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Workout fads come and go, but virtually no other exercise program is as enduring as yoga. It’s been around for more than 5,000 years.

Yoga does more than burn calories and tone muscles. It’s a total mind-body workout that combines strengthening and stretching poses with deep breathing and meditation or relaxation.

There are more than 100 different forms of yoga. Some are fast-paced and intense. Others are gentle and relaxing.Examples of different yoga forms include:

• Hatha – The form most often associated with yoga, it combines a series of basic movements with breathing.
• Vinyasa – A series of poses that flow smoothly into one another.
• Power – A faster, higher-intensity practice that builds muscle.
• Ashtanga – A series of poses, combined with a special breathing technique.
• Bikram – Also known as “hot yoga,” it’s a series of 26 challenging poses performed in a room heated to a high temperature.
• Iyengar – A type of yoga that uses props like blocks, straps, and chairs to help you move your body into the proper alignment.

Many yoga practices burn fewer calories than traditional exercise (e.g., jogging, brisk walking); however, yoga can increase one’s mindfulness and the way one relates to their body.

So, individuals will become more aware of what they are eating and make better food choices. Although practicing yoga doesn’t burn the most calories, it might still have a place in your workout routine.

An effective fat loss program that encourages maintenance of lean muscle and maximizes calorie burn should be founded on a combination of resistance training and cardiovascular activity.

However, yoga could be used as active recovery and flexibility training between more intense workouts.

The benefits of stress reduction and mindfulness associated with yoga could lead to improved sleep, better eating habits, and increased self-awareness, which could mean more weight loss and improved maintenance of weight loss results over time.

Regardless of the exercise you’re doing, however, good nutrition is essential. If you’re not paying attention to your diet, you won’t see the results you want. Exercise right, eat clean, and you’ll be able to actualize your goals.

Yoga targets the following areas

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• Core – There are yoga poses to target just about every core muscle. Want to tighten those love handles? Then prop yourself up on one arm and do a side plank.To really burn out the middle of your abs, you can do boat pose, in which you balance on your “sit bones” (the bony prominences at the base of your pelvic bones) and hold your legs up in the air.
• Arms – With yoga, you don’t build arm strength with free weights or machines, but with the weight of your own body. Some poses, like the plank, spread your weight equally between your arms and legs. Others, like the crane and crow poses, challenge your arms even more by making them support your full body weight.
• Legs – Yoga poses work all sides of the legs, including your quadriceps, hips, and thighs.
• Glutes – Yoga squats, bridges, and warrior poses involve deep knee bends, which give you a more sculpted rear.
• Back – Moves like downward-facing dog, child’s pose, and cat/cow give your back muscles a good stretch. It’s no wonder that research finds yoga may be good for relieving a sore back.