Weight management

Did you know that weight management is on the list that the Yoga Alliance has developed entitled: Top 10 Reasons to Try Yoga ?
One reason that yoga seems to help with weight management (and even weight loss) is associated with the stress relief that participants find when doing yoga. When stress is reduced, the stress hormone cortisol is also reduced. High levels of the stress hormone cortisol have been found to be related to increased belly fat. It is one of the ways that our bodies "store" energy when we perceive that we are under stress and may need to fight or flee from real or imagined dangers.
For me personally, the first year of my yoga practice led to a 10 pound weight loss (and no diet!). Yoga allowed me to slow down enough to help me reduce some of my "stress eating" and it also helped me to be in touch and more aware of my body. I found myself eating junk food and would suddenly think...."ICK! I don't even like the taste of this"!!
The fact that yoga poses help you to gain strength from lifting your own body weight and holding your body against gravity was another factor that contributed to my weight loss. I recognized that some of the yoga postures would be significantly easier if I had less bulk to hold up!! So I just found myself eating healthier foods and eating more mindfully.
I offer these ideas not because I want people to do yoga to lose weight. I do yoga for all of the ways that it helps me to find some calm in a hectic and busy world. Weight loss and the physical benefits are nice, but they are not what primarily drives my yoga practice.
Eat well....be healthy....See you on the mat!