Natural Remedies
Three Easy Yoga Exercises For Losing Tummy Fat And Losing Weight
Fat stomachs can be a problem for many. Women after childbirth often need to do stomach-firming exercises to flatten their tums. Others, because of poor diet and not enough exercise, may also develop unwanted belly fat.
Even men, both young and old, often develop flabby bellies from consuming too much sugar, farrinaceous foods and dairy products, or over-indulging in beer or fizzy drinks.
With the right kind of exercise, and sensible eating, belly fat can easily be reduced.
Here are some very easy and straight-forward exercises which you can do to firm up the stomach muscles and reduce fat. They come from the teachings of Satyananda, who had a yoga ashram in Auckland in the 1980’s. I studied yoga at this ashram for three years, which is when I learned the Satyananda style of Yoga, which includes these marvellous exercises.
You will find that by doing these tummy exercises on a regular basis, even if you do no more yoga than this, a beneficial effect on your nervous system and digestion and sense of well-being will be experienced. They will help by enhancing your breathing technique, as well as in a physical sense.
Try to practice them every day. Start with five minutes, and build up the time gradually. Before long, you will be wanting to add other asanas to your yoga practice.
These yoga exercises for reducing tummy fat will also help you to trim your waist, hips and buttocks. They are also very good for toning up the thigh muscles.
First Exercise: Rowing The Boat
Nauka Sanchalana. A Shakti Bandha energy block exercise.
This exercise frees up the energy flow. The prana, or energy, can get stuck in parts of the body, such as the joints and muscles, or vital organs. An energy block can cause problems with digestion, with constipation, rheumatism and the like. I have used these Shakti Bandha exercises to cure earache caused by congestion. They also help to relieve congestion in the lungs.
Rowing the Boat exercise massages all the muscles and organs in the stomach area. It helps to remove constipation, helps eliminate toxins, and restores a natural energy flow around the body. This exercise is supposed to be great for enhancing the endocrine functions.
Here is how you do it:
The main thing to remember is not to rush the exercise, but build up a smooth, even movement which co-ordinates with your breathing, which should be slow and deep.
Sit comfortably on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you. The knees should be straight if you can do that, with the feet together.
Now ‘row the boat’ by moving the hands forward to reach over, or towards, the toes. As you move forward with the arms, you breathe out. As you come back with the arms, rowing your boat and holding imaginary oars, breathe in.
Lean back with those imaginary oars so that you stretch the tummy muscles.
Breathe out again as you come forward with your arms to stretch out towards the toes.
Repeat until you have done ten rounds in this fashion.
Then do ten in the reverse direction. Simply reverse the movement, so that you are breathing out as you move the hands close to the legs, reaching out for the toes, then breathing in as you take the arms upward while you bend back with the imaginary oars.
This exercise can be done by expectant mothers for the first three months only of pregnancy.
It is an excellent exercise to do AFTER childbirth. It will help the stomach organs return to their proper places and develop muscle tone. Note: Do not do too many to start with, and not too soon after having your baby. You should wait for at least a month before beginning an exercise programme, in my opinion. Ask your doctor or naturopath for advice on when you can safely begin doing stomach-reducing exercises.
Exercise Two: Churning The Mill
Chakki Chalana is another sitting Shakti Bandha exercise to remove energy blockages.
For this exercise, the same breathing applies as above. Take your time with the exercise, and breathe out slowly as you come forward, and breathe out as you move the body back.
Sit with the legs outstretched for this one. Clasp the hands together.
Now – Take a deep breath and then exhale as you move the clasped hands forward over the right leg, down towards the toes.
Keep the movement going, heading towards the left foot.
Then, touch the left foot with the clasped hands and, breathing in, arms outstretched, bend backwards as you bring the hands up the left leg to the thigh.
Move the hands down the right leg again, as you breathe out.
Continue in the fashion, making a big continuous circle with the outstretched arms and clasped hands.
Breathe out as you move the arms forward and bend the body forward.
Breathe in as you move the body backwards, coming up from foot to upper thigh with the arms stretched outl
Try to keep the arms straight, as this means you have to bend back a good way with the arms at the top of the legs. This bending back movement gives the stomach muscles a really good stretch.
Exercise Three: Leg Raises.
Now, after having done the two Shakti Bandha exercises as above, lie down on the floor.
Arms loosely at the side of the body.
Legs out straight on the floor. Releax. Take a few breaths and watch the tummy rising with each inhalation, and falling back as you exhale.
Now take a deep breath in and hold the breath.
While you hold the breath, lift both legs slowly off the floor.
Still holding the breath, keep raising the legs upwards until the toes are pointing to the ceiling.
Now, while you keep the feet pointing to the ceiling, let the breath exhale.
Still holding the legs upward in this position, take a breath in and out.
Then take another deep breath in and hold the breath.
Slowly, very slowly, bring the legs down bit by bit until they touch the floor.
Keep holding the breath until the feet are down on the floor again.
Let the breath out, then take another deep breath in and hold the breath while you slowly lift the feet upwards again.
Do this exercise three times then stop.
This one is not recommended for people with high blood pressure or heart problems. If you have health problems of any kind, then leave this exercise out and just do the first two exercises.
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