Practicing yoga regularly can lose weight, reduce fat, and slim down your hips. There are certain asanas or poses that can shape and train your hip muscles to make them stronger and look slimmer. Apart from slimming your hips, you can also enjoy the benefits of yoga such as increased endurance and peace of mind. You can get these benefits by combining regular yoga practice and healthy living habits, for example by dieting and exercising.
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Part 1 of 3: Slimming Hips by Practicing Yoga Asanas
Step 1. Shape your hips by doing a balanced series of asanas
Combining or combining several asanas to form one balanced yoga practice session is a difficult aspect of practicing yoga. A series of asanas that specifically work the hips, thighs, and lower back should include asanas that fall into the four groups of yoga poses. By doing this exercise, you can strengthen your muscles and slim your hips.
- Start practicing yoga by doing a short meditation, chanting a mantra, or praying so that your mind can focus more on the practice.
- The series of asanas should be performed sequentially according to the following pattern: warm-up by doing Surya Namaskara, standing poses, inversions, back arches, forward bends, and poses to end the exercise.
Step 2. Perform various asanas to slim the hips
You don't have to do all the yoga asanas just to slim your hips. A combination of certain asanas that work and stretch the muscles around the hips will strengthen your muscles, help your body adjust to a regular workout, lose weight, and slim down your hips.
- Start with easy asanas, then you can do more challenging asanas if you have mastered the basic techniques well.
- Perform the exercise in the following sequence of poses: standing poses, inversions, back arches, and forward bends. If you want, add a twisting asana after you've done the back arch pose. The twisting asana also functions as an intermediate pose which is usually done after the back arch pose before bending the body forward.
- You are free to decide how long you want to last in each asana. On the first day, you can do a series of asanas and on the next day you can practice holding the pose for 8-10 breaths to strengthen your muscles.
Step 3. Warm up with a few rounds of Surya Namaskara
You should warm up before practicing yoga to shape your hips. A few rounds of Surya Namaskara will lubricate the joints and activate the muscles around your hips.
- There are three kinds of Surya Namaskara series. Do 2-3 rounds of Surya Namaskara A, B, and C as a warm-up. Each of these sets will activate and prep your muscles, help keep your body safer and more flexible during your workout, and reduce fat all over your body.
- Surya Namaskara B is most helpful in slimming the hips because there is an excellent chair pose (uttkatasana) for working the muscles in your hips.
- Try doing Surya Namaskara in between asanas to strengthen muscles and increase endurance.
Step 4. Combine hip strengthening exercises and asanas to stretch the muscles
You don't have to do all the asanas to practice well every day or to build muscle and lose fat. You just need to combine and master the basic techniques of some of the asanas needed to strengthen and stretch the muscles in the hip area. This exercise is enough to strengthen your muscles and slim your hips.
Start with easy asanas, then you can do more challenging asanas if you have mastered the basic techniques well
Step 5. Perform standing poses
After warming up with a few rounds of Surya Namaskara, start doing one or two asanas (also called postures) standing. Starting from mountain pose (standing straight) to a series of warrior poses can build strength, stamina, and flexibility in your lower back, thighs, and hips.
- You can start a yoga practice session by standing up straight in mountain pose (tadasana) or sitting cross-legged on the floor. But to slim down your hips, it would be better if you start practicing from a standing pose so that the muscles in your hips, thighs, and lower back are more active.
- Perform other standing poses such as tree pose (vrksasana), chair pose (uttkatasana), and lizard pose (utthan pristhasana) to make the muscles in your hips more flexible.
- The warrior series poses, also known as Virabhadrasana I, II, and III, and attacking poses (anjaniyasana) can strengthen your leg, buttocks, and hip muscles.
- After you can do the asanas mentioned above, try doing new asanas such as the triangle pose while stretching your arms (utthita trikonasana) which is useful for strengthening and flexing your inner thighs, hamstrings, and hips.
Step 6. Perform inversion poses
The inversion pose is usually more difficult to do, but it can slim down your hips. From the asana standing on the head (headstand) to standing with the hands (handstand), all of them are useful for activating the lower back, buttocks, and leg muscles. In addition, the asana can also calm your circulation and stimulate your nervous system.
- If you're worried about falling while doing inversion poses, try asking your yoga trainer for help. In addition to keeping you from falling, a yoga trainer can also make sure that you're doing the asanas correctly and that you won't get injured.
- You can practice the standing arm asana (mukha vrksasana) with the help of a wall until you feel strong enough to support your own body.
- Gradually, you can start doing balance asanas with hands, head rest (salamba sirsasana), and peacock pose (pincha mayurasana) as your skills improve.
- Don't jump into the inversion pose right away, as too much momentum (for example, if you jump) puts too much weight on your body and can cause injury.
Step 7. Do the back arching pose
In addition to inversions, back arching poses are a pretty tough part of practicing asanas. Starting from cobra pose to full wheel pose is very useful for strengthening and flexing the muscles in your hips.
Try doing easy back arching poses such as grasshopper pose (salabhasana), cobra pose (bhujangasana), or bridge pose (setu bandha sarvangasana) before you practice bow pose (dhanurasana) and full wheel pose or inverted bow (urdhva dhanurasana)
Step 8. Neutralize with twisting pose
To make your back feel more comfortable after doing the back arch pose, neutralize it by doing the twist pose. This asana will relieve tension and can help stretch your hips.
Fish pose (ardha matsyendrasana) or triangle pose while twisting (parivrtta trikonasana) are twisting asanas that are especially useful for flexing the muscles around your hips
Step 9. Perform the pose of bending the body forward
You should always do the forward bending pose before ending your yoga practice as this pose can calm your mind and nerves. Starting from sitting cross-legged with your torso close to your calves or performing star poses, the forward bend poses will flex and strengthen the muscles in the hips while preparing your body for a closing posture and final relaxation.
Try moving your body towards your feet (paschimottanasana), bringing your head toward your feet while bending one leg (janu sirsasana), cow face pose (gomukhasana), or star pose (tarasana). The forward bending pose stretches and strengthens the muscles in your hip area. Try to hold each asana for 8-10 balanced breaths
Step 10. End your practice with closing poses
Closing pose is a pose that is done to end the asana practice. From shoulder-to-shoulder poses to corpse poses, these poses can calm your mind and relax your body.
- A good series of asanas should end with a closing pose such as the shoulder-resting pose (salamba sarvangasana) which is directly connected to the fish pose (matsyasana). You should do these poses while activating your core muscles and the muscles in your hips.
- If you feel uncomfortable doing the shoulder resting pose (salamba sarvangasana), try lying down with your feet against a wall (viparita karani mudra).
Step 11. Finish the exercise by performing the corpse pose (savasana)
The exercise you did with the moving asanas is over and it's time to rest. End the exercise by doing the corpse pose (lying down while letting your body relax) and enjoy the benefits of the yoga session you just did.
Part 2 of 3: Deepening Movements for Slimming Hips
Step 1. Do the exercise in flowing motion (vinyasa)
Do the poses while continuing to move so that your hips are slimmer. This exercise technique is more difficult than simply holding the asana, but it provides greater benefits for increasing strength and flexibility.
- You can start by doing one of the asanas, then lower your body to the floor and straighten your legs. At this time you are doing the pose resting on four points which is also called the plank pose or chatturanga dandasana in Sanskrit. Your elbows should form a 90° angle and close to your body. Make sure your abdominal muscles and both sides of your back are active.
- From plank pose, straighten your toes and then do cobra pose while straightening your arms so that your knees are lifted off the floor (urdhva mukha svanasana). From this pose, it will be easier for you to move to the next pose, namely the hill pose (adho mukha svanasana) as the final asana.
- With your toes still bent, try to pull your body forward while feeling the back of your foot slide on the mat. Activate your thigh muscles and try to keep them off the mat while pressing your palms against the floor until your elbows are straight and then pushing your chest forward. Gently arch your back and look forward or toward the ceiling if your neck is comfortable.
- Finish this move by doing hill pose. You have reached the final pose and can rest. Exhale while bending your toes again so that your body forms an inverted V which is called hill pose (adho mukha svanasana). In this position, you should be able to feel calmer and able to rest if you do some of the previous asanas in earnest. Try to press your palms down to the floor while lengthening your back by raising your sitting bones toward the ceiling and keeping your abdominal muscles active.
- Inhale and exhale calmly a few rounds of breath as you wish.
Step 2. Extend the duration of your workout
Try to increase the duration of the exercise by holding each pose a little longer, doing new asanas, and changing poses without breaking. If you can, do a new, more challenging asana.
Yoga classes usually last between 60 to 90 minutes. You can practice on your own by arranging training sessions according to the duration or practicing in a yoga studio
Step 3. Intensify your practice
Work on increasing the intensity of your workout to increase strength and flexibility, burn more calories, and reduce hip fat. You can do this easily by changing the time of holding the asana and challenging yourself to do the more difficult asanas.
- For example, try striking a lower half-squat pose.
- You can speed up the transition from one asana to the next to increase the intensity of the exercise. Burning calories and fat will be increased by performing Surya Namaskara or flowing movements when changing asanas.
- You can also include more difficult asanas. For example, you can try the head and palms resting pose (sirsasana II) instead of the usual head resting pose.
Step 4. Increase your exercise frequency
One of the best ways to deepen your yoga practice and burn calories and fat is to add more practice days. You can train 5-7 days a week.
Try to make yoga practice a daily routine or combine it with other sports in order to provide maximum benefits
Part 3 of 3: Combining Yoga with Diet and Exercise
Step 1. Combine yoga practice with other exercises
Try combining some other types of exercise with yoga. This is the most effective way to reduce fat all over your body.
Cardiovascular exercise can reduce fat when combined with yoga. In addition to walking, try running, swimming, rowing, or cycling
Step 2. Do strengthening exercises
In addition to cardiovascular exercise, strengthening exercises can also reduce fat. This exercise can build muscle to burn calories while improving your overall health and can also improve your ability to practice yoga.
- Before embarking on a strengthening exercise program, it's a good idea to consult with your doctor and even a certified instructor to develop an exercise plan that best suits your abilities and needs.
- Try to do movements in strengthening exercises such as leg strengthening which can improve your movements when practicing yoga to slim your hips.
Step 3. Eat healthy food regularly
You can lose weight and burn fat by eating a healthy, balanced and regular diet. The best foods for health are those that are low in fat, complex carbohydrates, and highly nutritious.
- Adhere to the diet by eating nutrient-rich foods around 1,500-2,000 calories per day according to the activities you do everyday.
- Eat low-protein foods such as chicken, ground beef, or Japanese soybeans (emadame) which can speed up the metabolic process and increase calorie burning. In addition, this diet can also burn fat that may contribute to your overweight.
- Eat whole grains such as whole grains, oatmeal, and quinoa instead of eating flour-based foods like bread.
Step 4. Avoid unhealthy foods
If you want to reduce fat, it's a good idea to avoid unhealthy or fast food which is usually very high in fat and calories. French fries, pizza, sausage rolls, cakes, and ice cream can't help you lose weight, reduce excess fluid, and lower salt levels in your body.
