Slim Calm Sexy Yoga: 210 Proven Yoga Moves for Mind/Body Bliss

by a growing pile of research. There are very real and exciting results.
    If you’re already a yoga regular, no doubt you’re familiar with that amazing feeling you get right after a class. Some people call it the yoga buzz. And scientists have discovered the potent mechanism behind it: Turns out, yoga has a direct effect on your brain. It actually raises levels of a chemical in your noggin called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is linked to well-being. Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine and McLean Hospital used MRI scans to measure baseline GABA levels in study volunteers. The scientists then asked half of them to do an hour of yogawhile the others read a book. When the participants were rescanned afterward, the yogis had increased their GABA levels by an average of 27 percent, whereas the bookworms showed no change. Those are some serious feel-good results.
    In another study, UCLA researchers measured significant and immediate mood changes in people who had just taken a yoga class. Their bad moods decreased while their good moods increased, and they were less tired and more energetic. That’s good stuff. It happens each time you practice, and you can be practicing all the time, whether you are on your yoga mat or not.
    I’ll share more results like this throughout the book, though once you get into a full-on yoga kick, you may not feel the need to have doctors and studies tell you what’s good for you. You’ll feel the difference yourself. Yoga has a way of waking up your intuition about your own health and well-being. But, for the science-minded among you, consider these compelling facts.

Yoga Will Make You Slimmer
    There is a common misunderstanding that yoga isn’t effective for weight loss. I am here to tell you that that couldn’t be further from the truth. For starters, you will sweat, blast calories, and tone and shape your entire body, especially if you practice a more physically active style of yoga, such as ashtanga, Vinyasa, or Bikram (hot yoga). In fact, you’ll burn 400 calories in a 90-minute Bikram class, roughly the same as in 40 minutes of running at a moderate pace—but with a lot less stress on your body.
    That said, calorie burning is not where the bulk of yoga’s weight-loss power lies. An added benefit, even from practicing more gentle styles of yoga and meditation, is that it helps you get a handle on what your body needs to be healthy and feel good.
    OK, I don’t blame you if you’re thinking, “That sounds like bullsh--. What if my body
needs
french fries?” I totally get that. But believe me when I tell you that doing yoga gives you a special fat-fighting power. Here’s how it works: Yoga requires your full attention and concentration to move through the poses and to hold them. (Just try staying in plank pose while obsessing over those boots you saw at Anthropologie.) Cultivating attention and awareness on the yoga mat shines a spotlight on habits and behaviors of the mat, including choices about what—and how much—is for dinner. And over time, a regular yoga practice will sharpen your ability togauge how hungry or full you are, (Do you really need that piece of chocolate lava cake?)
    Still skeptical? Maybe this will help. A recent study published in the
Journal of the American Dietetic Association
found a strong association between yoga practice and weight control, and researchers attribute it simply to eating “mindfully.” Down dog devotees, they say, learn to stay calm in the face of discomfort, and that tendency spills over into other parts of their lives—making it easier to turn down that cake (or fries), no matter how good it looks.
    What’s more, the study found no such link between mindful eating and other types of physical activity, such as walking or running. I can vouch for this from personal experience. When I first moved to New York City from Chicago, I went through a brief gym phase, alternating gym workouts with occasional yoga. After a while I started noticing an interesting pattern. When I finished a session on the elliptical, I’d grab takeout or a quick sandwich from a deli. I wouldn’t think much about what I was eating or why. I was hungry, it was convenient, decision made.
    But after yoga class, my behavior was different. I’d find myself gravitating toward fruit or shopping for organic greens so I could make a salad creation at home. I was hyperaware of how my body and mind felt after yoga—cleansed and