Do you have low self esteem because of excess weight? Have you tried yoga for weight loss? Today's sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits result in excess weight. Moreover, stress may cause metabolism related problem, adding some extra kilos to your body. Metabolic problems may result in the body's inability to convert food into energy. Poor eating habits include consuming junk food and eating at irregular timings. Moreover, the lack of exercise and conditions such as thyroid make you gain weight.

A number of weight loss programs promise to help you reduce calories by a specific number in a preset time frame. This makes you lose weight suddenly resulting in sagging skin, which is actually more worrisome.

Yoga for Weight Loss: Dangerous Effects of Excess Weight

Excess body fat is a sign of high cholesterol levels in most cases. This leads to arteriosclerosis, which occurs due to plaques deposited in the arteries. This makes your arteries narrow, restricting the supply of oxygen to the heart, kidneys and the brain. Narrow blood vessels aggravate the risk of high blood pressure because they force the heart to pump hard. Rising blood pressure is a major cause of kidney failure and heart attack. Excess body fat also acts as a store house of cancer causing chemicals, or carcinogens.

Here are some dangerous diseases caused by excess weight:

• Breast and uterine cancer in women
• Blindness
• Amputation
• Death
• Gall bladder disease
• Gastro-intestinal disease
• Sexual dysfunction
• Osteoarthritis
• Stroke

Yoga for Weight Loss: How Yoga Helps in Losing Weight

There are certain yoga postures that are particularly helpful for losing weight. These poses stimulate hormonal secretion in sluggish glands. Yoga poses, such as Matsyasna (fish pose) and Sarvangasna (shoulder stand), are very effective for people suffering from problems of the thyroid gland, which is responsible for excess body fat. These two poses give a fillip to fat metabolism and convert fat into energy.

People who put on weight due to anxious eating can rely on Bikram yoga, as it calms the mind. The deep breathing poses in yoga help burn fat cells due to increased oxygen intake.