5 Yoga Breathing Techniques For Weight Loss

Description: The second spring month started, which means that it’s time to prepare the body for beachwear. Before you go to the nearest gym and stick to a strict diet, you should get acquainted with another way to put in order not only a figure but thoughts as well. It is breathing yoga weight loss or, as it is also called pranayama. Here are 5 Yoga Breathing Techniques For Weight Loss.

Pranayama is one of the most effective, pure, and organic ways to lose weight. Pranayama teaches how to restore the body’s natural ability to release bound hydrogen and oxygen to renew body tissues. It is made by changing the ratio of inhalation, exhalation, and breath-holding. Stay with us to find out top-5 pranayamas and learn how to start yoga at home for weight loss.

Yoga Breathing Exercises for Weight Loss- General Recommendations for Pranayama

1. Pranayama should be done in the morning on an empty stomach. If you practice in the evening, you must wait at least 4 hours after eating. You can’t eat for 20 minutes after pranayama, 10 of them should be devoted to relaxation or meditation. The best MCT oil helps to restore energy after breathing session.
2. You need to sit motionless with a vertically straight back, facing east, north, or northeast, on a woolen blanket or silk fabric. Do not practice pranayama while sitting on the ground, wood, stone, or cotton fabric. Sit in a meditative pose, the first 20-30 minutes, observe your natural breathing (speed, duration, depth of breath). Padmasana (lotus), Siddhasana (half-lotus), or Vajrasana (sitting on your knees) are some of the best yoga poses for weight loss breathing. Hands should be folded in Gyan Mudra (the index finger is connected to the thumb, the other three fingers are straightened, hands placed on the knees with palms up). It can also be Bhairava Mudra (the right-hand is placed on the left palm up, touching the abdomen below the navel).
3. The best time for pranayama is in the early morning. Otherwise, the time before breakfast or before dinner is recommended to get the most benefits of yoga for weight loss.
4. In any pranayama, it is essential not to lose control by exhaling after holding your breath. Sometimes you may need to keep your breath for as long as possible. But that means as much as possible “without losing control of slow expiration.”
5. After practicing yoga exercises for weight loss, you need several minutes of absolute peace – not only physical but also emotional. By the way, pranayama is perfect for people suffering from stress and tension. After a couple of classes, you will feel calmer.

1. Kapalabhati Pranayama for Weight Loss

In most cases, Kapalabhati (“cleansing the mind”) is the best pranayama for those who want to lose weight. People suffering from high blood pressure or having a stroke should not practice it without the supervision of a yoga therapist, because it temporarily raises the tension.

• Sit in a comfortable position with a perfectly straight back and relax.
• Take a deep breath, and then exhale through the nose and try to squeeze the abdominal muscles as much as possible.
• Then take a few sharp and quick exhalations, and the breath should be short.
• Hold your breath as far as possible and repeat all over again.

2. Agnisara Dhauti

The yoga breathing for weight loss called Agnisara Dhauti or “purification by fire” should be performed after the Kapalabhati cycle. Ideally, 3-5 cycles can be done.

• Fix the Mula Bandha, in a semi-squat pose, rest your hands on your knees and exhale all the air intensively. You can make several exhalations so that there is no air left in the lungs.
• Next, take a false breath – pull the stomach into the vertebrae inward and then completely relax the muscles and “flop” the stomach outward.
• At the initial stage, drive back and forth as many times as you can.
• When you finish the exercise, relax your abdominal muscles and inhale slowly.

3. Uddiyana Bandha

• Take the “Fish Pose,” the feet are shoulder-width apart, the legs are bent at the knees, the body is slightly tilted forward, the palms rest on the hips just above the knees, with the thumbs inward, the rest outward;
• Keep your back straight;
• Take a deep breath through your nose, and a quick, energetic full exhale, also through your nose. When the lungs and intestines are empty, the diaphragm naturally rises into the chest cavity;
• After exhaling completely, perform Jalandhara Bandha (“throat lock”) by lowering the chin to the chest and raising the shoulders;
• Keeping the breath-holding as you exhale, draw the stomach inward towards the spine and slightly up, hold this position for several seconds;
• Make a light “breathe-in,” relax your belly, release the “throat lock” with your head up and straighten up;
• Slowly, consciously inhale through the nose;

Before starting the next cycle, breathe quietly for a minute or two. Repeat it for five minutes.

4. Sheetali Pranayama 

• Before the session, you should perform some asanas – for example, “downward dog” and “upward-facing dog.”
• Then sit comfortably.
• Put your hands on your knees and cross your fingers.
• Close your eyes and relax as much as possible.
• Stick out your tongue, then roll it into a tube. Inhale through the resulting tube, uniformly filling all three departments of the lungs.
• After inhaling, remove your tongue, close your mouth, and exhale. The exhalation should be strong and free, like a breath of wind.

For weight loss, a beginner needs 3-5 cycles of pranayama a day, given that inhale-exhale is one cycle.

5. Ujjayi Pranayama

It is a universal weight loss technique for the implementation of which special conditions are not required. It can be done both in conjunction with asanas and during daily activities. 

• To correctly perform Ujjayi, it is better to sit in any of the convenient yoga poses, while the back must be held steady, and the head bowed towards the upper edge of the sternum.
• Next, you should use Jnana Mudra and place your hands on the knees with their palms to the top, close the thumbs with index fingers.
• Closing your eyes, you need to take a deep breath. The air should be inhaled slowly with the nostrilsб so you must hear a hissing sound.
• Only the lungs should be filled with air while making sure that the stomach does not inflate, but rather, try to pull it to the spine as much as possible.
• After such a deep breath, breathing is held for about two seconds, after which there is a slow, uniform exhalation, which allows you to empty the lungs. After another two seconds, the release of the diaphragmatic muscle should begin. 

Ujjayi cycles should be repeated for ten minutes with eyes closed.

Important Info 

Respiratory yoga and diet for weight loss should not be carried out by pregnant women at a time when the immune system is weakened. It is also contraindicated for people suffering from the following diseases:

• hypotension;
• bronchitis;
• asthma;
• chronic constipation.

Closing Words on Pranayama for Weight Loss

Now that you know how to use pranayama for weight loss, you should give a shot to these 5 Yoga Breathing Techniques For Weight Loss. Basically, Pranayama combines unique breathing exercises. When performed correctly, they have beneficial effects on all body systems, and the basics of meditation, allowing you to clear your thoughts of all that is excessive. As a result, recovery and weight loss take place both physically and emotionally.

We recommend you attend at least one individual pranayama session with an expert. He can help you build the correct breathing, body position, arms and fingers, and entire yoga weight loss plan. Your success depends on this. Mistakes in the performance of yoga weight loss can level it and, if overly diligent, can even harm you. 

Have you ever practiced yoga breathing exercises for weight loss or yoga and cardio for weight loss? What are your best yoga weight loss results? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

Further Reading:

8 Foods That Help You Tighten Your Belly Effortlessly
How Dark chocolate can help in weight loss?

Author’s bio: Adam Reeve is a fitness instructor with ten years of experience A long time ago, he tried different workouts for weight loss. Having discovered pranayama breathing techniques, Adam is delighted with his body and wellbeing.