The beauty of yoga is how versatile it is. Really! Anyone can do it. It’s an exercise for both mind and body that can be tailored to students of all fitness levels. I’ve recently discovered that yoga is my new best friend.

I started practicing yoga after two very difficult pregnancies. Physically, my body had been through more than I care to recount and mentally I wasn’t in a great place either. Let’s leave it at this – I was just around the corner from crazy town! I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to find yoga. Once I did, everything turned around. I wasn’t able to manipulate my body into many of the postures, or asanas, but I was able to modify most of them to suit my needs. I started noticing a difference after only a couple sessions. I felt strengthening in my core, greater flexibility, improved stamina and more power over my own body. I realized the mind-body connection yoga gave me was the exact catalyst I was searching for. For me, yoga became a relationship between my body, my mind and the universe. My story is more common than I thought. Millions of people turn to yoga for physical rehabilitation. They find a world that heals their body and calms their soul, it empowers them.

People from all walks of life do yoga; athletes, the injured, soul searchers, dancers… the list goes on and on because the western world is starting to realize what our ancient friends to the east have known for centuries – yoga is fabulous and powerful. It offers our bodies unlimited possibilities including greater strength, flexibility, muscle tone, stamina, balance and much more. It also offers our minds and spiritual selves an equal amount of thrills!

One physical benefit (brace yourselves because I’m about to rock your world) is yoga’s ability to aid in weight loss. WebMD reports that celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Halle Berry swear by it. This news truly excites me but has many people skeptical. The formula for weight loss is quite simple: burn more calories than you consume. So then HOW does such a gentle workout do that? The sad truth is that it doesn’t. Keep in mind though that yoga hybrids, such as power yoga or hot yoga, MAY help burn a more significant amount of calories. Truth be told, if burning calories is your goal, most yoga programs won’t do the job on their own.

As part of a balanced lifestyle with plenty of exercise and a healthy diet, yoga CAN help on your quest for weight loss. It does this by stimulating your body and this in turn stimulates your metabolism. By improving your overall fitness, you’ll also be able to sustain more intense cardio workouts and burn calories that way. Please don’t forget the effects yoga has over your mind. By teaching you balance, will power and a connection to your body, yoga will most certainly help you lose weight and keep it off.

Personally, I give much of my weight loss credit to yoga. Losing my post-baby pounds proved to be an attainable goal. BELIEVE ME, if I can lose the weight, so can you. I found my path through yoga, now go find yours! Just don’t think you can do a couple sessions a week and lose 15 pounds without incorporating other exercise and dietary changes, but yoga sure is a good place to start.