Will Yoga and Pilates help me lose weight?

I am often asked this question as people search for the magical answer to weight loss, hoping that this activity will drive their physical shape to be the one we desire (with very little effort!)

 Losing weight is often associated with deprivation; eliminating favourite foods, even sometimes entire food groups combined with exercise which we usually approach with a fierce gusto at first only to somehow lose our way; exhaustion, failure and even injury.

All I can say is that a Yoga and Pilates practice, encourages one to cultivate a more mindful approach to our wellbeing overall. When we practice a sense of ‘working in’ as opposed to ‘working out’ we start to listen to our body with a greater sense of awareness. We become more aware of how our physical body is responding to activity combined with breath and focused movement; stronger, fitter and leaner. Eventually we start to notice our emotional state when we move mindfully with our breath guiding us. We learn to observe the behaviours we might like to change or improve and find ourselves gravitating to people who are like minded. From here we also make improved choices in how we nourish our body; fresh whole foods, filtered water and herbal teas, less alcohol. We might even sleep better and become a nicer person to be around.

Try this practice and see for yourself how it works- moving your body how it should without pain, using the breath as a focus and finding a sense of harmony with nourishing food and listening to when you are full!