By Michael Paetzold

Yoga can be put to good use for taking off excess pounds through the po-wer of creating a state of mental and physical -well being. The basic tenets of Yoga promotes a healthy lifestyle and -when combined -with a calorie reduction can help to speed up your -weight loss. It -will increase your metabolism
by increasing the caloric burning process. All -weight loss is based on using more calories than you take in. It -will also allo-w you to increase your ability to concentrate and focus.

Your thyroid regulates your metabolism and is responsible for the chemical processes that transform food into energy. Yoga uses a series of t-wisting poses that -will help to stimulate the -work flo-w of the internal organs. This -will cause your metabolism to increase and burn more calories -which -will eventually cause you to have a lo-wer body -weight. Another side effect is that it -will help to improve your circulation and increase your energy level.

The various back bends combined -with the for-ward bends -will help to stimulate the metabolism. The poses that affect the neck region can be helpful in stimulating the thyroid if the -weight problem is caused by a hormonal imbalance. Poses that -will help the most for this include the camel, rabbit, plo-w,
bridge and head stand. Going quickly bet-ween the various poses can help to accelerate the -weght loss. Be-wis though that those seriously over-weight may find some of these poses extremely difficult and should start slo-wly -with the easier poses and add others as they become more confident in the easier ones.

You can use standing poses to increase muscle strengthening such as the -warrior. These -will help to create higher endurance and increase your caloric usage.

Remember that a gradual approach is best -with all Yoga practices. The long term effects on your -weight loss regime -will become evident and even more so the inner peace and general -well feeling that Yoga -will promote -within you.