How Many Calories Does Yoga Burn?

Yoga is not often associated with a workout that really takes off the pounds, but if you enjoy yoga, you might be interested in exactly that question – how many calories does yoga burn? Obviously, the answer will depend heavily on what kind of yoga you do and how often you do it, as well as the environment you do it in!

It’s thought that yoga can help you to burn between 180 and 400 calories in an hourly workout. That will depend enormously on the speed of the workout, the poses that you do, and your own level of fitness, as well as other variables.

Can Yoga Help You Lose Weight?

Yes, yoga can certainly help you to lose weight. Any form of exercise can, and yoga is no exception. Even if you are doing slow, low-energy stretches and postures, as long as you combine that with healthy eating, you may notice a reduction in your weight.

Yoga may not be the go-to exercise for weight loss, but you certainly can shed a few pounds if you do it consistently and frequently.

How To Burn More Calories Doing Yoga

So, how many calories does yoga burn? As mentioned, this depends on the kind of yoga, so you might now be wondering how you can increase the number of calories you burn in a single session. We all want to maximize the value of our workouts and if you are looking to burn more calories, try some of the following tips.

To begin with, intersperse your yoga with some other exercises such as push ups. You can incorporate these into your general routine, and you will soon find that they become a nice part of the yoga workout that makes you feel like you’re working harder and burning more calories – while still getting the flexibility and relaxation that yoga grants.

You can also try things like moving in and out of a lunge instead of holding a pose. For example, if you are in warrior pose, try bending your front leg and sinking in and out of a lunge, rather than remaining still. This movement will help you to burn more calories, but you will still benefit from the pose.

Obviously, you may not want to turn your whole yoga routine into a high energy workout, or you may as well not be doing yoga – but you can try adding a few more energetic movements to the workout, and this will help you to burn more calories.

You can also choose a few poses that really burn calories. They may not all be specifically yoga poses, but they are easy to flow into as part of your routine and they will help. For example, try the wheel pose, the plank, or the chair. These will all exercise key muscles and use up lots of energy.

Types Of Hot Yoga

If you have recently come across hot yoga, you might be wondering how it can help you out in terms of calories – and the great news is that there are several kinds of hot yoga to choose from, and all can make it easier to burn calories.

Hot yoga is aiming to recreate the conditions in India, where yoga originated, and encourage sweating.

You may have heard of hot power yoga, which is an umbrella term for many of the heated yoga practices. Moksha is a popular kind of hot yoga, which focuses on strength and flexibility, and is usually done for around 90 minutes.

Vinyasa Yoga, which is also sometimes called Baptiste Yoga, is usually done at around 90° F and class styles can vary according to the instructor.

Bikram Yoga

Bikram yoga is very different from the other kinds of hot yoga, and is generally considered more regimented and strict. It has at points been considered controversial, but you may wish to look into it if you want to burn lots of calories while doing yoga.

Bikram yoga is done at around 105° F for around 90 minutes, and is thought to increase flexibility and promote sweating. It is more of a cardiovascular workout than traditional yoga, and is certainly more of a “hard work” approach.

You might burn as many as 600 calories in a 90 minute Bikram yoga workout. These workouts have a structured and copyrighted 26 pose sequence that the creator, Bikram Choudhury, believed would help participants get fit and sweat out “impurities.”

This does not tend to take the relaxed approach of normal yoga, but if you are looking for a tough workout, you may find this is the kind of yoga for you!

Conclusion

So, in answer to how many calories does yoga burn, it will depend very much on the routines you follow, how often you practice, and the conditions in which you practice. However, you may be able to burn up to 600 calories in a 90 minute class in optimum conditions. Most people should not expect to average that, however!