Yoga for a Beautiful Body

A leaner you in no time
If you long for an even more gorgeous and graceful body, "there’s no better way to get it than through a yoga routine," says certified yoga instructor and personal trainer Kristin McGee. "This series not only works your entire body, front and back, from toes to fingertips, but it includes strengthening, twisting, and balancing. You’ll sculpt, get grounded, and build confidence."

Repeat the routine (on both sides) 3 to 5 times—it’ll take about 20 to 30 minutes total—at least 3 to 4 times a week. As you master the poses, you’ll begin to notice amazing changes both inside and out.

Awkward Chair
Stand with feet together and abs contracted. Exhale as you push your hips back to squat down as if sitting in a chair; at the same time, lift your arms by your ears. Arms should be shoulder-width with palms facing and fingers pointing toward the ceiling. Hold for 5 to 8 breaths.

High Lunge
Keeping arms raised and abs tight, step your left foot back and lower into lunge position so front knee is bent at 90 degrees and directly over your ankle. Hold for 5 breaths.

Downward Dog
Lower your hands to the mat on either side of your front foot and step your right foot back so it’s even with your left. Straighten your legs and push into your hands and feet as you lift your hips toward the ceiling. Move your shoulders away from your ears and draw your front ribs in toward each other. Hold for 5 breaths.

Plank
Lower your hips, coming onto your toes and moving your torso forward until your shoulders are directly over your hands. Your abs should be tight, with your body in a straight line from head to heels. Hold for 5 breaths.

Low Plank
Keeping your body in line, inhale and bend your elbows to 90 degrees to lower yourself toward the floor. Hold for 1 breath.

Upward Dog
With hands still in place, inhale and slowly lower hips toward floor (try not to touch). Untuck toes and push gently into hands, straightening your arms and lifting your chest. Hold for 1 breath.

High Lunge Twist
Tuck your toes and push into your hands, lifting your hips toward the ceiling to return to Downward Dog.

Step your right foot forward between your hands into lunge position, then lift your chest and bring your hands to prayer position; twist your torso to the right, bringing your left elbow to the outside of your right knee; look to the right and up. Hold for 5 to 8 breaths.

Half Moon
Return to center and drop your right hand to the floor about 10 inches diagonally in front and outside of your right foot. Raise your left arm, pointing fingers toward the ceiling as you straighten your right leg and lift your straight left leg into the air, foot flexed and pointing to the side; look up at your left hand. Hold for 5 breaths.

Revolved Half Moon
Turn your left toes toward the floor so hips are even; drop your left hand to the floor and twist your torso to the right, lifting your right hand to the ceiling. Look up at your hand (or as far to the right as is comfortable). Hold for 5 breaths.

Standing Split
Return to center, dropping your right hand to the floor so it’s even with your left hand. Lift your straight left leg as high as is comfortable; hold for 5 breaths. Return your left foot to the floor next to your right, then slowly round up to standing. Push hips back to lower into Awkward Chair and repeat whole sequence on the opposite side.

Add some oomph to your om with this yoga-with-weights routine. It torches 200 calories in 30 minutes (that’s double the burn of the classic kind!).

5 Surprising Benefits of Yoga

If you enjoy yoga, you probably already know it helps with flexibility and strength. But according to recent research, yoga may improve your health (and wallet) in ways you may never have expected.

From helping treat insomnia, chronic stress, anxiety disorders and PTSD to preventing osteoporosis and relieving chronic pain, yoga has a wealth of medical benefits, according to Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, PhD, a leading authority on yoga and mind-body medicine. Khalsa is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate neuroscientist in the sleep disorders program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Yoga practitioners reap medical benefits from "the entire constellation of what constitutes yoga: meditation, exercise and breathing techniques,” Khalsa says. “Yoga practice has them all.”

Here's more on the newer uses of yoga that Khalsa and other experts are hopeful about.

Benefit 1: Better sleep
Yoga, among other mind-body treatments, is effective for people who have trouble sleeping, according to a review of 12 studies in the Brazilian Review of Psychiatry. Another small study also found yoga improves sleep in people plagued by insomnia.

Veronica Zador, a yoga therapist who directs the Detroit-area Beaumont hospital system school of yoga therapy, says that the reason many people can’t sleep is that they can’t put their stress to bed.

“When you learn how to manage stress, you often find you can manage your sleep a little better,” says Zador, one of the few yoga therapists in the country who is part of a medical school. “I teach medically-referred patients how to manage how you breath, which can help you learn how to notice stressful thoughts but perhaps react a little differently.” Slow, deep breathing stimulates the vagus nerve, which calms the body down, she explains. (The vagus nerve helps controls the heart beat, muscle movement and breathing, among other things.)

Benefit 2: Lower healthcare costs
Consider the study of 4,452 patients whose doctors recommended they try a mindfulness based program that included yoga and meditation for their stress-related illnesses. Study director James E. Stahl, MD, director of the Institute of Technology Assessment at Massachusetts General Hospital, compared those patients with some 13,000 patients who did not use a relaxation program. The results? Healthcare use in the yoga/mindfulness group dropped 43 percent in the year following the program, according to research published in 2015 in PLOS One.

Experts say this is partly because yoga triggers the body’s relaxation response, which lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol. (Early studies indicate it may even change how our genes react to stress.) “What is important is that we helped people elicit the relaxation response, which you can think of as opposite the ‘fight or flight’ response,” notes Stahl. This means they used yoga and other mindfulness training to develop resilience to stress in their daily lives, he explained.

“It’s pretty clear that consistently eliciting this relaxation response helps your body heal and feel better,” Stahl says. “And when you are feeling and healing better, you are less likely to use health care resources.”

Benefit 3: Osteoporosis prevention
It’s well known that women who do weight-bearing exercises can slow the natural bone loss that comes with aging, since those exercises encourage bones to grow denser and stronger. But until recently, whether yoga could have a similar impact was unknown.

Loren Fishman, MD, medical director of Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the author of "Yoga for Osteoporosis," used his own money to fund an intriguing study in 800 people. It found that 12 yoga poses performed in 12 minutes of daily yoga not only slowed bone loss, but in some cases helped build bone.

“Three quarters of women with osteoporosis don't take the medication that is prescribed for bone loss,” notes Fishman. “That’s a disaster waiting to happen.” In the study, he found that patients who stuck with a dozen specific yoga poses over a 10-year period also improved bone density in the spine and femur.

Benefit 4: Easing the trauma of cancer treatment
This use of yoga has exploded over the last 10 years, according to Khalsa. “You can’t find a major cancer center that doesn’t have a yoga class,” he says. “It isn’t that yoga cures cancer; it is that modern medicine doesn’t have anything as good for the stress and trauma of a cancer diagnosis and the side effects of treatment: fatigue, ‘chemobrain’ and insomnia.”

A study published in a 2012 issue of BMC Cancer, for example, found that cancer patients or survivors practicing yoga had “large reductions” in distress, anxiety and depression and a moderate boost in their overall quality of life and emotional and social health, along with a moderate decrease in fatigue.

Benefit 5: Relieving chronic pain
A 2013 study suggests that mind-body treatments like yoga may have a protective effect on the nerves involved in pain processing. And research published in Cerebral Cortex in 2014 suggests that that yoga practice improves pain regulation, according to Khosla.

This may result partly by changing our response to pain, according to Zador. She explains that resistance to pain, “which is natural,” often causes a chain reaction that results in more pain. “When we allow certain techniques to reduce our stress and response to pain, we increase functionality,” she says. “This is where yoga can play such a big role with both physical pain and emotional pain.”

Does Yoga Target the Lower Stomach?

The lower stomach is a problem area for most adults. While some yoga poses do target each of the four abdominal muscles, you should know that performing the same set of yoga poses day after day will not remove stubborn belly fat, as the concept of spot reduction is, unfortunately, an exercise urban legend. For best results, eat a healthy diet and add targeted yoga poses to an exercise plan that includes aerobic activity to accelerate weight loss and improve overall fitness.

Poses Targeting the Rectus Abdominis Muscle
The rectus abdominis is a large muscle that extends from the pubic bone to the sternum. It is the muscle most commonly associated with "six-pack" abs, and it offers stabilization and support for the spine, as well as assisting in upper-body movement. Several yoga poses target the rectus abdominis muscle. According to the "Yoga Journal," Paripurna Navasana, or the Boat pose, helps to strengthen the entire muscle, toning without compromising flexibility. To focus specifically on the lower portion of the rectus abdominis muscle, choose Urdhva Prasarita Padasana, known as the Raised Stretched-Out Foot pose, which not only helps you tone your abdominal muscles, but also strengthens your lower back, improves posture and helps to prevent hip and low-back injuries.

Toning the Obliques
Together, the internal and external obliques play a role in spine stabilization and also allow your upper body and pelvis to rotate from side to side. Rotational yoga poses, such as the Revolved Triangle pose and the Revolved Abdomen pose, are beneficial for strengthening the internal and external obliques. These poses also help to restore and maintain normal spinal rotation, according to "Yoga Journal." To prevent back injury, check with your physician before attempting rotational poses if you have a spinal disc injury or history of low-back pain. (See Reference 4)

The Transverse Abdominis
The fourth and final abdominal muscle is the transverse abdominis. Unlike the others, this muscle is not involved in movement; rather, it maintains internal abdominal pressure and assists in breathing. According to the "Yoga Journal," the best way to strengthen the transverse abdominis is through breathing exercises, such as the Skull Shining Breath, which alternates short, powerful exhalations with longer inhalations. This exercise is beneficial for targeting the transverse abdominis muscle because strong exhalations are the product of muscular contractions in the lower abdomen.

Emphasize Strength
In today’s society, a flat stomach is the fitness gold standard for women. According to the "Yoga Journal," however, these six-pack abs often come at a cost, because the repetitive movements associated with traditional ab exercises, as well as the high number of repetitions that must be performed to achieve a flat stomach, can inhibit range of motion and decrease flexibility. While this doesn’t mean you can ignore the unhealthy abdominal fat that often plagues waistlines, the goal of targeted yoga practice should be strengthening the abdominal muscles rather than aspiring to achieve a perfectly flat midsection.

5 Yoga poses Do Before You Go To Sleep

Yoga has a way of calming the nervous system. Through deep breathing, long stretches and relaxing postures, yoga can help induce a good night’s sleep so you feel rested and ready for the day that lies ahead.

This simple yoga sequence is easy to do right before bed. Gather a pillow or two and find a wall with a little space around it. You may want to put on some soothing music, dim the lights and put on your cozy pajamas before you practice, as you will want to head straight to bed following the sequence.

Begin by sitting comfortably on the floor or on your bed.

ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL BREATHING (NADI SHODHAN PRANAYAMA)

Bring your dominant hand up and fold your index and middle fingers into your palm. Place your thumb on the nearest nostril and close off the air. Take a breath in through the other nostril. Using the remaining two fingers, close off the open nostril and lift the thumb from the first nostril and exhale. Inhale through that same open nostril, then close it off with the thumb and exhale on the other side. Repeat this technique, switching sides on the exhales for at least 10 rounds, breathing deeply with each inhale and exhale.

The benefits of alternate-nostril breathing include bringing balance to your prana, or life force, bringing a sense of calm and balance to the body. You become aware of your breathing in a new way, bringing your mind to focus on the present moment and away from distractions that might be causing restlessness or anxiety.

CHILD’S POSE (BALASANA)

From your seated position, fold your legs so you are sitting on your knees with the tops of your feet underneath you. Bow forward until your forehead touches the ground. It’s a good idea to spread your knees to allow your upper body to deepen. If this is not a comfortable position, tuck a pillow between your hips and your calves, and also put a pillow under your forehead. Try to find a position that is comfortable. Your arms can stretch out in front with palms facing down or rest alongside the body with the palms facing up.

Stay here, breathing deeply for several minutes. Focus on your breath, paying attention to each inhale and each exhale. Noticing the length and the quality of each breath, try to keep your mind from wandering. Direct your breath to your middle and upper back as you inhale, and to your lower back and hips as you exhale.


SUPINE TWIST (SUPTA MATSYENDRASANA)

Lie on your back and bring your knees to your chest. Gently begin to lower both knees to the left side, aiming to keep your shoulders glued to the ground. Turn your gaze toward the right side. To increase comfort, place one pillow between the knees and one pillow under the left knee. Pause here and breathe, bringing your focus into your hips and lower back. Stay here for 10 to 15 breaths and then switch sides.


RECLINED BOUND ANGLE (SUPTA BADDHA KONASANA)

Still lying on your back, bring your feet to the ground with knees bent. Part your knees and bring the soles of your feet to touch. For extra support, place one pillow under each knee. Let your shoulders and jaw relax and close your eyes. Bring one hand to your heart and one hand to your belly and think about breathing from the belly up on your inhale and from the chest down to the belly on your exhale. Keep your breaths long and smooth like gentle waves rolling in and out on the shore. Stay here fore 10 to 15 breaths.


LEGS UP THE WALL (VIPARITA KARANI)

A supported inversion, this pose helps get blood flowing back to the heart and sometimes causes so much relaxation you fall asleep right there. Bring a pillow under your hips for slight elevation. Scoot your hips as close to the wall as you can, then lie down and stretch your legs up the wall.

Before you settle into the pose, you might have to play with the distance between your hips and the wall. Find a comfortable distance you can hold for several minutes.

Bring your arms alongside your body and let your shoulders move away from your ears and down into the floor or bed. Drop your gaze toward your thighs and begin to focus on breathing deeply. Stay here for at least five minutes. To exit, remove the pillow from under your hips and roll to one side.

These yoga poses, combined with deep, mindful breathing will help bring your body and mind into a deeply relaxed state. Calming the mind and releasing tension will prepare the body for a good night’s rest.

Yoga Moves to Beat Insomnia, Ease Stress, and Relieve Pain

Magic moves for more z's
The next time you find yourself lying awake at night, grab your yoga mat: Research suggests this ancient form of exercise can help combat insomnia, relieve stress, and ward off aches and pains that can keep you tossing and turning. Closing your eyes and breathing long, slow breaths can have a sedating effect on the body, says Sara Ivanhoe, featured instructor on VH1's Celebrity Rehab. "I've had trouble sleeping since I was an infant," she says. "One of the reasons I got into yoga is because I wanted to learn to relax on command.

Here are some of Ivanhoe's favorite calming and comforting moves. For best results, put on your pj's first and do them right before you turn in for the night.

Combat insomnia
Easy-to-hold Iyengar yoga inversions, which send blood to the head, can help send you off to dreamland. The gentle Supported Standing Wide Leg Forward Bend is easy to relax into and will help still your thoughts.

How-to: Stand with hands on hips and feet approximately four feet apart, toes slightly turned in. Place a block or short stack of books on the floor in front of you. Breathe deeply; exhale, fold forward, and place hands on floor shoulder-distance apart with fingers spread. Lengthen spine forward and place crown of head on block so both head and neck are fully supported. Draw shoulders away from ears and hug elbows in. (If you feel a hamstring stretch, widen legs and raise block.) Close eyes; breathe slowly in and out through nose. Hold up to five minutes, then come out of pose slowly.

Cure a headache
A pounding head can keep you from falling asleep at night, but you don't always have to pop a pill. This move, called Legs up the Wall, gently stretches the muscles in your neck (often the culprit of tension headaches) and relaxes you at the same time—a combo that can ease your ache in just a few minutes.

How-to: Sit on one end of a mat with your right hip touching a wall. Lean back, turn to lie flat on the mat, and extend your legs up the wall; your butt should be nearly touching the wall and your legs should be together. Put your hands on your belly or rest them on the mat above your head. Close your eyes, relax your jaw, and drop your chin slightly. Breathe deeply and slowly in this position for 3 to 10 minutes.

Ease back pain
Slipping into bed should be a peaceful experience, but many Americans suffer from chronic back pain that prevents them from relaxing comfortably. This reclined twist will give you on-the-spot relief and ward off future trouble by stretching and strengthening muscles and ligaments near your spine.

How-to: Lie on your back on a mat, bend your legs, and squeeze your knees to your chest. Keeping your legs bent and knees together, lower both knees toward the mat on the left side. Hold your knees in place with your left hand and gently twist to the right. Extend your right arm and look right; hold for 5 to 15 breaths. Bring knees and hands back to the center, then repeat to the right. Stretch to both sides three times whenever you feel tightness in your back.

Soothe stress
Relaxing for one minute in Child’s Pose gives your mind and muscles a chance to escape everyday madness.

How-to: Sit back on heels with the insides of legs and feet touching. Lean forward, bowing torso over thighs and lowering forehead to mat. Extend arms forward, palms down. Relax into pose, widening knees or bending elbows a bit, as desired. Focus on breathing, taking four to eight counts for each inhale and exhale and relaxing deeper into pose with each exhale.

Before you rush to the drugstore to buy an over-the-counter (OTC) sleep medication, try one of the following natural sleep remedies. Many of these can not only help you fall asleep and stay asleep, but they may also promote muscle relaxation.

The Best Yoga Exercises for Neck & Shoulder

According to physical therapist and yoga instructor Julie Gudmestad, chronic neck pain is a "modern American epidemic" and tight shoulder muscles are a common problem among her yoga clients. Fortunately, yoga poses can help relieve tension in both these areas while also teaching better posture and improving long-term mobility.

Bharadvaja's Twist
Bharadvaja's twist is a stress relieving pose that stretches out the shoulders, spine and hips and can help to alleviate neck pain. Start by sitting on the floor and leaning slightly onto your right buttock. Bend both of your knees to bring your feet round to your left so that your left ankle rests comfortably on your right foot and they are both slightly out from your left thigh. Breath in deeply and sit up straight, then slowly twist your upper body to the right as you exhale. Place your left hand on your right knee and your right hand on the floor behind your right buttock to help you twist further and turn your head to look at your feet to the left to stretch your neck. Breath slowly in and out for 45 seconds, concentrating on pulling your shoulder blades down towards your tailbone and feeling the gentle stretch in your neck, then exhale and return to the start position. Repeat the move on the left-hand side.

Beginner's Fish Pose (Matsyendrasana)
This pose can help to alleviate backache, neck ache and fatigue and can help to improve posture. You will experience a thorough stretch of the upper body during this exercise. Start by lying flat on the floor on your back with your buttocks resting on the backs of your hands and your elbows tucked in to your sides. Press your forearms firmly into the floor and inhale as you slowly raise your upper body and head off the floor. Gently lower the back of your head onto the floor to create an arch in your back and raise your chest up. Avoid putting too much weight on your head as this can strain your neck, instead keep your buttocks, legs and forearms pressing actively into the floor. Hold the pose for 15 seconds then exhale and slowly lower your back to the floor.

Half Lord of the Fishes Pose (Ardha Matsyendrasana)
This twisting pose stretches the shoulders, neck and hips and helps to stimulate the body. Start out sitting on a small cushion on the floor with your knees bent in front of you and your feet flat. Carefully slide your left foot under your right leg to your right hip, then lift your right foot over your left leg and place it flat on the floor next to your left hip with your right knee pointing straight up. Twist your torso gently to your right as you exhale. Place your right hand on the floor next to your right buttock and your left hand on the floor next to your left foot with the upper arm resting on the outside of your right thigh. Pull your inner right thigh into your torso, push the inside of your right foot into the floor and turn your head to look over your left shoulder at your right foot. Breath in and out deeply as you concentrate on lengthening your spine up towards the ceiling whilst pulling your shoulder blades back and down. Hold the pose for 45 seconds before exhaling and releasing, then repeating on the other side.

Dolphin Pose
The dolphin pose is a standing pose said to relieve stress and release tension in the upper back. Start by kneeling on the floor and resting your forearms on the ground so that your wrists are aligned with your shoulders. Bring your palms together, press your forearms into the floor and crouch onto your toes. Slowly raise your buttocks into the air and straighten your knees until they are only slightly bent. Hold your head between your upper arms without letting it hang and continue to press your forearms and toes into the floor. Concentrate on keeping your spine straight, your tailbone pulled up to the ceiling and your shoulder blades pulled out and down your back as you breathe deeply for 45 seconds. Exhale and slowly bend your knees back to the floor.

Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)
The Bow Pose is an effective way of stretching almost the entire body. It is particularly good for relieving backache and improving posture through strengthening the back and neck muscles. Begin this pose by lying on your front with a cushion under your pelvis and your arms straight down by your sides, palms up. Exhale and bring your feet towards your buttocks with your knees hip width apart. Grasp your ankles, then inhale and pull your ankles and thighs firmly up and away from the floor. With this action your body should form a bow shape with your arms straight back like the bowstring. Hold this position for 20 seconds. You should focus on pressing your pelvis and tailbone towards the floor and keeping your back muscles relaxed. Try to pull your shoulder blades out and down and keep your shoulders relaxed and away from your ears. Exhale and release your ankles to return to the starting position.

Basic Yoga for Belly Fat Loss (Easy Steps)

Yoga can help your body become stronger, more flexible and better balanced. Through poses known as asanas, yoga often strengthens and tones muscles in the arms, legs, core and back. There’s no magic formula for losing belly fat, but yoga along with a calorie-restricted diet can help you burn the additional calories needed to shed excess weight and highlight toned muscles created through strength-building poses. Additionally, yoga’s basic message of mindfulness and calm might help reduce stress, making you more aware of your moods and less likely to indulge in binge eating.

Poses for Stronger Abs
To achieve a flatter belly, focus on core postures in your yoga practice. In Boat pose, you sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet pressing into the mat. Sit up straight, engage your core and then gently lift your feet from the ground to work on abdominal strength. If you’re able, extend your legs to 45 degrees while maintaining a straight spine for a more challenging pose.

In Bridge pose, lie down on your back with your knees bent and feet pressing into the ground. Keep your arms alongside your body with your palms pressing into the floor. On an inhale, lift your hips high while keeping your knees bent.

Burning Calories for Fat Loss
Yoga poses help with strength building, which improves your body’s ability to burn calories more effectively during resting states. But connecting transitions between poses can also burn calories, contributing to lower fat reserves. In between poses, complete a vinyasa by assuming pushup or plank position, slowly lowering your body to within several inches from the floor. On an inhale, straighten your elbows and lift your torso, keeping your shoulders relaxed. Exhale, and then press back into Downward-Facing Dog with your tailbone stretched toward the ceiling and your feet and hands pressing into the mat. Completing vinyasas in between poses will increase the cardiovascular benefits of your workout.

Fire Up Your Breath
Yoga teaches that breath work can contribute to overall physical and emotional health. In deep belly breathing, sit cross-legged with one hand on your heart and the other resting on your belly. Breathe in for five counts, allowing air to fill your belly. Exhale slowly, allowing the breath to slowly leave your core. In Breath of Fire, rapidly breathe in and out through the nostrils, keeping your core muscles engaged so that the abdomen pumps in and out quickly with your breath. Although there’s no scientific proof that yogic breathing will flatten your belly, you might notice improved mindfulness and decreased stress that will prevent you from overeating.

Yoga’s Perspective on Fat
Yogic philosophy teaches a healthy lifestyle that embraces physical activity and mindful eating, but self-acceptance is a key component of this outlook, according to the "Yoga Journal." Having a rock-hard six-pack might be unrealistic or unhealthy for your body; in addition, overly tight abdominals can create back problems because a too-taut belly creates strain on the lumbar spine. Although it’s fine to work toward your goal of a flatter belly, practice compassion by accepting your body and resisting the urge to meet impossible standards set forth in advertising campaigns.

How to Use Bikram Yoga for Weight Loss (4 Steps)

Bikram yoga is a challenging type of yoga where students are placed in a room that is heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit for a total of 90 minutes of 26 different yoga poses. Losing weight may not be the forefront of what bikram yoga may be used for, but it is definitely a possibility.

Tips

1. Go to bikram yoga at least three times a week, or 10 times a month, when beginning yoga. Going any less can not produce the kinds of results you are looking for if your goal is to use bikram yoga for weight loss. Many avid participants of bikram yoga frequent the classes from five to six sessions a week and see optimum results.

2. Take advantage of the yoga poses in class. Try to hold the poses the length of time the instructor tells you to hold for. Bikram yoga is known for burning anywhere from 500 to 1000 calories a session; however, this mostly reflects how much effort you put into the class: the weaker your poses, the less calories you will burn.

3. Eat four hours before class. This gives time for food to settle while not leaving you on an empty stomach.

4. Hydrate yourself the day before and the day of your bikram yoga class. Otherwise, you will not experience the full benefits of bikram yoga or its maximum potential for weight loss.

Does Yoga Continue to Burn Calories After Practice?

Yoga works wonders in practitioners, including physical, emotional and mental health benefits, but yoga’s use as a calorie burner is debatable. Intense physical exercise that works the heart and lungs is required to burn calories and to continue the burn after you stop exercising. According to the American Council on Exercise, the “afterburn” effect of aerobic exercise is very small and depends on the intensity of the workout, but it is possible for your metabolic rate to remain elevated for up to 24 hours.

Afterburn
Your metabolic rate goes up after intense workouts because your heart and lungs are demanding more oxygen, which keeps the burn going. The key to burning calories comes from this cardiorespiratory effect of exercise, which means that you need to get your heart rate up and keep it up for a period of time. For an exercise to be considered aerobic, you must use the large muscles of the body in a continuous, rhythmic way, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. The more fast-paced styles of yoga can do that, but it all depends on your level of intensity and how long you practice.

Yoga
Many yoga classes are designed with relaxation and stress-management in mind, but if you’re looking to burn the most calories possible from a yoga session, you should focus on high-intensity styles such as Vinyasa, Bikram, Power or Ashtanga. Mayo Clinic preventive medicine specialist Donald Hensrud, M.D., points out that slower-style yoga classes only help you burn about 240 calories an hour as opposed to 360 calories from an aerobics class. So while you may continue to burn some calories after an intense yoga practice, if you have this as your main goal, you may be disappointed with your results.

Goals
The meaning of yoga is union, or to acquire a deeper sense of balance among all the different parts of yourself. Feeling good about your body image is important, too, and yoga can help you to experience that regardless of how many calories you burn. A dedicated yoga practice will help you think differently about your body and self, which will help you in all aspects of your life. Simple lifestyle changes are a natural result of a dedicated yoga practice.

Results
Developing better nutrition habits and a healthier relationship between body and mind may have an even bigger effect on your health than mere calorie burning. Other benefits that come from yoga include improved balance, flexibility and strength. As you become more mindful of the tremendous power that comes from the mind-body connection inherent in a yoga practice, you will naturally live a more active and healthy life, which will have you burning more calories as you move energetically through your day.

Morning Yoga Poses

Performing yoga just after you wake up is a great way to start your morning. Besides the obvious physical benefits of stretching sleepy muscles and getting your blood flowing, specific yoga asanas can also raise your energy level, reduce stress and prepare you for the day.

Sun Salutations

Sun salutations are a dynamic group of yoga asanas that are effective for both mentally and physically waking up your body. Sun Salutations, or Surya Namaskar, are a sequence of eight postures -- Tadasana (Mountain pose), Urdhva Hastasana (upward salute), Uttanasana (standing forward bend), Ardha Uttanasana (half standing forward bend), plank pose, Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff pose), Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog) and Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog pose) -- that you perform one after the other. The eight poses combine deep breathing, stretching and both forward and back bends to get your circulation running and calm your mind.

Physical Energy

Many yoga poses increase your muscular and circulatory activity, physically waking up your body from rest. The Cat-Cow pose, for example, is an effective waking stretch for your back, while the Half Moon pose strengthens your abdominal and lower back muscles, helping you maintain your posture if you plan on spending all day sitting at your desk. Certain asanas such as the Camel pose, Bridge pose and Wheel pose increase your heart rate and get your circulatory system pumping -- while the forward bend pose increases the blood flow to your brain, wiping out any lingering grogginess.

Mental Energy

In addition to their physical benefits, many yoga poses can help make you more mentally alert. The three Warrior poses create a feeling of strength and readiness which can help you mentally prepare for a tough day, while the Floating Frog, Fighting Frog pose sequence increases your confidence and assertiveness as you spring up from the Frog pose into an aggressive fighting stance.

Reducing Stress

A final benefit to doing yoga in the morning is its effect on the amount of stress in your daily life. The deep breathing exercises required by most yoga poses relax your muscles and lower your stress levels, while those asanas that focus on balance or difficult positions force you to ground yourself and concentrate. Examples of stress-reducing poses are the Tree pose, the Wide Child's pose and the Corpse pose.

Bedtime Yoga Poses

Yoga can help stretch a tight body and quiet a busy mind before bedtime. The best stretches are ones that have a calming effect over the nervous system and mind, while stretching deeply into the major areas of tightness in the body. When the body is relaxed, loose and open, and the mind is quiet, you are better prepared to rest well.

Forward Folds
Forward folds stretch the back of the legs, which gets tight from standing, too much activity and sitting for long periods of time. The folds also send a signal to the nervous system to stop the flight-or-flight adrenaline rush we use throughout our day, and to start to relax. Forward folds, with the legs together, one leg extended or wide legs, are common and effective folds for stretching the legs and calming the mind.

Neck and Shoulders
Many of your daily activities can cause you to look downward, which tugs on your shoulders and the back of your neck. This can lead to tension and tightness in your neck, shoulders and head, causing tension headaches. This area is also one of the regions you tense when you are stressed. This tension can build and make it hard to find a comfortable position to sleep. By stretching in to these areas, you can relieve some of this tension. Try shoulderstand, cat/cow poses, clasp your hands behind your back, or simply drop your ear toward your shoulder.

Hip Openers
The hips also become tight from too much activity or not enough movement. The hips are also one of the targets of stress. When we are stressed, the hips tense and become tight. This tightness in the hips can affect your sleep, causing you to toss and turn or wake up throughout the night. Stretching the hips will loosen the muscles and release the stress-related tension. Stretches such as pigeon pose, wide-knee child's pose, and firelog pose all stretch deeply into the hips.

Twists
Twisting poses help you stretch all the way from the hips, through the back and sides, to neck and head. These twists release tension along the spine and all of the muscles connecting into it. When the spinal muscles are tight, it can cause back pain, which may prevent you from sleeping fully through the night. Gentle twists are best before bedtime, such as a seated twist or a simple recline twist.

Three Yoga Poses to Keep You Healthy

A regular yoga practice can be key to staying healthy. A consistent yoga practice can aid in digestion, help release and remove toxins, build strength, release tension and even improve blood circulation and circulation of the lymph fluids. With a wide variety of yoga styles and poses to chose from, there are a few that will help you get the most out of your yoga practice.

Downward Dog
Downward Dog keeps you healthy by toning the entire body, while releasing tension through the neck, spine and back of the legs. Come onto your hands and knees on a yoga mat. Tuck your toes as you straighten your legs and lift your sit bones towards the ceiling, making the shape of an upside down "V." Push into your hands, lift your hips and press down through your heels. This activates the arms, legs and core and lengthens through the back of the legs and neck. Hold for 10 breaths before lowering back down.

Seated Twist
In yoga, twists are not only great for releasing tension around the spine and hips and toning the core, but also for cleansing the organs. It is believed that the twisting motion rings out the organs, much like wringing out a dish towel when it's wet, to remove toxins and stimulate digestion. Sit with your legs extended and together. Cross your right leg over your left and draw your right knee towards your chest. Lengthen your spine and twist to the right. Hold for 5 breaths and switch sides to repeat.

Legs Up the Wall
The lymph fluid in the body does not move on its own like blood does. It relies on stimulating the lymph nodes through exercise to push the fluid through. Due to its immobile nature, much of the fluid gets built up in the legs and ankles and can cause swelling. Lifting your legs up and placing them against the wall can help release this build up and promote better circulation. Sit next to a wall on your mat. Swing your legs up onto the wall and lie back as you scoot your bottom forward until it is right up against the wall, with you hips in almost in a 90-degree angle. You can place blankets or pillows under your lower back if you need to. Hold for 2 to 5 minutes before lowering.

Savasana
After any yoga practice, or even just on its own, it's important to let all of the systems re-integrate and to let the body rest. Savasana, or corpse pose, is the final pose in a yoga practice. It is designed to relax your mind and body and allow the health benefits of your practice to sink in. You simple lie on your back with your legs open and your arms by your side, palms facing up. Close your eyes and stay here, motionless, for at least 5 minutes.

How to Modify Bikram Yoga Poses

Performed in a heated studio, Bikram yoga involves the same 26 yoga poses during every 90-minute class. The overall goal of the practice is to improve strength, flexibility, balance and mental clarity. The particular sequence of asanas is meant to target every muscle, joint, ligament, organ, nerve and gland in the body. Although Bikram yoga might be a bit intimidating for yoga newbies, the 26 poses can be easily modified to suit anyone’s abilities.

Things You'll Need

• Yoga strap
• Yoga block
• Towels
• Blankets

Tips

1. Perform the Standing Deep Breathing pose, Corpse pose, Wind Removing pose and Final Breathing Exercise to the best of your abilities. There are no real modifications for these simple postures.

2. Use a wall for balance or extra support. Lightly put one hand on the wall during Awkward pose, Eagle pose, Standing Bow Pulling pose and Balancing Stick pose. If you’re still struggling with stability, try them with your back against the wall for extra support. You can also put your back against the wall for Tree pose and Toe Stand to increase stabilization.

Brace your back heel against the wall in Triangle pose and Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee pose. This simple position change should help you keep your heel on the ground during the move.

3. Support your heel on a ballet barre or another stable surface as you balance in Standing Head to Knee pose. Although this modification interferes with the pose’s balance-boosting benefits, it will allow you to get a feel for the position without putting your safety at risk. As you become more familiar with the pose, remove the heel support and simply try resting your tailbone against a wall.

4. Loop a yoga strap around the soles of your feet for Hands to Feet pose, Bikram Yoga Sit-Up and Head to Knee pose with Stretching pose. Grasp the yoga strap instead of your feet or toes and use it as leverage to pull your torso closer to your legs.

5. Support your body with folded blankets or towels. Position them under the crown of your head or forehead in Rabbit pose. As an added benefit, the towels also stabilize your neck during the pose.

Tuck folded blankets or towels under your sitting bones in Spine Twisting pose. During Half Tortoise pose, position them between your thighs and calves if you’re having trouble sitting on your heels.

Position a rolled-up towel under your thighs for extra assistance during Locust pose, Full Locust pose and Bow pose. Make the poses easier by elevating only one leg at a time.

6. Position a yoga block on the inside of each foot to modify Standing Separate Leg Stretching pose. Rather than grabbing your ankles, simply grasp the top of the yoga block.

7. Mind your body's limitations. Rest your lower arm on the thigh of your bent leg in Triangle pose. As you feel more comfortable with the pose, try reaching toward the ground.

Lift your chest only as far as comfortable in Cobra pose. As your flexibility improves, you will be able to lift your chest further -- but there’s no reason to risk injury by pushing yourself too quickly.

Rather than resting your elevated foot near your groin or on the upper thigh in Tree pose, simply elevate it as high as possible -- whether that’s just above your ankle or near your knee. Just avoid pushing your foot directly into the side of your knee.

8. Modify Fixed Firm pose in two major ways. First, position a yoga strap around your thighs. Pull the strap quite tight; this will keep your thighs from sliding apart as you hold the posture. If you can’t recline fully onto the ground behind you, folded blankets under your back can provide extra height and spine support. Use as much height as necessary -- over time, slowly decrease the height until you’re resting fully on the ground.

9. Ease into Camel pose, rather than trying to perform the pose perfectly as a Bikram beginner. Gently pressing the crown of your head into a wall as you bend backward can help support your neck. If you can’t reach your heels, position a yoga block on the inside of each foot. Place the yoga blocks at their tallest height and hold on to them instead.

Yoga Exercises to Increase Beta Waves

Some people practice yoga to achieve the relaxing states of alpha and theta brainwaves, not realizing that beta waves have advantages as well. Beta waves are the fastest of the main four brainwaves -- beta, alpha, theta and delta -- and make you feel more alert and engaged. Certain yoga poses, breathing techniques and meditations can increase your beta waves, alertness and focus.

Beta Waves
According to Ned Herrmann, an educator, brain activity model maker and contributor to "Scientific Atlanta," beta waves are the brain waves responsible for thought and heightened awareness. They emit electrical activity between 15 to 40 hertz per second -- the fastest of the brainwaves. They also relate to activities that require engagement such as conversation or work. Many healthy adults already function within the beta range often, since it’s the brainwave that corresponds most to being awake and alert. NueroHealth Associates says that the high beta range -- 18 to 40 hertz -- relates to mental activities like math or planning. So, increasing your beta wave activity can actually help you feel more awake, alert and focused, especially if you’re tired, whereas alpha and theta are slower waves that correspond to more relaxing states.

Poses and Movements
Dahn Yoga recommends poses that activate the energy meridian point -- called Jangshim -- in the palm of your hand to create more beta wave activity. According to its website, babies taught to perform the hand movement Jaem Jaem, which activates Jangshim increased their beta wave activity by 30 percent. Research published in the "Journal of Neurophysiology” corroborates this idea, since primates performing hand movements operated within the range of 20 to 40 hertz, which is within the beat range of 15 to 40 hertz. You can also use the Sleeping Tiger pose to activate Jangshim and increase beta waves. Lie on your back with your arms and legs raised. Straighten your arms with your palms up and bend your knees at a 90-degree angle.

Meditation
Meditation can increase beta brain waves, but it depends upon the meditation. For instance, according to a study published in the journal “Cognitive Processing,” participants who practiced two different types of meditations, activated two different brain waves. Participants practicing no thought meditation -- thinking of nothing -- activated beta waves, while those who practiced Qigong meditation -- a concentration-based meditation -- activated alpha waves.

Breathing Techniques
The breath of fire -- or ego-eradicator as it is sometimes called in Kundalini yoga -- is a fast-paced breathing technique that can quickly wake up your body and mind. Also recommended is the Jangshim energy breathing technique, which opens the Jangshim meridian point. Sit in a chair and place your hands with your palms down and parallel with the floor. Breathe in as you imagine energy coming in through your palms and moving up to the heart. Breathe out while imagining the energy leaving your heart. Pay attention to how you feel as you do the exercises. According to NueroHealth, the high beta waves -- 18 hertz and above -- can sometimes make you feel agitated.

How to Do a Rabbit Pose in Yoga

Moves and counter moves. So it goes for chess and yoga. Do a back bend and enhance the experience markedly by following it with a forward bend. Rabbit pose is considered an intense forward-bending posture that soothes the spine after performing the equally-intense back-bending Camel pose. The only challenge may be the length of your arms and the flexibility of your back. To reach behind you along the length of your body to grasp your heels requires one or the other; preferably both. You can work around this by using a yoga strap to lasso your feet until your back can round sufficiently.

Things You'll Need

• Yoga mat
• Yoga strap

Step by steps

1. Come onto your knees on a yoga mat. Slide your knees together and your feet together. Lay the tops of your feet on the mat so that your heels are pointing upward. Sit back on your heels.

2. Cup your heels with your hands and lay your thumbs along the outsides of your heels. Exhale and lower your chin to your chest. Follow this by rounding your back and lowering your head toward the floor. Lift your hips toward the ceiling and slide your head closer to your knees or inch your knees toward your head; whichever movement feels better for you. Breathe as naturally as possible and then release the pose after 20 to 30 seconds.

3. Add a yoga strap if you're not very bendy or if your arms are short. Wrap the middle of the strap around the backs of your heels and hold one end of the strap in each hand. Lift your hips, fold forward and touch your forehead to the floor. Pull gently on the ends of the strap and inch your hands along the strap to maneuver your body into the pose. Practice this pose often to increase the flexibility of your spine.

How to Do a Yoga Turtle Pose

Kurmasana, Turtle pose, requires very flexible hip flexors, hamstrings and lower back and should only be attempted when you are thoroughly warmed up. It is an intense, introspective pose that withdraws the senses from outside stimulation, slows an agitated nervous system, calms the mind, tones the spine and the abdominal organs, and increases hip flexibility as it lengthens the spine. Learn it first under the guidance of a certified yoga teacher who can supply you with a safe warm-up sequence and correct your posture to prevent injury.

Things You'll Need
- Yoga mat

Step by steps

1. Sit on your yoga mat in Dandasana, or Staff pose, stretching your straight spine toward the ceiling and relaxing your legs in front of you, feet naturally flexed.

2. Spread your legs a little more than shoulder-width, so your heels are close to the edge of the mat.

3. Raise your tummy away from your hip bones so you are sitting tall as you fold your torso over your thighs, allowing your knees to bend slightly.

4. Slip your arms, palms down, under your knees and walk arms out to the sides as you deepen your forward bend.

5. Expand your chest, imagining a stretch that widens it from side to side, and release all tension in your shoulders so they relax toward the floor and away from your ears. Breathe evenly and slowly, allowing your muscles to relax at their own pace. Don't force anything.

6. Turn your legs so the knees and toes are pointing toward the ceiling but keep your palms flat on the floor. Walk your arms wider and toward your back to deepen the stretch, lower your back and elongate your torso. As you breathe in, bring your chin and upper chest forward. As you breathe out, lengthen your legs, sliding your heels along the floor.

7. Touch your forehead to the floor, if you can. Eventually, as you become more flexible, you may be able to lay your chin and chest on the floor without strain and move your arms back further behind you. Breathe evenly in Turtle pose for 15 to 30 seconds.

8. Bend your knees and lift your torso to slowly come out of the pose and return to Dandasana.

Yoga Techniques at Home

Hot yoga is usually practiced in a steamy studio, not a comfortable living room. But that doesn't mean you can't reap some of the benefits of hot yoga from the comfort of your own home. If you don't have a hot yoga studio nearby or can't afford the steep membership fees, try setting up a space in or around your home. While it might not be the exact same experience, you can still practice your technique and improve your flexibility without the studio.

Environment
The most important component of hot yoga is, of course, your environment. It's called "hot" because the studio is typically heated to more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with a humidity level of around 40 percent. Depending on your current climate, you can mimic a similar environment by turning up your thermostat or bringing a space heater into a room to increase the temperature. Remember to check the temperature on a thermometer to ensure it's not too hot. If you live in a warm climate, you can practice hot yoga outdoors -- just find a shady spot so you're not practicing in the hot, direct sunlight.

Poses
If you follow Bikram yoga -- the original form of hot yoga as developed by yogi Bikram Choudhury -- the sequencing of yoga poses is always the same. You'll perform the same 26 postures in the same order, twice through. Being familiar with general Hatha yoga can help you in your hot yoga practice, since many of the postures are familiar to those who have practiced other types of yoga and fairly simple to replicate at home.

DVDs, CDs and Other Helps
If you're worried about your at-home hot yoga technique, borrowing hot yoga DVDs or CDs from the library or even investing in your own copies can help you stay on track. They'll walk you through the various poses and the right sequencing so you can focus on your posture and technique rather than trying to remember what comes next or checking a reference guide after each pose. You can find such CDs and DVDs online, at the library and even through some yoga studios.

Safety
When you practice hot yoga at home, you lose out on the benefit of having a trained professional watch your form and offer up safety suggestions to ensure a healthy session. Practicing in the extreme heat can lead to nausea, dizziness and other symptoms of heat exhaustion. Check your thermometer before you start and avoid practicing in conditions above 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Drink at least 16 ounces of water before you begin and keep a water bottle nearby during practice, suggests Yoga Journal. If you start to feel sick, dizzy or confused, stop and find somewhere cool until the symptoms cease.

Yoga Pose Names

Curve up like a snake in Cobra, exult like a choreographed Shiva in Lord of the Dance, stand tall and rooted in Tree. Yoga poses have colorful names in English to evoke the shapes and movements of a routine. In their original Sanskrit, some names are more finely layered, alluding to stories from ancient scriptures that demonstrate how to live a moral, balanced life. Call it Adho Mukha Svanasana or Downward-Facing Dog, you still have to get your heels on the ground.

The Sounds of Sanskrit
Your yoga teacher may spin out a list of pose names for a sequence that leaves you scratching your head instead of reaching for your toes. The original names of yoga poses are all in Sanskrit, a 7,000-year-old Indo-European language. Hindus believe that the sounds of Sanskrit are themselves holy and that chanting or saying them aloud is a spiritual practice. A pose name is always an aggregate of more than one word in Sanskrit because it ends in "asana," which is the word for posture or pose. The beginning of the name describes the pose. So, Padanghustasana breaks down to Pad -- foot, Anghusta -- big toe, and Asana -- pose. Reach for your feet in Big Toe pose.

Not So Ancient
Yoga itself is thousands of years old. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are about 2,000 years old, but yoga developed as an oral tradition over several millennia before being written down. And what was written about yoga in the ancient scriptures and commentary were teachings and instructions for meditation, breathing practices and spiritual philosophy. Despite popular belief, those venerable names of historic yoga poses may not be anywhere near as old as early scriptures. Cambridge divinity scholar Dr. Mark Singleton, writing in "Yoga Journal," details his search for the origins of contemporary yoga poses. Singleton discovered that Krishnamacharya, the Indian sage who taught the most influential yoga teachers of the 20th century, created a contemporary practice based on classical Hinduism, Western gymnastics, late-19th-century Indian wrestling exercises and poses he claimed to have learned from visions of a yogi ancestor and study with Brahmachari, a cave-dwelling yoga master.

Picture Poses
The hundreds of poses yoga practitioners select from today fall into several major categories, based on physical position. An effective sequence may draw from each category and will tailor the level of difficulty to the student or class. Categories include standing, backbends, forward bends, seated and twists, core, arm balances, inversions and restorative poses. Remembering a sequence gets easier when you realize the names create a picture for you. Happy Baby is a core pose in which you lie on your back, bend your knees and grab your toes with your fingertips. In Plow, an inversion, your body forms a plow shape as you balance on your shoulders, lift your torso and touch the floor behind your head with your extended legs. Side Plank is a one-arm balance in which you support yourself on one hand, raise the other arm to the ceiling and hold your body straight from head to toe.

Story Poses
Some yoga pose names come from scriptural stories that contain a hint about how to approach them. Marichi was the son of Brahma, the grandfather of Surya, the fiery sun god, and the great-grandfather of Manu, the proto-Adam of vedic scripture. Marichi means "ray of light" and the Marichyasana, the Pose Dedicated to the Sage Marichi, honors his complex nature and gifts of warmth, light and the human intellect. Breathe evenly as you move into the seated forward bend, one leg extended fully forward, foot flexed. The other leg bends at the knee, drawn close to the torso, foot flat on the mat. Head touches knee of the extended leg and hands are swept back and clasped behind you as you lengthen the torso. Mindful, steady breathing invigorates the internal organs, stoking the digestive fire as you hold the pose, even as attention to its intricacies calms the mind.

How to Lose Belly Fat Through Yoga

It would be nice to do a few ab exercises and melt away the bothersome belly fat accumulated there, but unfortunately, you can't spot-reduce fat. To lose fat from around your middle, you have to take it off your entire body. Though yoga is low-impact and often associated with relaxation and stretching, it can be effective for helping trim your physique. The poses help strengthen, tone and lengthen your abdominal muscles, and reducing your stress levels with yoga can have a positive effect on belly fat, too.

Different Styles of Yoga
If you want to try yoga to lose belly fat -- and for reducing overall body fat -- you'll be faced with choosing which type of yoga to practice. The biggest difference between the dozens of styles of yoga is how they're practiced rather than the types of poses performed in them. Kundalini yoga focuses on activating energy through breathing techniques rather than on fitness. Gaiam Life explains that hatha yoga is a sort of catch-all term for any type of yoga that teaches poses. It's a fairly gentle style of yoga that won't necessarily get your heart rate up, but it is effective for lengthening your muscles, including the abs. While power and vinyasa styles of yoga may flow from one pose to another in different sequences each time, you'll do the same poses in the same order every time with Ashtanga yoga. It's a more demanding style of yoga that will work up a sweat, too, making it effective for burning calories to reduce body fat.

The De-Stressing Factor
Even though it centers on relaxation rather than challenging poses, restorative yoga may be the best form for reducing fat. An article published in the "American Journal of Managed Care" showed that women who practiced restorative yoga lost a total of 31 square centimeters over a six-month period. Additionally, the participants continued to reduce even after the researchers released them to practice yoga on their own. Restorative yoga is performed seated or reclining, and the poses are held for a longer duration, sometimes as long as seven minutes, so it doesn't fit the typical advice to get your heart rate up to burn fat. Researchers in the study found that restorative yoga is effective because of its ability to reduce stress. According to Harvard Health Publications, a hormone you produce when stressed, cortisol, is one cause of fat buildup around the abdomen. Researchers in the "American Journal" study, who presented their findings at 73rd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Chicago, said that since restorative yoga reduces cortisol levels, it may lead to trimmer middles.

Yoga Poses for Abs
A number of yoga poses focus on the belly and core. Poses such as Bridge lengthen the abdominal muscles. The Boat, Plank and Upward Abdominal Lock strengthen and tone abs. Even your oblique muscles will benefit from poses such as Extended Side Angle, Triangle and Side Plank. Performing these and other ab poses as part of any regular yoga practice should successfully tone your abdominal muscles, but won't shed the top layer of belly fat. Only calorie-burning, stress reduction and dietary changes will help you lose the fat.

Frequency of Your Practice
"Yoga Journal" suggests that you practice yoga two to three times a week for at least an hour at a time. If you're performing Ashtanga yoga, it can serve as moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and help fulfill the 150 minutes weekly recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Depending upon how vigorous your yoga session is, even as little as 75 minutes per week can be beneficial if it gets your heart rate up to the point that your breathing is hard and fast, according to the CDC. If it's difficult for you to fit an entire hour of yoga in all at once, cut your sessions into easier-to-manage lengths. You'll benefit from 10, 15 or 20 minutes at a time of moderate to vigorous yoga.

Yoga Hamstring Tips

Hamstrings, the muscles that run up the back of your thighs, need attention to stay strong and healthy. If they become too tight from sitting at a desk hour after hour, you may be at risk for a painful pull or tear. When hamstrings are too loose -- which can be caused by hanging out in a split or stretching without strengthening -- you can unbalance your thigh by developing powerful quads and weak hamstrings. Yoga can help you strike a good balance and keep hamstring muscles in tip-top shape.

Long and Loose
Inactivity causes hamstrings to tighten. Most hamstring injuries arise from hamstrings that are too short or too tight. When you feel an ache or mild pain in your "sit bones" during yoga practice, you've probably strained your tight hamstrings. The smart move is to skip poses like Forward Bends that stress your hamstrings and give muscle tissue time to heal. Continue to work gently on lengthening hamstrings and maintaining or developing flexibility with modified poses. Use blocks to shorten the stretch in Triangle and Intense Side Stretch poses. For reclining Head-to-Big-Toe, don't grab your toe for the maximum stretch. Use a strap around your instep to gently raise your leg and avoid stressing the hamstrings, recommends Yoga Journal.

Yoga Stretches
Standing Forward Bend, Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend and Wide-Legged Forward Bend are powerful hamstring stretches. They can contribute to a painful injury, however, if you do them before you've warmed up or if you approach the poses without appropriate caution. Safeguard your tender tendons by warming up to get the blood flowing to lower body and leg muscles before bending into a challenging stretch. Avoid pushing hard or abruptly into the stretch -- hamstrings could react with a reflex contraction that tightens them against your stretch and causes a tear. Practice a well-rounded stretching routine and always work both sides to avoid hamstrings that are not evenly stretched and strong. Avoid intense stretching at the end of a workout or routine when you are hot, sweaty, tired and more likely to overstretch a hamstring muscle.

Stronger Equals Safer
Lower your risk of hamstring injury with poses recommended by Yoga Journal to strengthen tendons and muscles. Upward Plank, in which your torso forms an unbroken, slanted line as you face the ceiling and support yourself on your hands and pointed feet, contracts hamstrings. Keep hips high and shoulder blades down as you hold for 30 seconds. Warrior III strengthens your entire leg and improves balance as you stand on one leg, folding forward at the hips, extending arms and lifted leg to form a flat torso. Pressing the heel of the supporting leg into the floor and pointing the toes of the extended leg intensifies the pose. Hold for 30 seconds and resist locking either knee. Alternate sides.

Rehab for Runners
Runners tend to develop powerful quads with weaker hamstrings, and a quick stretch before or after a run may not be enough to protect against a pull. Mild hamstring strains benefit from rest -- a couple of yoga poses that can be added to the runner's arsenal for rehab and future protection. Lie on a yoga mat and use a strap around your arch to assist with a Supine Leg Stretch. Pull your knee to the chest with the strap, exhale, lengthen the leg toward the ceiling just as far as it is comfortable and hold between 30 seconds and one minute. With no weight on your leg, the hamstring relaxes into the stretch easily. Lying face-down with legs and arms extended, toes pointed, squeeze your glutes and thighs and contract your core to lift your legs and upper torso into Locust pose. Hold 30 seconds, release, and repeat three times.