Best Bikram Yoga Weight Loss Benefits

The benefits of Bikram Yoga are many and endless. Bikram’s postures and breathing exercises can help you with a multitude of afflictions which range from - thyroid problems to weight loss, stress to insomnia, diabetes to knee problems, kidney conditions to cardiovascular disease, depression to blood pressure, arthritis to lower back pain - allowing you to maintain exceptional health for many years. The postures work every aspect of your body down to a cellular level flushing toxins from your system.

Bikram Yoga is a style of hot yoga that's touted by celebrities and average Joes as a good way of keeping your body slim and trim. An average Bikram Yoga class involves practicing 26 set postures and 2 breathing exercises in a room that's heated to 105 degrees with 40 percent humidity. Heat encourages excessive sweating, which may result in extra weight loss and detoxification.

Heat And Weight Loss

Heat of a Bikram yoga room does not cause permanent weight loss. You'll lose water weight, temporarily, through sweating. Whenever you rehydrate, however, your body will regain water it needs to function properly, as well as your weight will return to normal. However, heat raises your heart rate slightly. While you sweat, your blood volume decreases due to dehydration, and your heart must pump faster to help keep the blood flowing during your body. In this way, the heat can help you reach and maintain your target heartbeat, achieving a level that burns calories effectively.

Calories expended

Experts debate the exact quantity of calories you burn by doing Bikram yoga. Most sources, for example Women's Health magazine, say that you can burn more than 600 calories each hour, or 900 to 1,000 calories per 90-minute Bikram session. The nation's Council on Strength and Fitness disputes the dpi, however, calling it "highly improbable." Whatever the exact number, doing any fairly intense cardio for 1-1/2 hours provides you with a solid workout.

Weight Loss Benefits

The heat inside a Bikram Yoga class increases your heartbeat and the dehydration it causes decreases your blood volume. This will make your heart pump considerably faster, the result being a higher level of calorie burn. The yoga poses concentrate on the physical aspect, which combined with effect of the heat helps you to burn a substantial number of calories.

Hydration

Just one component of a Bikram Yoga diet that's widely agreed on is maintaining proper hydration. Because a lot water and electrolytes are lost inside a Bikram Yoga class due to excessive sweating, it is very important to keep yourself hydrated before, during after class. Bikram recommends drinking a minimum of 16 ounces of fluids before visiting class. After class, replenish the body with water, a sports drink or fresh coconut water.

Considerations

Our recommendation is that you practice Bikram Yoga on an empty stomach and don't eat anything for at least 2 hours before class. If you must consume a snack before class choose something light and non-acidic that won't upset your stomach, like a handful of almonds or a bit of fruit. For maximum weight loss, choose a diet that's rich in nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables and lean proteins, for example tofu, legumes, meat and fish.