Yoga Tips That May Encourage Weight Maintenance or Loss

Summary: Denise Benitez is the owner of Seattle Yoga Arts and collaborated with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to conduct a study that looked at the effect of yoga on weight. The study was published in the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. Below are some of the tips offered by Benitez to lose or maintain weight. (Related: How to lose weight during middle age)


* Practice in a room without mirrors, and pay more attention to your internal experience than to your outer performance.
* Learn to feel sensations more and more subtly, so that you become deeply involved in and curious about small movements, sometimes called micro-movements.
* In your poses, find an edge for yourself where you are challenged but not overwhelmed. At this edge, practice maintaining a clear, open and accepting mental state.
* Give yourself permission to rest when you feel overworked.
* Pay close attention to what you are saying to yourself as you practice, and make an intentional effort to appreciate your own efforts and innate goodness.

* Go to class faithfully, arrive early, and talk to a few people in yourPhoto of a man performing a yoga asana. class before class begins.
* Buy your own yoga mat and yoga wear and bring it to class.
* Realize that the development of qualities like patience, discipline, wisdom, right effort, kindness, gratitude and many others will arise from your yoga practice. These qualities create a steady and soft mind.
* Find a teacher who offers a balance of gentleness and firmness and whose teaching inspires you to practice from your highest self. (Related: Yoga lifetyle)
* Recognize that simply attending class is a major statement of courage, self-care, and positive momentum. Realize that you are inspiring others as you become more true to your deepest desires.