Yogic Management of Obesity

Post By: Aditya Amar
May 14, 2021

Our food in take is extremely important for our well – being.

Our food supplies us with vital energy:
Prana, it provides us basic nutrients and minerals which we need for a healthy body and it also gives us calories which simply results in energy. Apart from the quality of food, we also need to take care of the quantity of food, if we eat more than our requirement, the extra food simply turns into fat which is stored in various parts of our bodies. In other words, yes we gain weight if we eat regularly and healthy food, but we become obese if we don’t control the intake of food which may be more than our body actually needs.

Obesity, unfortunately, is the most common health or metabolic disorder all around us in the modern era. It is a health condition where excess body fat accumulates to such an extent that it may affect our lifestyle and overall health. We can simply check if we are obese by calculating our Body Mass Index(BMI). A BMI of around 25 kg/m2 is considered normal.

The primary reasons for Obesity are excessive calorie intake and a sedentary lifestyle. In few cases, genetic, medical, or psychiatric illnesses can also attribute to obesity.

If we probe further into causes of obesity, we will learn that our diet, means intake of high calorie and low fiber diet, Sedentary lifestyle, here we are referring to no physical activities, socio-economic, generally speaking, people from high socio-economic groups are more prone to obesity condition. Hereditary, the kid can inherit the illness from his/her parents, metabolism, people with low metabolism are at higher risk of becoming obese as compared to people with good metabolism. Psychological factors also play an important part, worry, stress, anxiety, fear, phobias, feeling of loneliness and frustration may also stimulate a person to overeat. In certain cases, water retention is also the culprit and this means too much consumption of tea, coffee, aerated water, alcoholic drinks, etc. These results in the deposition of fluid in the body tissues and this can cause obesity.

We have to pay a huge cost for obesity in the form of poor health and several diseases. Obesity increases health risk many folds for a number of conditions like Diabetes, low HDL cholesterol, Hypertension, coronary artery diseases, cerebrovascular stroke, hypoventilation syndrome, oseo arthritis, many forms of cancers, insomnia, and several gynecological problems.

We can keep ourselves free from obesity with Yogic management.

Shodhana kriyas: Pranayams lie Kapalbhati, kunjal, agnisara and nauli kriyas can help us.

Combination of Sukshma Vyavayam: Udara-sakti-vikasaka(developing our abdominal muscles).
Yoga and Ayurveda treatments can work wonders for people suffering from obesity challenge.
Regular practice of Suryanamaskar is highly recommended.

A combination of certain
asan as like: Tadasana, Katichakrasana, Urdhwa, pawanmuktasana, sarvangaasana, matsyasana, halaasana, bhujangasana, dhanurasana, mandukasana and shavasana should be practiced regularly. These are very good asan as for weight loss.

Pranayama like: Nadishodana, suryabhedi, Bhramri, sitali, bhastrika.
Yoga Nidra and meditation(dhyana) can work wonders to keep obesity in check. Hence a combination of Yoga and meditation can help you a lot.

We also need to manage our diet along with physical activities:

Yogic diet, popularly known as the Satvik diet is highly recommended for people suffering from obesity.
Satvik diet contains more of fresh fruits and vegetables primarily in its natural form, soups, etc.
We need to avoid rajasic foods, like, fried food, spicy foods, soft drinks and other beverages, fast foods etc should be taken off the diet.
Similarly, Tamasik foods like non-vegetarian items, alcohol etc. Must be avoided completely.

Obesity can be prevented by having regular meals at fixed intervals, we should not distract ourselves with TV, phones while eating. Keep our kitchen healthy and discard unhealthy snacks.
Healthy snacks like fruits, boiled vegetables, sprouts should be encouraged.
We must learn to eat slowly and chew the food properly. Breastfeeding should be encouraged as the child h gets proper breastfeeding is less likely to develop obesity at a later age.

We should increase our physical activities like running, walking, asanas, cycling, nature trails, etc.

Cottage Nirvana is one of the best Ayurveda and naturopathy center in India. With our expert therapists and yoga teachers it is the best Ayurveda treatment center and wellness centers in Uttarakhand.