Simple Yoga Asanas For Weight Loss At Home

People often ask me to recommend them some simple yoga asanas for weight loss at home. While many asanas can serve this purpose, I usually start simple and suggest beginning with well-known and rather simple Surya Namaskar practice (the full image is at the end of the post). This is a set of 12 asanas, which are performed in a sequence and dynamically. The origin of Surya Namaskar is traced back to ancient Indian scripture Rig Veda, so its efficiency has been proven through the ages.

Ok, here are these basic yoga asanas for weight loss (Surya Namaskar):

1. It is called Pranamasana (the greeting sign).

Stand erect, keep your legs together; place your palms in front of the chest (like in Indian greeting sign). Relax your body. Breathe normally. Place your attention to the heart region.

2. Hasta-uttanasana (hands up!:))

Rise your arms above your head; strain yourself a bit and lean your head and body back a little. Inhale while raising your hands. Concentrate on the lower front neck.

3. Pada-hastasana (hands to feet)

Lean forward, trying to reach the floor or your feet; it is good if you can place your palms on the floor completely and touch the knees with your forehead. If you can’t, do not strain yourself too much; you will be able to do it later, with some practice. Hold your legs straight!

When you bend forward, exhale; pull your stomach in when you fully bent if you can, to empty your lungs as much as possible. Concentrate on the sacrum area.

4. Asva-sancalanasana (rider’s posture)

When in the 3rd position, pull your right leg backwards as far as you can. Along with that bend your left leg, keeping your left foot on the floor unmovable. You right leg touches the floor with the knee and toes. Your straight arms are down, touching the floor with fingertips (if you can). Lean your head backwards a bit, arching your chest.

Inhale when you pull your right leg backwards. Concentrate on the spot between your eyebrows.

5. Parvatasana (mountain posture).

In the position 4 pull your left leg backwards just where your right leg is. Your feet should be together then. Raise your buttocks and lower your head to the position between your arms. The whole posture resembles a triangle. Arms and legs are straight. Exhale when you move your left leg backwards. Concentrate on the front side of the lower neck.

6. Ashtanga-namaskara (greeting with 8 parts of the body).

Lower your body to the floor in a way that only your toes, knees, chest, palms and chin touch it. Hip and belly are slightly above the floor, but not touching it.

Hold your breath when you reach the final point in this position (it should be after exhale). Concentrate on the navel area.

7. Bhujangasana (Cobra posture).

This is a pretty well known posture; helps remove belly fat and massages abdominal organs. Straighten your arms being in position 6, and rise the upper part of your body. Lean your head back. Buttocks are lowered to the floor.

Inhale when you raise your body; concentrate on tail bone.

Then we are going backward: after posture 7 you do posture 5 – Parvatasana (exhale, when rising buttocks); then goes posture 4 – Asva-sancalanasana (bent your left leg and move it forward before your arms; lower your right knee to touch the floor; inhale when doing this asana); then 3 – Padahastasana (place your right foot next to the left one; straighten your legs; rise your buttocks and try to touch your knees with your forehead; palms are on the floor or touching it; exhale); then goes 2 – Hasta-uttanasana (Stand straight, rise your arms above and slightly back of your head; bend your head slightly back as well; inhale); now we conclude the set coming back to the number 1 – Pranamasana (Place your hands before your chest, exhale; relax; concentrate on your heart).

Here you have the list of yoga asanas for weight loss. The Surya Namaskar is done in rounds; as you have noticed, you place your right leg back, and then left leg follows it. In the next round, place left leg back, and the right should follow it. So you just change it symmetrically in positions 4 and 9. This changing constitutes one round; you can do from 3 to 12 rounds at a time. Doing more than 12 rounds is not necessary.

Surya Namaskar - a good set of weight loss yoga asanas
Surya Namaskar – a good set of weight loss yoga asanas

So here you have yoga asanas for weight loss with pictures for easy following. Try different speeds to find the optimal for you. Sometimes toxins start coming out of the body due to the Surya Namaskar practice – don’t worry, it is normal. But what you really should consider doing are:

– Consultation with your doctor on the Surya Namaskar practice;

– Starting practice slowly, and never rush trying to get “better” results.

Play safe and you will get results. Good Luck!

2 thoughts on “Simple Yoga Asanas For Weight Loss At Home

  1. Hi! I am vata and have always been slim. A few years ago I started gaining a tremendous amount of weight without change to my diet or exercise plan. Should I still follow a vata diet or should I follow the kapha diet? Also, so many negative things about consuming wheat are now being said. Is it still healthy for Vatas? Thank you so much!

    1. Hi! Sorry for the late reply.

      Well, if you are gaining weight up to a normal degree (I’m not sure what do you mean by ‘tremendous’), it simply means that your vata is nicely pacified. Otherwise, you may have a kapha dosha imbalance. So, you can try following a kapha diet for 2 weeks, and see, what’s going on with your digestion, whether you have bloating, constipation, problems with elimination. Another thing is your stress level – has it increased lately?

      As for the wheat – yes, it is healthy and good for vata, because it is nourishing, grounding and warming. As for the negative things about wheat – we need to understand, where and why it is coming from?

      Since not many people eat healthy foods, do it in a correct way and have their lifestyle properly organized, we have problems with wheat and milk these days. People eat junk food, processed food and refined food, GMO, etc., which gradually leads to various allergies, since it brings chaos to their doshas.

      Once your eating habits and lifestyle are brought closer to a natural balance, you forget about problems with wheat and milk.

      Of course, there are exceptions – some people may have gluten and lactose intolerance, and it may be deeply rooted in their health and even genes. Otherwise, wheat is great for vata dosha, especially during cold season.

Leave a Reply to Denis Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *