Most people are initially drawn to Melbourne Yoga Studios for general health and wellness benefits, with a primary focus on developing greater mind-body awareness, as well as improving strength, flexibility and stress relief. On the other hand, it’s not so often that you hear of yogis practising for the sake of caloric burn; however, this doesn’t mean that caloric burn at Melbourne yoga studios is scarce.
There’s a common misconception that yoga, being a lower intensity workout, doesn’t burn calories to the extent that other workouts do. In fact, it’s very common for yoga enthusiasts to feel that they need to do higher endurance workouts on the side, like running, spin classes or cardio, to ensure they are burning major calories.
However, just because you sweat more during traditional cardiovascular activities doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re burning more energy. Many people are surprised to hear just how many calories one hour of yoga can burn. Of course, as with most workouts, the amount of calories burned during yoga depends on the intensity of your class along with your age, height, gender and weight. Generally speaking, yoga can torch anywhere from 180 to 600 calories per hour. However, to make it easier, we have compiled a list of different yoga types and the number of calories practising them for one hour will burn.
VINYASA YOGA:
Often referred to as “flow” yoga, Vinyasa involves moving continuously from one pose to the next, in a faster-paced environment. This style of yoga burns the highest amount of calories compared to any other form of yoga. This is because Vinyasa is ultimately a full-body workout that builds heat, focus and cardiovascular endurance, through rapid and continuous movement. According to the Health Status Calories Burned calculator, for a male, aged 35, 5’10 at 77kg, practising one hour of Vinyasa will burn 673 calories. For a woman, aged 35, 5’4 at 59kg, practising one hour of Vinyasa will burn 515 calories.
HOT YOGA:
Hot yoga is Power Yoga in a hot room. Practising yoga in a heated room elevates the heart rate, which, in turn, makes the bodywork harder. The increased external temperature also causes the body to sweat, which is believed to help “detoxification” by flushing toxins from the skin and also increases cardiovascular endurance. If you’re wanting to burn through some serious calories, Hot Yoga is the next best option at Melbourne Yoga Studios after Vinyasa. According to the Health Status Calories Burned calculator, for a male, aged 35, 5’10 at 77kg, practising one hour of Hot Yoga will burn 540 calories. For a woman, aged 35, 5’4 at 59kg, practising one hour of Hot Yoga will burn 413 calories.
HATHA:
A great Melbourne Yoga Studio Class for Beginners, Hatha Yoga is a more slow-paced, gentle style of yoga that is great for students who prefer a more relaxed approach, where they can hold poses for longer. Although Hatha is a lot slower-paced than Vinyasa and Bikram, it still burns a decent number of calories due to holding poses for an extended period of time, and the great deal of strength that requires. While it’s not as high as Vinyasa or Hot Yoga, according to the Health Status Calories Burned calculator, for a male, aged 35, 5’10 at 77kg, practising one hour of Hatha will burn 214 calories. For a woman, aged 35, 5’4 at 59kg, practising one hour of Hatha will burn 164 calories.
BEST YOGA POSES FOR CALORIC BURN:
Although one would typically burn more calories in a Vinyasa or Hot yoga class than in a restorative class, the particular yoga poses one chooses matters too.
The best yoga poses to burn calories include the plank, chair, Chaturanga, wheel, high lunge, sun salutations and dolphins.
Yoga is equal parts strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance. While fast-paced cardio is always great to incorporate into your fitness regime, remember that yoga, whilst low intensity, is still a great exercise regime for keeping in shape.
Just remember that simply showing up for class doesn’t guarantee you x amount of calories. You get out what you put in, and you’ll burn the energy only if you completely invest in your one hour (or longer) practice.
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