Yoga much more than just a workout

Chances are that you may not think of yoga as "real" exercise but there's much more to yoga.

About 20 million Americans over the age of 18 practiced yoga in 2014, or 8.7% of the adult population, up from 15.8 million in 2012, according to a 2014 study by Sports Marketing Surveys on behalf of Yoga Journal. Of those polled who didn't currently practice, 44% said they'd like to, making them "aspirational yogis."

Yoga instructor for over 12 years, Kris Fondran claims that a programme that she has developed is a breakthrough that helps people transform their bodies from flab to "fab" using yoga alone.

"Yoga also transformed my body. It’s like the ultimate anti-aging medicine! I sleep like a baby at night and feel healthier than ever. I don’t have the usual aches and pains that crop up at middle age, even as a former marathon runner. Plus I enjoy more energy than people I know who are 10 or 20 years younger than me," she says.

Why yoga is better than jogging for burning off calories

She says, "I did a series of simple yoga postures strung together in something I call a "flow", which put my body into a perfect fat-burning zone. During one 10-minute flow, I burned 7 calories per minute. That adds up to 420 calories in an hour—about what I’d burn by jogging."

She also says that yoga is much better for joints than jogging. "With jogging, I’d have to worry about putting all that stress on my knees and hips. In fact, I had developed bursitis in my hip from all those years of jogging. But with yoga, my joints became stronger and more flexible, instead of stiff and achy. That’s because yoga's fluid movements allow your joints—even if they’re swollen or painful—to glide smoothly over one another, improving strength and mobility… with NO wear and tear. And you’re able to burn off just as many calories—and even more fat."

The hidden trigger that’s making you fat and how to reverse it

Yoga helps you burn off more fat which is a huge advantage over cardio exercise. In the calorie study, 6.3 of the 7 calories I burned per minute doing yoga were from FAT. That comes out to a whopping 90%—the same as with jogging! But yoga does something else to help you burn off more fat: it lowers cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone your body releases when it’s under stress, which is why cortisol is often called the “stress hormone”. The problem is, many of us are walking around with high cortisol levels all the time—and it’s not due to the life-threatening situations this stress response was designed for. Instead, it’s due to everyday stressors, like an argument with your spouse or a rough day at work or at home with the kids.

Helps you lose stubborn flab and belly fat—and keep it off!

In 2009, Indian researchers proved that cancer patients who followed a yoga program had lower levels of cortisol than those who did not. And another study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine showed that healthy college students who practiced yoga had lower cortisol levels. This means you can do yoga and get the powerful fat-blasting effects of vigorous cardio exercise, and reduce your cortisol levels at the same time. This can help you lose stubborn flab and belly fat…and keep it off! Plus you can forget about the boring monotony of jogging, running on a treadmill, or riding a stationary bike.

Study proves a half hour of yoga a week can make 19 pounds vanish!

A recent clinical trial—funded by the National Cancer Institute—looked at 15,500 healthy, middle-aged men and women. All of them completed a survey about their physical activity (including yoga) and their weight between the ages of 45 and 55. Researchers analyzed the data and factored out diet and other forms of exercise that could trigger weight changes. They discovered that people who were already overweight to start lost about 5 pounds on average, simply by doing one 30-minute session of yoga a week. Meanwhile, those who didn’t practice yoga gained nearly 14 pounds.

Crank the fat burn as you sculpt more muscle

When it comes to strength training, forget about “no pain, no gain”. You can get a shapely butt, flat abs, jiggle-free arms, and toned thighs without being a slave to weight machines, dumbbells or resistance cords. That’s because when you do yoga, you don’t have to lift weights. Instead, you lift your own body weight. In many poses, you position your body in ways you ultimately support with your muscles. This helps sculpt your physique in ways other strength-training methods can’t touch.

You won’t just look better than you have in years, you’ll FEEL better, too!

Yoga is much more than a way to get your body looking good, it also makes you FEEL good. You can feel less anxious and more energised and sleep like a baby at night. It’s very important to do the right yoga poses, and do them correctly.

Caution: Not ALL yoga instruction is created equal

Unfortunately, many yoga classes are led by teachers who haven’t had much training, either in yoga or in how the human body works. This can put you at risk of hurting yourself. It’s no wonder one sports doctor I know says he sees more injuries from “health club” yoga than anything else. Even if the teacher is well-trained, you can end up in too big of a class and not be able to see what the teacher is actually doing. Yoga should never hurt. Whenever you do a pose, it’s all about what’s best for your body—not the person next to you. And when you do the poses correctly over time, you’ll see your body become stronger, leaner, and more flexible…without straining your joints and muscles. Best of all, you can see fantastic results in just one hour a week.

You can lose 19 pounds in just 30 minutes a week, claims yoga instructor Kris Fondran