Question About Woman Belly Fat And Yoga

by Shakila
(CA)

Hi Daljit,

I greatly appreciate your answer for my previous question.

After my third delivery I have the problem of protruded upper belly, that starts right below the chest. This is not the problem for most of the women. Some women don't have any upper belly. Because it starts right below the chest it gives a look of pregnancy.

I could do all the asanas that reduces abdominal fat, that is Dhanurasa,Paschimotanasana, Bhujangasana ,Shalabhasana, Padotanasana, three cycles of Suryanamskar, Mandukasana, Ek pada sirshasana,and some minutes of Kapalbhathi etc. I am doing those for about three months now.

I do not see any improvement, I mean no reduction in the upper belly part. I am trying Sarpasana and Dhanur Swinging too(back and forth).

My question is; Is there special Asana for only to give attention to the upper part of belly? Please Help me in this regard ASAP. I am so fed up to see my body not gotten any improvement after trying yoga constantly. I reduced my diet too as half portion and adding some veg and fruits FYI.

Thanks in advance.
Shakila.


Answer

All the people who practice yoga regularly are perfectly fit without an ounce of extra fat. What makes them so? Those people do yoga for improving their physical and mental health. Weigh loss is bound to accompany a regular yoga practice.


Most important ingredients to lose weight with yoga are as follows:

~ Regular practice is a must. Have low expectations in the beginning. First build up your practice for say a month and then concentrate on weight loss. Build up your yoga practice so that one hour of your yoga practice is the most enjoyable time of your daily routine. Then you can do yoga two times a day once in the morning and once in the evening. Start with easy poses. Then over a period of time, stretch your body more and more gradually to do these poses with perfect alignment and with ease. Then attempt more advanced yoga poses.

~ Ensure strict diet control. Eat preferably vegetarian diet with proper moderation. Try to eat a sattvik vegetarian diet rich in fruits, salads, boiled vegetables, raw food, nuts. Simple boiled food and raw food will aid in your yoga progress and also help you to lose weight.

~ Avoid stress and ensure a good night's sleep before doing yoga in the morning. Eat early dinner and take a brisk walk after dinner. Sit in vajrasana for 5 to 10 minutes after dinner. Practice shavasana or yoga nidra before sleeping to get sound sleep.

~ Have a fixed time for yoga practice.

~ Constipation is another issue to be resolved for successful yoga practice.

~ Self discipline is most important to lose weight.

Doing yoga correctly is more important than weight loss. If you follow basic principles of yoga and do regular practice you will get a well proportioned body.


Weight Loss and Yoga

~ Try these yoga exercises for weight loss .

~ Continue with Sarpasana and Dhanur Swinging too(back and forth). Do more sets of sarpasana increasing gradually.

~ Sit in vajrasana after dinner. In your free time, try to sit more in vajrasana or sukhasana rather than sitting on a chair.

~ Do more of alom vilom and kapalabhati (but increase the number of repetitions gradually).

~ You will make progress in yoga till such time you make efforts to get the pose perfectly. Also, whatever is your level of perfect ness for a particular asana increase the holding time of an asana or repetitions to get more benefits.

~ Try yoga exercises two times a day.

~ In addition to yoga, 30 to 40 minutes of brisk walk will be of great help.

As your yoga practice blooms you will become more self aware, and inspiration will come to you on its own and then you will be able to fine tune your yoga practice to lose weight and maintain it. You will need regular practice to stay fit once your weight loss target is achieved.

Losing weight is not a destination (target), it is your own personalised journey to live better.

You can read about this motivating post about how yoga and patience can make you a different person.

Hope this helps.
Daljit

P.S
An article on rest and relaxation