.
  • Stretch your head by moving it backward while inhaling.
  • Rest only on your feet and palms and push yourself up while inhaling.

8. Corpse and boat pose:

Level: Expert-level.

Workout Time: You can practice this pose on an empty stomach either in the morning or evening.

Muscles Worked: It strengthens your abdomen’s muscles and is a perfect power yoga pose to reduce weight.

Steps:

  • Lie down on your back in a resting pose, placing your hands on either side.
  • Lift your lower limbs sitting up halfway.
  • This creates tightness in your abdominal area.
  • Support the weight by outstretching your hands in front of you.
  • It might be tough to achieve this pose initially, but with practice, you can achieve flexibility.

9. Warrior Twist Pose for Weight Loss:

Level: Beginners, mid-level, Experts.

Workout Time: This pose can be done either early in the morning or evening on an empty stomach.

Muscles Worked: This is one of the best power yoga poses for weight loss that strengthens your hamstrings, hip, groin, quadriceps, and intercostal muscles of your ribs.

Steps:

  • Stand straight with your spine straight.
  • Keep your feet outstretched from each other.
  • Slowly bend towards the right, creating a stretch, and place your palm facing the floor.
  • Place the opposite hand perpendicular to the hand, touching the floor.
  • Twist your upper body to one side.
  • Repeat the same steps on the other side.

10. Uttanpadasana Yoga or Raised Feet Pose:

Level: Beginners, mid-level, and expert.

Workout Time: You can perform this pose early in the morning or evening on an empty stomach.

Muscles Worked: This pose in power yoga helps in weight loss by toning and strengthening your abdominal, thigh, perineal, pelvic, and lower back muscles.

Steps:

  • Lay down on the floor, keeping your back, legs straight, and hands on either side, palms facing down.
  • Lift your right leg perpendicularly with your left leg slowly.
  • Keep both your legs straight.
  • Repeat the same process with the other leg.
  • Get back into a resting position.
  • Lift your legs perpendicular to the ground slowly.
  • For effective weight loss, repeat the whole process 10 to 15 times.

11. Ardha Chandrasana Yoga or Half-Moon Pose:

Level: Medium-level.

Workout Time: The best time to practice this pose is in the evening after a gap of 6 hours from your meal or morning on an empty stomach.

Muscles Worked: This is yet another pose from Power yoga for weight loss at home that helps stretch your hamstrings, opening up your hips along with strengthening your spine, buttocks, and legs.

Steps:

  • Stand on the mat with your feet as wide as your wrists.
  • Now slowly bend towards your left, your wrist touching your feet.
  • Make an angle of 90 degrees by lifting your right foot.
  • Turn your hip in a similar direction.
  • Slowly lift your right arm so that both your arms are parallel to each other.
  • Balance your body weight on your left leg.
  • You can feel the pressure building up on your buttocks and back area once you achieve proper balance.
  • Slowly lower your right leg and then your arms while exhaling.
  • Repeat the process on both sides at least five times.

12. Paschimottanasana Yoga or Seated Forward Bend:

Level: Medium-level.

Workout Time: Early in the morning on an empty stomach.

Muscles Worked: It works well on the Vertebral column, shoulder, and hamstring.

Steps:

  • Sit on your mat with your spine erect.
  • Spread your legs forward and keep them straight.
  • Stretch your leg muscles by bending forward, and touching your heels with your fingertips.
  • Maintain the pose for at least 20 seconds.
  • Come back into the sitting position slowly.
  • Perform this stretch three to four times initially and increase gradually.

13. Ardha Matsyendrasana Yoga or Half-Fish Pose:

Level: Expert level.

Workout Time: Perform this pose either early in the morning or evening on an empty stomach.

Muscles Worked: This pose helps strengthen your abs and oblique muscles and stretch your spine, increasing your flexibility.

Steps:

  • Sit down on the floor and fold your legs in front of you.
  • Place one foot flat on the ground and another placed across it.
  • Keep your spine straight and perform a half twist with your upper body.
  • Place the elbow of your twisted arm on your knee.
  • Stay in this pose for 10 to 15 seconds.
  • Repeat the same process on the other side.

14. Ardha Chakrasana or Half Wheel Pose:

Level: Mid-level.

Workout Time: You can do this pose early in the morning or evening on an empty stomach.

Muscles Worked: Your abdominal and back muscles are strengthened with this pose.

Steps:

  • Stand straight, placing both hands on the side.
  • Raise your hands upward and your palms facing the front.
  • Slowly bend backwards as much as you can, keeping your feet firm on the ground.
  • Join your palms together while you are bending backwards.
  • Slowly hang your head without straining your neck.

15. Triangle poses for weight loss:

Level: Mid and expert level.

Workout Time: Early morning or evening with an empty stomach.

Muscles Worked: It tones your waistline and armpit area and affects the gluteus and hamstring muscles.

Steps:

  • Stand straight with a foot width between them.
  • Place your hands perpendicular to your shoulders, opening up your arms.
  • Hold your right leg with your hand and bend towards the right side from your waist.
  • Lift your left hand, your palm facing the ceiling.
  • Make sure to keep your left leg and hand as straight as possible and turn your face to the left side.
  • Stay in the position for at least 30 seconds, building pressure in your arms, and calves.
  • Repeat the same process on the other side.

This article on power yoga for weight loss tries to highlight the benefits of Power Yoga. It is instrumental in losing weight and getting your body back in shape. Power Yoga strengthens your immunity and improves your metabolism. The Power Yoga poses highlighted in the article above help in fat reduction. Power Yoga is the best way to lose weight fast. If this article was helpful, let us know and share it with people who might benefit from it.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and not a replacement for medical advice. Make sure you consult a professional before you start doing anything new, and the website is not responsible for any effect it may have on your body.

FAQ:

1. Can Everyone Practice Power Yoga?

Ans: Power yoga is a perfect option for people who want to lose weight and feel sweating is the sign of an ideal workout session since it is not a healing yoga practice. Some of the people who should not practice power yoga without permission from their physician or under supervision are:

  • If you are pregnant.
  • If you have serious injuries.
  • And, If you had surgery recently.
  • If you have any disorders or severe health conditions.

2. How Much Weight Can You Lose by Practicing Power Yoga?

Ans: The amount of weight you lose by practicing power yoga varies from one person to another, their flexibility, and many other factors. But you will be able to lose weight healthily since it incorporates variations of asanas like sun salutations.

3. How Frequently Can We Practice Power Yoga in a Week?

Ans: Practicing yoga three to five times a week can be beneficial as a general rule of thumb. Make sure you don’t rush and slowly ease power yoga into your daily routine. Gradually your body gets used to the practices you can increase the sessions. But be sure not to overdo it.

Saanvi

About Saanvi

Saanvi Sharma is an excellent web content writer in health and nutrition. Her expertise in the subject stems from in-depth research and knowledge that she gained over the years. Her interest in science coupled with a bachelor's degree in biotechnology proves as an added advantage and further adds value to her writing. She is highly interested in science, thus writing quality content became her virtue.
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