YOGA POSES TO LOSE FAT AND FEEL LIGHT

How much can yoga really do for you? A lot. Sarah Sanders, founder ofBrilliant Yoga, has designed various full-body routine that is a mind and body booster. 

The following workout is built around classic poses, with challenging core and upper- and lower-body variations added for a fat-blasting twist. 

Do the entire sequence four to five times through (keep at it for an hour) and you'll burn off the calorie equivalent of a banana split while sculpting your arms, chest, abs, butt, and legs and improving your flexibility.

1. Mountain Pose

Find alignment in your tailbone, pelvis, and belly; and then in your collarbones, shoulder blades, arms, and neck. 

Finally, extend the pose through the crown of your head. To find your center of balance, slightly lean your whole body forward, then backward; then to the left, and then to the right.

2. Standing Forward Bend

Shift your weight slightly forward into the balls of your feet and notice how that changes the sensation in your hamstrings. 

To come out of the pose, take a slight bend in the knees and place the hands on the hips. 

With the core engaged, inhale to find a flat back and exhale all the way up to stand.

3.Backward Bend On Knees

4. Downward Dog

To correctly learn the spine-lengthening aspect of Downward Dog, first bend your knees in the pose, coming onto the balls of your feet. 

Bring your shins parallel to the mat and keep your sit bones lifting high and back. Press your hips toward the wall behind you. Then, slowly begin to straighten your legs.

5. Chair Pose

Stay for 30 seconds to a minute. To come out of this pose straighten your knees with an inhalation, lifting strongly through the arms.

Exhale and release your arms to your sides into Tadasana. You can increase the strength of your thighs by squeezing a block or thick book between them during the pose.