The power tool

Power yoga is a powerful way of maintaining fitness by energising and calming mind. It is a quick way to boost your metabolism and loose unwanted weight which comes as a result of sedentary lifestyle

CAN you lose weight with yoga? Many have misconceptions about yoga being only about stretching or performing asanas. Power yoga and weight loss have a connection since it focuses on the cardio along with stretching and breathing exercises.

An offshoot of Ashtanga yoga, power yoga increases cardio vascular function, mobility and stamina which help people to come out of their sedentary lifestyles.

Power yoga is a powerful way of maintaining fitness by energising and calming mind. It is a quicker way to boost metabolism and loose unwanted weight which comes as a result of inactive life- styles.

Fitness for many is about not only feeling fit but looking fit. In this pursuit, Omanis are exploring new avenues like power yoga and enjoying it with good results.

Yoga instructors work with safety methods using integrated therapy management by taking doctor’s advice in certain cases.

Many people feel power yoga is just doing cardio exercises or doing repetitive sun salutations number of times. There are many alternative combinations of exercises which is tailor-made according to one’s body condition.

Power yoga concentrates on isometric, isotonic, and eccentric training exercises giving maximum benefits.

Below are views from individuals who benefited from power yoga and are staying fit.

Weight loss does not just happen with workouts or diets. Many struggle to lose weight even after trying diet plans and workouts. There are custom made yoga programmes for weight loss journey through which many have become successful.

One also needs to work on stress and emotions which plays a major role.

At Shankara Yoga, we have been working with many students and have helped them to get better results through customised programmes.

Researchers say yoga can stimulate vagus nerve which impacts the hypothalamus that influences cortisol secretion.

Cortisol is a stress hormone which can cause inflammation in the body. When this happens the body tends to hold onto excess weight. Practicing yoga can help maintain cortisol levels and also a healthy weight.

There are some scientifically proven dynamic flow of movements which help in increasing metabolism and improve fat burn.

Yoga has been scientifically proven to reduce stress hormones and this makes easier to focus on overall weight loss.

Rather than modifying behaviour with dieting, integrative weight loss creates sustainable lifestyle changes through compassionate self-observation.

A better digestive system can aid in weight loss by increasing your metabolism.

The truth is vinyasa flow is quiet effective in helping lose weight.

Vinyasa flow is a total body workout that stimulates core muscles, tones the arms and burns as many as 450 calories in a one-hour session. Most individuals need to change both their energy intake and expenditure to lose weight. Many yoga practices burn fewer calories than traditional exercises like jogging or brisk walking. Our state-of-the-art yoga studio is coming up soon near Al Qurum Natural Park.

— Prema Arun, co-founder Shankara Yoga Kendra

Suffering from back pain and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) which caused vision problems, yoga became a part of my life.

This went on to change my life and thought.

Prema guided me through postures and breathing techniques. Yoga helped me gain my muscular strength and flexibility. She made tailor made programmes that helped me gain my strength and courage to tackle MS.

Usually there is a warm-up of stretching and breathing exercises, followed by a series of strengthening and balancing postures. This is followed by a cool-down period with encouragement to rest and meditate. Yoga helped me to come out of the mental state that hit me after MS.

— Amani al Shaqsi, civil engineer

I was suffering from diabetes and stress. Through power yoga, I benefited physically and mentally to cope with my routine work schedules with energetic sessions. The sessions enormously helped reduce my stress level too with breathing exercises and yoga nidra meditation.

— Chennapada Somaiah , automobile sector

I was suffering from an injury to Anterior Cruciate Ligament in my knee. This effectively blocked my regular habit of engaging in weekly football or some physical engagement.

Practising yoga taught me patience, calm and discipline. All these qualities I learnt from my yoga sessions.

Further, I could not stress my knee in any manner that would risk further damage.

Any efforts to cut down my weight were not consistent or followed with the discipline I needed to enforce myself. I was introduced to muscle strengthening exercises targeted towards improving the core strength of the body so that there is limited strain to the knee as possible.

After training and guidance, there was a marked improvement in my body flexibility, inner core strength and more importantly, weight. This was possible only through patience, understanding of body and discipline.

— Prasanna, student

Practicing yoga encourages and inspires me. Yoga has become a vital part of my daily routine since 5 years.

As an artist I can experience how my skills have been polished. I feel better every day which in fact the biggest motivator to keep going.

From initial struggles, I have experienced how yoga can calm an anxious state, elevate a depressed mood and balance life.

Yoga has helped to pay positive attention to my body leading to better diet choices. I have discovered that being more connected to my body makes me more mindful about what I eat. I have learned to handle stress and be more focused.

A ray of hope ignites and pumps positive energy. This energy keeps me hooked.

I am inspired to have deeper understanding of the spiritual aspects, feeling confident towards my perspectives in life.

From my earlier position of losing my confidence, negative thoughts and depression, I lost weight and now notice a huge difference on how my body looks from where it was 5 years back.

— Soni Budhia an artist

Power yoga series along with regular pranayama steadily helped in my mission. I started feeling positive and took time for myself, learning about health awareness. Initially the focus was on correcting internal problems than my appearance. Three years of continuous pranayama put an end to Thyroxin, which was a major achievement. Once internal issues were sorted, I started working on the external appearance. With diet and yoga hand in hand, I achieved both of them.

Before taking up paleo diet, I studied various articles, reviews, experience of benefactors and books. Though initially with regrets, motivation from the yoga teacher really helped.

Taking up a diet is not so easy that too being vegetarian with some restrictions. That was really a task.

It was a morale booster for me as I never quit yoga under any circumstances and began to reap benefits after a month.

— Sudha Pattabhiraman, homemaker