Lose Upper Body Weight With Yoga

by Rachna

First time I am going to write you. I hope you will answer my queries point wise very patiently. I suddenly discovered this site and it is very very useful which never seen before.

I am very much confused and not even doctor is able to satisfied me by giving answers to my queries. My age is 42 and my weight is 68 kg and my height is 5 ft. I am a working woman and sitting whole day in front of computer and having quite pressurized and responsible job from 9.30 to 6.30PM. My queries are :-

1. In the morning I go for walk+jogging of 2.5 kms approx. and get too much tired. No difference is seen in my weight.

2. No fried food/junk food/soft drink etc is taken by me at all. I eat one chapatti/dalia/multigrain bread (any one item) in the morning in breakfast. At 11 am some snacks (biscuits), in lunch two chapattis +sabji+salad & some times I skipped dinner by having some salad/fruits or any thing. This is my daily routine diet. Walking + this diet, I am not reducing my weight at all. More over it is increasing. I am very desperate.

3. Can I start yoga at home? How yoga will help to reduce my weight without having burning calories or sweating? Which types of asanas should I do to reduce my upper body weight?

4. What is the difference in Pranayama or Asanas?

5. I also did Kapalabhati for 2 months. Not even 1 kg weight is reduced. Is it necessary that warm up or some exercise must be done before and after Kapalbhati. I used to do Kapalabhati 50 times continuously but no benefit at all.

Rachna

Answer

Reducing weight depend on so many factors like metabolic rate, lifestyle, exercise, calorie intake, stress levels etc. Since you have already consulted a doctor, it can be assumed that there is no medical condition for obesity. Most likely your obesity is due to lack of sufficient exercise and sedentary lifestyle. Sitting for long hours in office leads to weakening of muscles, reduced blood circulation leading to fewer calories being burnt.

1. As your office job is sitting in front of computer for 9 hours, walking /jogging for 2 and half Km may not be enough exercise for you. You may need to burn more calories, increase the walk/jog duration to cover at least 5-6 Km. As you get tired, you need to improve your fitness also along with reducing weight. Therefore regular exercise is a must for you. Gradually increase the time spent for exercise. You have to take out time for yourself and need to take proper rest and relaxation.
~ Proper nutrition
~ Regular exercise and meditation
~ Proper rest and relaxation to reduce stress levels
~ Become emotionally balanced
~ Need to cultivate a feeling of well being

2. Your eating pattern seems to be satisfactory. You can maintain a food journal to record everything you eat and then seek advice from a dietician. In breakfast you can also take fruits or fresh vegetable juices.

3. You can start yoga at home if you know how to do yoga. Otherwise, learn from a yoga teacher for 2-3 months and then continue with home practice. Yoga will help to strengthen your body, improve blood circulation, provide more energy and improve functioning of all body organs. Your breathing will improve and you will get more oxygen and hence energy. Though yoga practice does not burn much calories, it will help you to achieve the aims listed at para 1. You need to start with a generic yoga sequence comprising of yoga asanas, yoga breathing and meditation. Later on you can focus on specific asanas to lose weight. For a beginner do include 10-12 suryanamaskar in your yoga sequence and gradually increase the number to 36-40.

4. Pranayama and Asanas are one of the eight limbs of yoga. Asanas will benefit your muscles and body organs while pranayama provides more energy and tranquility.

5. Is it required to do some warm up exercises before yoga practice. You can do kapalabhati after doing yoga asanas. Doing only kapalabhati is not advisable. You may start with 3-4 rounds of 30-40 strokes of kapalabhati and gradually increase the number of exhalations per round to 70-80. In case of any difficulty experienced discontinue kapalabhati pranayama and do normal breathing.

Further during office hours take short breaks of 3-5 minutes, get up from your chair and walk a while or do deep breathing. Hope this will also help. Drink enough water during the day. Do not be so serious about work, do enjoy your life with family and friends.

Hope it helps
Daljit

References
Where to start yoga
Warm up for yoga practice
Weight Loss with triphala