If you struggle with your weight, you may feel limited to the types of exercises you can do. We often find ourselves intimidated by certain kinds of movement we haven’t had experience with. For many, yoga is one of them.

Yoga is an excellent low-impact exercise with the power to help you in many ways on your weight management journey. If you’re looking to incorporate a variety of exercises into your workout routine, this is not one to be overlooked! No matter what size you are, or where your weight is at, you can reap the benefits of this powerful exercise.

Yoga Benefits:

Yoga is an ancient discipline used for thousands of years. People have long-since boasted of its numerous physical health benefits including: stress reduction; increased flexibility; improved respiration; increased energy; buildup of core strength; and improved energy.

More than just a weight-loss tool, yoga also offers many overlooked benefits. Some of those advantages that will help you reclaim your health are:

• Mindfulness – Bringing awareness to your choices and aligning goals with actions
• Awareness – Noticing your body’s physical and mental signals
• Acceptance – Being willing to accept our physical and mental differences
• Affection – Being able to love and appreciate your body at any stage

How to Begin Yoga:

Beginning yoga doesn’t have to mean countless hours in positions that intimidate or hurt you. In fact, the best way to begin yoga is to start by incorporating it slowly into your daily life. Here are some examples:

• Find Small Moments – This could be in your car at a red light, at your desk or while you’re waiting to brew coffee. Use these moments to stretch, breathe or twist your body.
• Hold that Movement Longer – Take any moment you have, hold it for a little while longer and reach out just a little farther. The small victories matter.
• Find a Guide – Look for a location with a yoga class that is convenient. You’ll be more likely to practice. But make sure you feel comfortable around your class and teacher.
• Be Gentle – You may not be able to immediately perform every pose you learn. Tell yourself that’s okay and move in a way that makes sense to your body.

Embrace the Journey:

Yoga is all about detoxing the mind, body and spirit.  And though it’s often considered a spiritual practice, it’a also a great exercise that happens to benefit your weight.

By making room for more awareness, acceptance, mindfulness and affection, remember to treat weight management like a journey. You will manage your weight for the rest of your life, so you might as well learn from the process and enjoy all that it’s taught you.