It takes commitment and practice to lose weight through yoga. Yoga helps you to be physically active, burns calories, and may help prevent weight gain.

The mental and spiritual aspects of yoga focus on developing mindfulness. It can make you more conscious of how different foods affect your mind, body, and spirit.

A 2020 studyTrusted Source suggests that people who practice yoga for at least 30 minutes every week may be more mindful eaters.

Yoga may be beneficial for people managing their weight in other ways. For example, a 2024 review found that people managing an eating disorder may use yoga as a complementary treatment.

A review from 2024 found that yoga principles and yoga practice relate to improvements in impulsive or binge eating and body image concerns. Authors hypothesize that this may be because yoga supports:

  • body awareness
  • body image
  • body connection
  • affect regulation (reduce negative affect, increase positive affect)

Practicing yoga can improve the quality of your sleep. You may find that you’re able to fall asleep more easily and deeply when you practice yoga consistently.

Quality sleep often relates to weight loss. A 2022 studyTrusted Source found that people who had overweight slept less than 6.5 hours per night. However, they had decreased energy intake (reduced appetite) when they slept 8.5 hours compared to the control group.

Researchers told both groups to keep their daily activities the same, suggesting that sleep improvements may have a positive effect on body composition, including weight loss.

Yoga nidra (yogic sleep) is a form of guided relaxation that may help you sleep more deeply and increase mindfulness. You can also set intentions during yoga nidra, which may help you develop weight loss goals.

A 2020 study found that performing yoga nidra for 30 days had positive effect on participants including:

  • stress
  • sleep
  • well-being

Some used yoga nidra’s relaxing qualities to fall asleep. These results were maintained at a follow-up 6 weeks later, too.

While experts do not consider yoga as a traditional aerobic exercise, certain types of yoga are more physical than others. Active, intense styles burn the most calories, which may prevent weight gain.

Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and power yoga are examples of more aerobic types of yoga.

Hot yoga studios usually offer Vinyasa and power yoga. These types of yoga keep you moving almost constantly, which burns calories.

Practicing yoga may also improve your:

  • muscular strength
  • body flexibility
  • overall well-being and quality of life

While restorative yoga isn’t an especially physical type of yoga, it may still aid weight loss. A 2021 systematic reviewTrusted Source found that it helped women with overweight lose weight, including abdominal fat.

These findings are especially promising for people with difficulty doing more vigorous forms of yoga.

Yoga may beTrusted Source a promising way to help with behavioral change, weight loss, and maintenance by:

These factors may help reduce food intake, and you become more aware of the effects of overeating.

More in-depth studies would help expand on these findings.

Try to do more active, intense yoga practice at least 3 to 5 times per week for at least 1 hour.

On other days, balance out your practice with a more relaxing, gentle class. Hatha, Yin, and restorative yoga classes are great options.

If you’re a beginner, start slowly. You can start with a 20-minute practice and build up from there. This allows you to build strength and flexibility and prevent injuries. Allow yourself 1 full day of rest every week.

Combine your yoga practice with activities such as walking, cycling, or swimming for added cardiovascular benefits.

As part of your routine, avoid weighing yourself directly after a yoga class, especially hot yoga, since you may lose water weight during the class. Instead, weigh yourself at the same time each day or once a week.

Here are a few yoga poses you can do at home.

Sun Salutations

Do at least 10 Sun Salutations. You can increase intensity by holding some of the positions for longer periods or by speeding up the pace.

  1. From standing, inhale as you lift your arms overhead.
  2. Exhale as you swan dive down into a Forward Bend.
  3. Jump, step, or walk your feet back into Plank Pose.
  4. Hold this position for at least 5 breaths.
  5. Drop your knees down and lower your body to the floor.
  6. Extend your legs, turn the tops of your feet to the mat, and place your hands under your shoulders.
  7. Inhale to lift partway into Cobra Post, halfway, or all the way up into Upward Facing Dog
  8. Exhale to lower back down and then push up into Downward Facing Dog.
  9. Hold this pose for at least 5 breaths.
  10. Exhale as you jump, step, or walk your feet to the top of the mat and stand in a Forward Bend.
  11. Then inhale to lift your arms overhead.
  12. Exhale to lower your arms back down by your body.

Boat Pose

This pose engages your whole body, especially your core.

  1. Sit on the floor with your legs together and extended in front of you.
  2. Bend your knees and lift your feet off the floor so that your thighs are at an angle to the floor and your shins are parallel to it.
  3. Extend your arms in front of you so they’re parallel to the floor.
  4. If you can, straighten your legs while keeping your torso lifted.
  5. Hold this pose for 30 seconds.
  6. Repeat at least 5 times.

Plank Pose

Spend 10 to 20 minutes doing variations of Plank Pose.

  1. From tabletop position, step your feet back with your heels lifted.
  2. Bring your body into a straight line. You may want to check your body in a mirror.
  3. Engage your core, arm, and leg muscles.
  4. Hold for at least 1 minute.

Make a commitment to yourself and your practice if you want to use yoga to lose weight. Make small, gradual changes and set modest goals so you’re more likely to stick to them.

As you deepen your practice and awareness, you may find yourself naturally attracted to nutritious foods and ways of living.

While weight loss is not guaranteed, it’s likely, and your results may extend beyond weight loss.