Originally published October 26 2005
Yoga is not an exercise designed for burning calories
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
An eight-week study by the American Council on Exercise concluded that hatha yoga does not qualify as aerobic exercise.
The most popular and accessible form of yoga does not burn sufficient calories to qualify as an aerobic workout, although it does yield other significant benefits, a new study shows.
The eight-week study, commissioned by the American Council on Exercise, examined hatha yoga in 34 previously sedentary women.
Some of the women participated in three 55-minute hatha classes a week; the others were barred from any form of intentional exercise.
The yoga group showed improvements in strength, endurance, balance and flexibility but burned only 144 calories in a session, similar to the energy consumption of a slow walk.
Research published last summer linked regular yoga practice with successful weight control, but those findings were based on subjects' self-reported behavior -- a notoriously unreliable method -- and did not consider whether respondents engaged in other exercise.
The lead author of the ACE study, John Porcari, said that burning calories is "not what (hatha yoga) was intended to do.
Porcari, an exercise and sports science professor at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, said he is preparing to submit the research for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Each yoga class began with five minutes of relaxation and yoga breathing (pranayama), followed by 10 minutes of warm-up exercises (including sun salutations), 35 minutes of yoga postures (asanas) and five minutes of relaxation in the corpse pose (savasana).
John Schumacher, founder and director of Unity Woods Yoga Center in Bethesda, Md., contends that hatha yoga can provide an adequate aerobic workout, though not for beginners.
Hatha beginners cannot expect significant aerobic benefit, Schumacher said, because it takes time to learn how to do the poses correctly before increasing intensity.
For complete fitness, combine yoga with regular cardio.
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