When working with individual clients, I stress the value of finding a mode of exercise that you enjoy (or at least enjoy more than others). And this process is extremely subjective. When it comes to exercise, truly one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Or perhaps more accurately, one person’s obsession is another person’s torture.
I secretly love elliptical machines, because it gives me an opportunity to catch up on girly magazines while I exercise. I can be off in la-la land, studying the latest skincare trends or workout fashion, and—voila—forty-five minutes has gone by before I know it.
While I allow myself this workout once or twice a week because I love it—and creating positive associations of exercise is incredibly important in determining long-term consistency—there still is some objective research out to prove that there are fringe benefits to more introspective, concentration-demanding forms of exercise.
Specifically, studies show a unique link between practicing yoga and having the desire to eat more nutritious foods and use better-portion control. One such study attributes this to yoga’s propensity to “increased body awareness, specifically a sensitivity to hunger and satiety…” (Source: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)
Being a certified yoga instructor in addition to a certified personal trainer, I can certainly attest that yoga makes us more aware of our bodies (and subsequently what goes into them) than other forms of exercise in which our minds go on auto-pilot (such as my elliptical-magazine tradition). Yoga requires so many complex subtleties, in addition to intense willpower during more vigorous practices, that little room is left for the mind to wander. This leads to us turning inward and noticing things about our body, what we really want, and what we really need.
Yoga is unique in automatically leveling up our willpower; and since we know that overeating is the quickest route to increasing our dress size, doing anything we can to naturally boost awareness and willpower will serve to fast-track our weight-loss results.
The research seems to be ambiguous about what type of yoga practice is required to reap the rewards of self-control over food. Allow me then to step in and make a suggestion. If maintaining or losing weight is a goal of yours, and you have a limited amount of time to work with, choose a challenging power yoga routine once or twice a week to burn calories and sculpt metabolism-boosting muscle, while simultaneously reducing your likelihood of overeating and/or stress eating.
In case you missed it, I blogged recently about my favorite power yoga videos. Oftentimes class schedules just don’t coincide with your busy routine, so having these videos in your back-pocket can be a great Plan B if making it to a yoga studio doesn’t work. Or consider hiring a private instructor to work with you one-on-one to nail down the proper form and tailor the practice to your unique needs.
Have you noticed a difference in how you feel, act, or eat after you do yoga? Leave a comment and tell us about it!
