Top 10 Yoga Poses that Increase Metabolism

Are you looking to cope up the metabolism in your body, the best practice is performing yoga for minimum of three times a week. Yoga is a method that helps you stay away from stress, keeps you fit and healthy, increases the metabolism in your body, and keeps you active and energized.

The following are the top yoga poses to be performed to reduce stress and increase metabolism in your body:

1. Twisted Chair Pose

Increase in the circulation can be gained by twisting every muscle in the body, which can be seen in Twisted Chair pose, resulting in good digestion and wakes up the internal organs.

Steps to perform:

Legs and feet are kept together. Make an action as you are sitting in a chair far behind by bending your knees and sinking your hips down at a time. Palms should be placed in front of chest. Your right elbow is moved until it reaches your left knee by rotating the spine simultaneously. Chest should remain lifted all the time. You should be able to hold it for 30-45 seconds and try the same on the other side.

2. Locust Pose

Locust pose helps you increase your metabolism and boosts your energy, similar to all other poses. While elongating your spinal column and opening up your chest, your leg muscles and lower back are strengthened.

Steps to perform:

Your stomach should be touching the ground while lying on the floor with your arms alongside of your body facing your palms up. Your head, upper part of the body, legs and arms are to be lifted maintaining equal distance from the floor. Legs and arms must be kept active and you should look slightly up or forward depending on the flexibility of the body. This should be performed for 45 seconds, before releasing your arms and other parts to the floor, your head should be turned to one side. The same is repeated for three times.

3. Bow Pose

It is almost similar to the Locust pose, where the energy gets boosted up and metabolism revs up. It strengthens the back muscles and stretches the front part of your body. Your body resembles the shape of bow.

Steps to perform:

Lie on your stomach stretching your arms alongside of the body, with palms facing upwards. Your ankles should be grabbed with your hands by bending the knees remaining in same position. Now lift your heels up and away from your body, keeping your legs hip-distance apart, which pulls your chest up off the floor. Shoulder blades should be kept down away from the ears all the time. You should hold this for 30-45 seconds, while releasing head should be turned to one side. Repeating this for two or three times shows best results.

4. Eagle Pose

Entire body gets energized and digestion is carried out well performing this pose. It also helps in building lean and strong muscles.

Steps to perform:

Bend your knees slightly from your standing position. Start in a standing position and bend your knees slightly. Right leg is lifted up and hooked around the standing leg at the foot and ankle behind left calf. Hips are brought down and back making a position as you are sitting in a chair. Arms are crossed at elbow position and wrists bringing them before your chest. After holding it for around 1 minute you can release it shaking the legs and continue by switching sides.

5. Crescent Lunge Pose

This position helps in stretching your hips and strengthening your legs. It also helps in the increase of the metabolism. Crescent lunge position maintains your heart beat rate.

Steps to perform:

Initiate with downward dog pose. Your right foot is stepped in between both the hands. Hips are lowered in lunge position and weight should be shifted on the ball of your back foot by lifting up the body as standing straight. Hips should remain squared all the time. Arms should be raised as to reach ceiling by keeping both the palms facing each other. Stay in the position for 1 minute and then sides are changed.

6. Bridge Pose

In this pose the chest portion is lifted up to reach the chin, by which the thyroid gland is massaged, resulting in the hormone regulation helping in maintaining the metabolism. It works with the gravity to open your chest and shoulder areas.

Steps to perform:

Keep your knees bent and flat on the floor with a feet distance apart by lying on your back. Slowly see if you can feel your heels by reaching down your fingertips.
Bring your knees a little closer if you do not feel so. Lift your hips towards the ceiling by pressing the weight on your feet by keeping your thighs parallel. Both arms are clasped with each other bringing them underneath your body. Shoulders blades are rolled towards each other and stay for 45 seconds to 60 seconds. Release by rolling back slowly and is repeated for two times.

7. Plow Pose

Plow pose helps in balancing your metabolic system and helps you for the flow of feel good hormones and endorphins throughout your body. This also helps in the good circulation of adrenal, thyroid and pituitary glands.

Steps to perform:

Bring you legs straight up in the air towards the ceiling by lying back. Arms are brought alongside your body with your palms down. Press your weight into the arms and lift your legs right over your head and try to touch the ground behind you, if it is difficult for you to do so clasp your arms as in the bridge pose for support and shoulders rolling towards each other.

8.Shoulder Stand

Shoulder stand gives great stretch to your upper back and neck. It is having similar benefits as plow pose.

Steps to perform:

Put you arms alongside your body with your palms down by lying back. Follow same procedure as plow pose by bringing your legs in the air towards ceiling over the head by pressing weight into the hands. Hands are clasped and shoulders are rolled towards each other and bringing hands to lower neck spreading your fingers wide. Now one leg at a time is lifted to the ceiling getting it as straight as possible and hold it for 1 to 3 minutes.

9. Fish Pose

The counter pose to the shoulder stand is nothing but the fish pose. It helps in stretching front of neck, causing calming effect to your body. Most of us suffer from lot of stress in our shoulders and neck.

 

Steps to perform:

Your hands along with the palms are kept beneath your hips by lying back. Elbows are bent and by pressing weight into them you should lean on them. Your back should be arched as you lift your chest up towards the ceiling. As in the bridge stand, elbows are brought towards each other dropping the head back behind your body.

10. Easy Spinal Twist

Spinal twist pose helps you in the weight loss process and take care of the digestive system of your body.

Steps to perform:

Both of your knees are brought towards your chest by lying on your back. Your left knee must be held into the chest leaving the right knee straightened onto the floor. The bent knee should be brought all over the body without changing the shape of your shoulder. To complete the twist head should be turned to look over the left shoulder. Keeping the pose for 45 seconds to 1 minute, both the knees are brought into the chest and other knee should be practiced. Lie on your back and bring both knees in toward your chest.