Yoga For Weight Loss
Submitted by divine_sysop on June 7, 2010 - 05:10
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Problem Description
Occurrence:
Obesity is a condition in which excess fat gets accumulated in the body leading to various kinds of health complications. A person is considered to be obese when their Body Mass Index (BMI) is greater than 30kg/m2. For such people seeking weight loss remedies are a must.
Obesity is usually caused by a combination of various factors which include the intake of excessive dietary calories, genetic susceptibility as well as lack of proper physical activity. In some cases, however, obesity can also be caused due to a disorder in the endocrine glands, improper medications or psychiatric illnesses. Certain people have slow metabolism and so even if they eat less they might gain a lot of weight and weight loss might not be an easy alternative for them. Usually the energy expenditure of obese people is much more compared to their counterparts because they require more energy to maintain the increased mass of their body.
Both for adults and children obesity is the main cause of death all over the world. In fact it is considered to be one of the most serious health problems prevalent in the 21st century. As a result the medical experts are constantly harping on the importance of health loss to counter obesity.
World Heath Organization has classified obesity as per the BMI index. If a person has BMI over 35 but under 40 he is suffering from severe obesity. A BMI index which is between 40 to 49 is classified as morbid obesity and a BMI index over 50 is termed as super obesity. Both morbid obesity and super obesity are often fatal conditions and to prevent these you would need to implement weight loss remedies on an urgent basis.
Symptoms/Conditions:
There are several symptoms of obesity —however the most significant symptom is an increase in weight. In most cases obesity reduces physical movements and slows down the rate of emotional as well as mental activities. Some common symptoms of obesity include:
- Increase in intake of food
- Fatigue and frustration
- Saggy breasts in women
- Enlarged stomach, waist as well as thighs
- Reduction of overall efficiency
- Obstruction in breathing process
- Occurrence of ulcers and other stomach related malaises
- Diabetes, heart problems as well as blood pressure are the common associated disease
- Problems in the nervous system might develop
Once you notice these symptoms make sure that you immediately implement weight loss remedies.
Commonly Understood Causes:
- The most commonly understood cause of obesity is excessive intake of calories and a sedentary lifestyle.
- Genetic reasons are also considered to be a great cause for obesity.
- At times mental illness can also lead to obesity.
- Disorder of endocrine or pituitary glands can lead to obesity.
- Certain medications can cause obesity and these include insulin, sulfonylureas, steroids, atypical antipsychotics, antidepressants and some other contraceptives.
Experts suggest that obesity is a result of the interplay between genetic as well as environmental factors. The appetite is controlled by the polymorphisms in different genes and when sufficient calories are present the metabolism gets predisposed to obesity. It has been found out that 80% of the offspring were obese if both the parents were obese.
Apart from these major reasons there are also several other causes of obesity. Some of these include:
- Lack of proper sleep
- The pollutants in the environment and its interference in the lipid metabolism.
- Exposure to drastic variations in the temperature
- Increased use of pain killing medication can lead to side affects like weight gain
- Increased rates of smoking
- Stress
- Late pregnancy which can cause obesity in both the mother and the children
These factors are however less influential compared to the previous mentioned causes.
Yogic/Ayurvedic view of the problem
Dosha Treatment of the Problem: Yogic Exercises for Weight Loss
As per Indian medical experts obesity is common among people who have kapha-type physique or a dosha that is created of water and earth. When, these two elements are not balanced it can cause obesity as the major characteristic of this is not enhanced. Nonetheless it cannot be said that only if you have a kapha dosha you will suffer from obesity- in case of various other dosha too you can suffer from the sane malaise. For example if you suffer from pitta dosha you are likely to have poor digestion and in that case you might gain weight fast. People with vata dosha can suffer from obesity if they stick to an oily and rich diet.
To ensure weight loss by balancing doshas yoga can be the perfect remedy. Even experts in western medicine system believe that yoga is the perfect remedy to control obesity. Yogic discipline would help you to achieve control over the mind and the behavior is suitable for all age groups. Yoga would teach you the self discipline to control your food habits and lead a healthy life style. The techniques involved in yoga affect both the body and the mind and this form of exercise has a positive effect on the internal organs as well as the glands. Bending, twisting while doing yoga asanas can reduce the fats accumulated near the abdomen as well as hips. Owing to this the internal organs also start to function well and this improves the functions of various other parts of the body.
One of the most important yogic exercises that plays an instrumental role in controlling obesity is pranayama. This important yogic posture helps one to gain control over the life force. Apart from vitalizing ones body it would allow you to relax. Pranayama techniques are categorized into hypo ventilation and hyper ventilation. The hyper ventilation pranayamas include kapalbhati, Bhasrika and other forms of fast breathing while the hypo ventilation includes Bhramari, Shitali and Sitkari. These techniques are useful to reduce obesity and achieve weight loss.
Apart from these Agnisar, Bandhas like Uddiyan Bandha and Mula bandha are considered to be useful yogic exercises for weight loss.
Ayurvedic View of the Obesity Problem:
According to the Ayurvedic view, when the body gains weight, it loses its shape because fat gets accumulated in various parts of the body. This leads to obesity. It is mostly found in people with ‘Kapha’ type constitution. The balance of the body gets affected to a great extent, which reduces the overall functioning of the body. Ayurveda also associates obesity with several diseases like hypertension, diabetes and even heart problems. It recommends that you should try to control weight right from the beginning.
As a means to control obesity Ayurveda focuses on the intake of the right diet. As per the Ayurvedic view to control obesity you need to have proper daily regimen and diet in order to avoid digestive problems. An Ayurvedic diet recommended to prevent obesity includes:
- Fresh fruits like pineapple, papaya, bitter melon and vegetables.
- Decreased amount of white breads and processed foods
- Have 8-10 glasses of water daily
- Prefer skimmed milk instead of whole milk
- Eating meats as baked, roasted or boiled.
- Ginger tea
An Ayurvedic doctor can also examine the causes of obesity and give treatments based on the causes. This treatment plan would obviously differ from person to person.
Ayurvedic practitioners not only recommend an optimum diet but also ascertain the timings of food consumption as a means to control obesity. Usually walking and other aerobic exercises are recommended by them as a means to control obesity and ensure good health.
Certain Ayurvedic medicines that can help to control obesity include the Triphala capsules (combination of Amalaki (Emblica officinalis), Bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica), and Haritaki (Terminalia chebula)), and the Suddha Guggulu capsules (Indian Bdellium).
Self-care
What to Change in Life-Style:
Life style no doubt plays an important role in obesity. If a person is suffering from obesity usually he or she maintains a sedentary life style. Today there is an increasing tendency to shift towards work which is physically less demanding. As a result there is insufficient exercise which often leads to obesity. There has also been an increase in the mechanized transportation along with the prevalence of the labor saving technologies at home. There are less active recreational pursuits and all these factors contribute a lot toward obesity. Keep in mind obesity is essentially a lifestyle related problem and unless one changes toward active lifestyle one cannot combat obesity.
Yoga
Which Yoga Poses Help?
There are several yoga poses that are considered to be useful in obesity. Some of the effective yoga poses that you could practice include:
- Paschimotannasana
- SaralHastaBhujangasana
- Halasana
- Trikonasana
- ArdhaMatsyendrasana
- Sarvangasana
- Dhanurasana
- Veerasana
Apart from these asanas, sun salutation is also considered to be quite effective for weight loss. Every day 24 sun salutations with a speed of around 4 rounds in 1 minute can give one great benefits.
Herbal Remedies
Treatment through commonly available herbs:
There are some Ayurvedic herbs that can help one to fight obesity. Some of these herbs include:
- Aloe Vera
- Indian gooseberry
- Guduchi (Gulancha tinospora)
- Shudh Guggulu (Indian Bdellium).
Other Alternatives
Homoeopathy:
Homeopathy also has effective treatment solutions for obesity. The medicines are selected after thorough examination of the obese individual and are based on several different factors that the practitioner believes has caused obesity.
Diet
Overeating and poor dietary choice is perhaps the main reason behind obesity. Though there are several nutritional guidelines available yet in most cases they have failed to address the problems of obesity. The extra calories that men and women in average consume are generally carbohydrate and not fat. The source of these extra carbohydrates is mainly the sweetened beverages and these in fact are a have contributed to a great extent toward the rise in obesity. So if you are planning weight loss you need to effect these changes in your lifestyle and dietary habits immediately.
As far as food habits are concerned
- The lunch and the dinner timings should be fixed.
- There should be a difference of 4 hours between two meals.
- The meal should be low in fat and it should contain rich vegetables as well as fruits.
- You should reduce the intake of excess fats, calories, sweets, milk, cheese as well as butter.
Important Precaution
There are certain basic precautions that you would need to adapt in order to prevent obesity. Some of them are:
- You need to be careful about the foods you intake. Oily, spicy and fatty foods should be avoided.
- You need to quit smoking and drinking
- It is a must for you to be active and learn to maintain a balance in all the activities
- You should do some exercises like sit ups and put ups. These would keep the body flexible and toned.
- You should avoid eating sweets and candies
- Try to include food grains like wheat, barley and maize in your diet
- Strictly avoid red meats
- Reduce stress
- Eat green salads
- Drink plenty of water
- Avoid foods which are rich in carbohydrate (like rice and potatoes)
- Cabbage is extremely beneficial to control obesity
- Drink lukewarm water regularly after lunch and dinner as it helps in proper digestion.
- Excess salts should be avoided in meals.
- Green tea or ginger tea can help to burn the excess fat in your body
- Eating tomato in the early morning can also help you in weight loss.
Finally keep in mind that the problem of obesity is not curable overnight. You need to focus on staying fit and adopt healthy practices in order to overcome this malaise.
