Bodyweight can be considered as the key indicator of one’s health. A healthy weight is crucial for maintaining physical fitness and it keeps a person away from various metabolic diseases. Obesity occurs when a person consumes more calories than he or she burns. This is often associated with co-morbidities like Diabetes, Cancer, Osteoarthritis, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol etc. Both high and low metabolism can alter your weight. A person with low metabolism tends to gain weight and a person with high metabolism has to intake more calories to maintain weight. Hence it is important that one aims for good metabolism. There are many kinds of fasting and diet plans available nowadays. Choosing the right diet and workout plan ensures a good metabolism.
A BMI of less than 18.5 means a person is underweight. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is overweight. A BMI over 30 indicates obesity. The ideal BMI should be between 18.5-24.9. The BMI can be taken as a convenient rule to broadly categorize a person as underweight, normal weight and overweight.
How Yoga helps?
An individual’s metabolism often plays a key role in weight gain and weight loss. Adequate metabolism is important as it ensures energy for bodily functions like breathing, circulation, and digestion. Yoga plays an inevitable role in enhancing metabolism and helps to maintain a steady and stable weight. Yogic exercises act as a powerful tool in correcting metabolism. The following set of exercises given below, helps in improving blood circulation, burning the extra calories and bringing about balance. Increased production of gastric juice, digestion,absorption, and better metabolism is achieved by regular practice of Yoga. Yogasanas also influence the endocrine system and help in maintaining homeostasis and thereby having a healthy weight.
The following yoga practices help to kickstart your metabolism and thereby ensure a balanced weight. Start the yoga protocol with a vamana dhauthi.
1. VAMAN DHAUTIIt
is an important shadkarma (one among 6 yogic cleansing techniques). A method of systematic cleaning of the alimentary canal.
How to do it?
Perform vamana dhauthi in the morning hours (preferably 7 am). This is carried out in an empty stomach. This cleansing method is easy to be done and is without any complications. The person has to drink warm salted water continuously. Then he has to insert two fingers into his mouth and initiate the gag reflex. By this vomiting starts. After completion of vamana dhauthi, one has to follow a light diet throughout the day.
This practice can be done once a month. As this cleansing technique has no complications, supervision is not necessary. One can easily perform it at home. A proper cleansing mechanism helps in better absorption and metabolism.
2. SASANKASANA
Method:
Bend your right leg and keep your right foot underneath your right buttocks. Slowly bend the left leg and keep the left foot under the left buttocks. Sit in vajrasana. Then slowly bring both hands behind the spine and hold the right wrist using the left hand. Then slowly bend downwards. Your forehead should touch the floor. Try to maintain the posture for a few seconds and then slowly raise to vajrasana.
Benefits:
This asana helps in stimulating the abdominal organs and thereby aids in proper digestion and absorption
3. ARDHAMATSYENDRASANA
Method:
Starting Position-Dandasana Bend the right leg and keep the foot placed by the side of the left buttocks. Bend the left leg and keep the foot close on the right side of the right knee. Knee to be raised upward. Then slowly twist the body to the left side. Place the right arm by the outer side of the left knee and hold the left ankle with the right hand. In the final step take the left arm behind the back and look backwards. This is the final posture
Benefits:
This practice helps in stimulating gastric fire and thereby enhances metabolism.
4. YOGIC JOGGING
This is a modified yoga. It is performed in three phases
Forward jogging
The person has to start jogging by standing at the same position. Both hands are to be kept at the chest region. In the beginning jog on your toes, then gradually increase speed and come to a steady jogging speed. Then Start jogging by lifting both legs to a maximum height. (try to bring both knees at the level of the chest) Then slowly shift to the second phase without stopping.
Backward jogging
In a continuous manner, shift from phase 1 to backward jogging. In this phase, the person has to push his leg backwards, so that both feet touch the buttocks region while jogging. Start in a slow phase and then increase the speed. Then slowly shift to the third phase.
Sideward jogging
In this phase, push both legs sideways. The ankle should move in an outward direction. Start at a slow pace and then increase the speed.
After completion of the three phases. The person has to perform mukha dhauti. Stand with a slight forward bend of the trunk, palms-on thigh and legs about a meter apart. Inhale deeply and exhale the air forcibly through the mouth continuously.
5. SURYA BHEDANA PRANAYAMA
Sit in any comfortable meditative posture (vajrasana/ padmasana). Hold nasika mudra in hand. Inhale through the right nostril and do kumbhaka (try to hold breath) and then exhale through the left nostril. Surya bhedan pranayama awakens the Surya Nadi, which thereby increases the basal metabolic rate in the body.
Unexplained weight changes always pose risk. Hence Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is important for improving the overall health and quality of life. Instead of running to the gym, one can easily burn the extra calories and maintain a healthy BMI and BMR. Adopting the abovesaid yogic exercise into our daily lifestyle make works wonders on your metabolism. A good metabolism can pave the way for a stable weight.
Let The goal be RRR.ie it’s time to Reset, Reactivate and Regulate your gut for better metabolism.
