12 Best Yoga Poses for Weight Loss

Yoga is a traditional practice used to relax both the body and the mind. However, did you know that it can also help you lose weight? Yes, you heard right!

So, if you’re also planning to lose weight naturally, you can try yoga. Here, we’ve brought you the 12 best yoga poses for weight loss that will help you burn fat in just a few months.

Why Do Yoga Poses for Weight Loss Work?

Yoga poses help with weight loss by increasing muscle movement, improving metabolism, and keeping the stress levels in check.

Simple yoga poses like Surya Namaskar can help you improve your heart rate and burn calories on the side. While dynamic poses like Vinyasa helps with toning the muscles in the legs and arms.

It also helps you regulate cortisol, which in turn, stops emotional eating and fat storage in the body.

Benefits of Yoga for Weight Loss (Science-backed)

According to Harvard Health.Edu, yoga can help you with both your mental and physical health, offering various benefits to both.

Burns Calories: Holding dynamic poses for a long time can help burn calories in your body.

Boosts Metabolism: There are several yoga poses that can help you stimulate the thyroid gland and improve gut health.

Improves Core Muscles: Yogasanas can help you tone the core muscles and reduce the belly fat.

Reduces Stress: Yoga reduces cortisol levels, which often causes stress-related cravings and allow fat storage.

Improves Sleep: It can also improve your sleep quality by reducing stress and promoting relaxation.

12 Best Yoga Poses for Weight Loss (Fat Burning Yoga Asanas)

Here are the 12 best yoga poses for weight loss. These poses are pretty simple and anyone can do it within the comfort of their home.

1. Suryanamaskar (Sun Salutation)

Surya Namaskar is one of the most common yoga poses for weight loss for beginners. It includes 12 series of poses that works on the whole body. A 2016 study suggests that each of the 12 poses can burn upto 13.90 calories for a normal person.

How to do it:

This yoga pose includes two rounds of Sun Salutation, where you first stretch the right side of the body, and then the left.

Tip: Do not practice this if you are pregnant or have high blood pressure.

2. Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II)

Virabhadrasana II pose improves the strength in your legs, core, and arms. It also boosts your stamina as you stay in a standing pose. Since it involves large muscles, it burns more calories and helps with weight loss.

How to do it:

Stand with your feet wide apart. Turn your right foot out 90 degrees and bend your right knee, bringing it over your ankle. Now, extend your arms parallel to the floor. Look over your right hand and hold on for 30-60 seconds. Repeat the same for the left side.

3. Phalakasana (Plank Pose)

Plank pose is a pretty intense full-body exercise that improves your core muscles, shoulders, and upper back. Given its intensity, it helps you burn down the calories at a high rate, helping you slim down in no time.

How to do it:

Get in a push-up position and keep your hands under your shoulders. Keep your body in a straight line. Use your core and hold on the position for 30-90 seconds.

4. Utkatasana (Chair Pose)

Similar to its name, this pose requires you to sitting on an invisible chair. This mainly involves your core muscles. Since it focuses on your abdomen, it can help you loosen the belly fat and building lean muscles in your thighs and legs.

How to do it:

Stand with your feet together. Bend your knees, and lower your hips as if you were sitting. Raise your arms overhead and hold the position for 30-60 seconds.

5. Navasana (Boat Pose)

Navasana focuses on your abdominal muscles, and thus, it can help you with weight loss around your midsection of the stomach.

How to do it:

Sit down on the ground and lift your legs in a 45 degree angle. Extend your arms forward and balance on your sit bones. Hold it for 30-60 seconds.

6. Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose)

For this pose, you need to make a bridge using your core and lower back. It improves your immunity and helps with the thyroid, managing your body weight.

How to do it:

Lie down on your back and bent your knees. Keep your feet hip-width apart. Lift your hips toward the ceiling and hold on 30-60 seconds.

7. Parivrtta Utkatasana (Twisting Chair Pose)

It is an intense yoga pose that keeps your core muscles in a unique position. It helps you with digestion and works to get rid of the extra weight.

How to do it:

First, get yourself in a chair pose and bring your hands in a prayer position. Twist your torso and hook the left elbow outside right knee. Then switch sides.

8. Adho Mukh Svanasana (Downward-facing Dog)

Adho Mukh Svanasana is one of the popular yoga asanas for weight loss. It involves your whole body, helping you lose weight and strengthen the body muscles.

How to do it: 

Get on all fours and tuck your toes. Lift your hips toward the ceiling and form an inverted. Keep your hands shoulder-width apart.

9. Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)

Dhanurasana is one of the best yoga poses for weight loss at home. It causes a stretch in the abdominal area that helps you loosen the fat instantly.

How to do it:

Start on your stomach and bend your knees. Now grab your ankles, lift your body, and arch your back.

10. Konasana (Angle Pose)

Konasana can help you burn fat around the waistline. If you include it in your daily yoga routine, it can help you lose weight and also improve flexibility and balance in the body.

How to do it:

Stand straight with your feet hip-width apart. Raise your left arm and bend your torso to the right. Keep your spine in a vertical pose. Repeat it with the right side.

11. Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)

Cobra pose improves the muscles in your back, arms, and abdomen. Though it’s not much helpful with weight loss, pairing it with other yoga exercise can help you improve the abdomen area.

How to do it:

Lie flat on your belly and place your hands on the floor under your shoulders, bending elbows, keeping it close to ribcage.  Now inhale and lift your chest and head off the floor.

12. Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)

Trikonasana includes various muscles in your body, such as legs and core to help with weight loss. It also helps regulate the cortisol levels in your body and reduce stress hormones that might be causing you to gain weight.

How to do it:

Stand with feet wide apart and stretch your arms parallel to the floor. Put one hand to the ankle or the floor and take the other arm upward.

Ayurvedic Methods to Support Weight Loss Alongside Yoga

Apart from yoga, there are various Ayurvedic herbs and medicines that can help you lose weight without going on heavy medications.

These herbs include triphala, ajwain, punernava, ashawagandha, jaiphal, etc. All of these herbs have unique benefits that reduce cortisol and help you lose weight over time.

Besides that, there are various Ayurvedic pills and capsules on the market for weight loss. So, you can also give them a try!

Conclusion: Which Yoga Poses for Weight Loss Are Best in 2026

These were the 12 best yoga poses for weight loss that can help you get rid of extra weight the natural way.

However, there are some poses in this list that could be hard for some people, especially the pregnant women or the elderly. So, be careful and only try the poses your body can afford to!