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Yoga Helps Fight Mid-Life Bulge
Copyright 2005 Daily News Central
Yoga practice helps middle-aged people lose weight and keep
it off, suggest new studies published in the online journal
Alternative Therapies In Health and Medicine.
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
surveyed 15,500 men and women to assess their weight and
yoga histories between the ages of 45 and 55.
For purposes of the study, regular yoga practice was
defined as practicing at least 30 minutes once a week for
four or more years.
20-Pound Gap
Statistics showed that the subjects who were of normal
weight at the age of 45 and did not practice yoga
consistently gained about 10 pounds, while those who
performed regular yoga routines lost 3 pounds during that
same 10-year period -- a difference of 13 pounds.
There was a wider gap between people who were overweight at
the age of 45. The non-yoga group gained about 14 pounds,
while the yoga group lost 5 pounds -- a difference of
almost 20 pounds.
It is not likely that yoga's fat-fighting potential is due
to the physical activity itself, according to the study's
lead author, Alan R. Kristal, DrPH.
"During a very vigorous yoga practice you can burn enough
calories to lose weight, but most people don't practice
that kind of yoga," he notes.
Body Awareness a Factor
"From my experience, I think it has to do with the way that
yoga makes you more aware of your body. So when you've
eaten enough food, you're sensitive to the feeling of being
full, and this makes it much easier to stop eating before
you've eaten too much," Kristal explains.
"Most people practice yoga in a way that's not aerobic
enough to burn a lot of calories, so it has to be some
other reason," adds study co-author Denise Benitez, owner
of Seattle Yoga Arts.
"People who regularly practice yoga develop the inner
resources to stay with a little bit of discomfort," she
says, hypothesizing that those inner resources help people
to stay with the discomfort that is caused when they deny
themselves junk food.
In order to accurately measure the effects of yoga on
weight maintenance and loss, these preliminary findings
will need to be replicated, Kristal cautions.
Yoga Tips
The following tips for enhancing one's yoga practice,
offers Benitez, may be particularly helpful for those who
wish to maintain or lose weight:
1. Practice in a room without mirrors and pay more
attention to your internal experience than to your outer
performance.
2. Learn to feel sensations more and more subtly, so that
you become deeply involved in and curious about small
movements -- sometimes called micro-movements.
3. In your poses, find an edge for yourself where you are
challenged but not overwhelmed. At this edge, practice
maintaining a clear, open and accepting mental state.
4. Give yourself permission to rest when you feel
overworked.
5. Pay close attention to what you are saying to yourself
as you practice, and make an intentional effort to
appreciate your own efforts and innate goodness.
6. Go to class faithfully, arrive early, and talk to a few
people before class begins.
7. Buy your own yoga mat and bring it to class.
8. Realize that the development of qualities like patience,
discipline, wisdom, right effort, kindness, gratitude and
many others will arise from your yoga practice. These
qualities create a steady and soft mind.
9. Find a teacher who offers a balance of gentleness and
firmness and whose teaching inspires you to practice from
your highest self.
10. Recognize that simply attending class is a major
statement of courage, self-care, and positive momentum.
Realize that you are inspiring others as you become more
true to your deepest desires.
About the Author:
Rita Jenkins is a health journalist for Daily News Central,
an online publication that delivers breaking news and
reliable health information to consumers, healthcare
providers and industry professionals:
http://www.dailynewscentral.com
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