The question that seems to follow every type of exercise…Can I lose weight doing this? The practice of trauma-informed yoga offers so many more benefits than losing a few pounds, but it’s a fair question.
I invite you to dive into this post with me and explore if you can you lose weight doing trauma-informed yoga.
Benefits Beyond Weight Loss
Trauma-informed yoga is not promoted as a weight loss style of yoga because that’s not the primary goal. I welcome you to explore these benefits that you’re receiving while also practicing, because I believe there is much more to this practice than weight loss alone.
Here are a few aims of trauma-informed yoga:
- Reclaim your life after trauma through holistic healing
- Establish healthy boundaries
- Provide grounding tools to mindfully manage trauma symptoms
- Ease tension and release stored trauma in your body
- Increase self love, compassion, and care
- Learn how to hold space for yourself and powerful emotions
- Somatic exploration for connecting with your internal landscape
I invite you to read this in-depth blog post about trauma-informed yoga, who it serves, how it supports sexual trauma survivors, and if this is a healing modality that interests you.
Exploring Stress & Weight Gain
Before we learn how yoga promotes weight loss, let’s look into how weight gain happens in the first place – specifically for trauma survivors and those who experience high stress levels.
This study discovered that people who experienced greater life traumas gain more weight than those who didn’t.
Why is that? The answer lies in your stress levels. Cortisol is a hormone that signals to your body that there is a threat and you enter flight or fight mode. This is important for survival, but if you remain too stressed for too long, you can may experience symptoms, including weight gain. You may even notice weight specifically around your belly – that’s also because of cortisol.
This study discovered that high levels of cortisol leads to overeating in women (especially sweets.)
Weight gain and loss can become a complex topic, especially when you factor in medications, hormones, and other factors. This doesn’t include these conditions, and focuses on the basic knowledge that if you eat more calories than your body uses, you’ll gain weight. I recommend you speak with your medical care team prior to beginning any fitness or weight loss program.
How Yoga Promotes Weight Loss
Yoga Is An Effective Stress Reliever
This study explores how yoga is an effective stress reliever. It does this through many techniques that awaken your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest). This is what allows you to feel calmer and more relaxed. The less stress you have, the lower your stress levels and the less you’ll turn to unhealthy coping tools like overeating.
I invite you to read this blog post to learn 15 holistic ways to regulate your nervous system after trauma. You’ll explore different yoga techniques designed to lower stress levels.
Yoga Burns Calories And Builds Muscle
More vigorous forms of yoga (like vinaysa and ashtanga) are heart-pumping styles that can be a healthy part of a weight loss plan. This style burns more calories compared to slower forms and also builds muscle.
Can You Lose Weight Doing Trauma-Informed Yoga?
Trauma-informed yoga includes classes that focus on slower movements. This gives you time to settle into each pose and find the version you like best. The reason for slower classes is that too much intensity can actually awaken your stress response (fight or flight).
Slower forms of yoga allow you to reduce stress levels and learn mindfulness. The beauty about yoga is your practice carries into your daily life. You may find you incorporate mindfulness into your eating patterns. Maybe you notice the taste of each bite instead of mindlessly snacking. You become more in tune with your body and its cues.
It’s not just the fast, calorie burning classes that lead to weight loss.
This study discovered obese women who participated in a 48-week program of restorative yoga lost more weight than those on a stretching only program.
Restorative yoga is a slow form of yoga that uses many props to support relaxation. Poses are held for a few minutes, allowing you to soften into each pose.
The study discovered the women in the restorative yoga group lost almost twice the weight compared the stretching group over a 48 week period. The yoga group also maintained their weight loss.
Does this mean you should steer clear of faster paced yoga classes as a trauma survivor? Not necessarily. It’s always your choice to practice what you like. I personally started with vinyasa and eventually worked my way to slower classes. You always have the final say in your practice.
Overview
Is there a 100% guarantee that you’ll lose weight doing trauma-informed yoga? Every person is different, so it’s hard to give a solid yes or no answer. This post is more about informing you about the potential benefits, and you deciding if this is something worth trying out.
Here’s how I feel about it: If you begin a trauma-informed yoga practice to lose weight, that’s totally fine. I originally began yoga to build muscle. If this is the goal that gets you started, that’s still getting started.
It’s your practice and you can arrive at your mat for any reason or goal that you have (just know you’re getting in loads of other benefits too!)
Take care.
