8 Effective Yoga Asanas For Weight Gain

Now a days there’s a trend, people want to lose weight. For some this trend is good for their health, but not for all. Many people are underweight, it is Natural for some due to genetics or fast metabolism but for some it may indicate some underlying health conditions.

BMI (Body Mass Index) play a vital role in management of health weight ratio. Being overweight or underweight both can be harmful. Maintenance of a healthy body is of utmost importance to maintain good health. Both, people who are overweight or underweight struggle equally to bring themselves to a healthy BMI/weight.

People who are underweight try lot of unhealthy ways to gain and maintain a balanced weight. They may binge eat high calorie food items, junk food, minimise their physical activities and lounge around like couch potatoes, but they never seem to gain the desired healthy weight. People who are underweight are prone to similar Health risks as those who are obese. Yoga for weight gain is an excellent way to help with healthy weight management.

Weight Gain Tips By Dr. Hansaji

There are some Super Food that help in healthy weight gain. Instead of munching on junk food for Carbohydrates and Calories, start munching on the following super foods:

1. Banana – Great source of Carbohydrates and Calories. One can have 2-3 bananas daily for healthy weight gain.

2. Rice – Rich in Carbohydrates and can be easily added to your daily meals. Unpolished rice is much better than polished white rice. Different rice has different texture and different digestibility. Unpolished rice is more fibrous and nutritious as compared to unpolished white rice. Having two portions in a day with lentils is good for healthy weight gain.

3. Potatoes – Contains Starch and Carbohydrates. Helps in increasing the Adipose tissues in our body. A hundred gram of boiled potatoes can be added in our diet as a snack or in our main meals as a sabzi. One can also consider sweet potatoes for weight gain.

4. Chickpeas – Is high in protein promoting overall body repair and growth. Protein helps increase in muscle mass which assists in healthy weight management.

5. Paneer & Whole Milk – these dairy products contains good amount of protein and fat, which aids in weight gain. One glass of whole milk everyday is a great way to incorporate dairy product in our daily routines.

6. Tofu & Soya Products – Excellent source of protein and contains soluble fibres. Should be part of our kitchen snack counter for a healthy weight management.

Learn about the Yoga Poses for weigh t gain:

1. Surya namaskar

• Hands in Namaste and breath normal (Pranamasana/Sthitaprarthanasana).

• Breathing in bend your spine backwards(Hasta-uttanasana).

• Breathing out bend forward and bring your hands to your toes (Hastapadasana or Padahastasana).

• Breathing in bring your right leg forward in between your hands (Ashwa- Sanchalanasana).

• Breathing out take the right leg back next to your left leg and push your hip upwards keeping arms and legs straight (Adho Mukha Svanasana).

• Now breathing in bring your knees down on the floor and breathing out bring your chest and chin on the floor (Ashtanga Namaskara).

• Breathing in raise your sternum up(Bhujangasana).

• Breathing out push your hip in the upward direction by bring your head in between your arms and by keeping your arms and legs straight (Adho Mukha Svanasana).

• Breathing in bring your left leg forward in between your hands (Ashwa Sanchalanasana).

• Breathing out come into complete forward bend by bringing the other leg forward (Hastapadasana or Padahastasana).

• Breathing in come up and take a backward bend(Hasta-uttanasana). Breathing out bring your arms down and and hold your hands in Namaste (Pranamasana/Sthitaprarthanasana).

Benefits:

• It influences the health of your entire body.

• It stimulates and improves all your organs.

• It strengthens all the muscles

Limitations/Contraindications:

Hypertension ,

• Heart ailments,

• Pregnancy.

• Vertigo

• Abdominal inflammation

Sciatica ,

• Slipped disc

• Menstruation,

• Hernia,

• Any structural problems

Must Know: Yoga, Diet & Weight loss ( Yoga For Weight Loss) 

2. Dhanurasana

• Lie on the stomach (prone position) raise your head, neck along with bending your knees and holding your ankles with your hands.

• Balance your body in the abdomen by raising your head and legs further up giving a good arch to your spine, hold the pose for couple seconds.

• Return to start position by releasing the ankles and bringing your head and legs down to prone position.

Benefits:

• Extreme stretches to abdominal and pelvic muscles.

• Strengthens muscles of lower extremities, especially thighs.

• Flexibility and strength of the spine is improved.

Limitations/ Contraindications

• Hernia,

• Hyper tension,

• Heart ailments,

• Pregnancy,

• Peptic ulcers,

• Serious spinal aliments and osteo-arthritis.

• People with a protruding belly will have difficulty in assuming a prone position.

3. Paschimottanasana 

• Sit with your legs stretched straight and back is also straight.

• Bring your hands close to your chest with palm facing down, elbows folded and forearm parallel to the floor.

• Inhale normal and then while exhaling bend forward pulling your abdomen inwards and stretch forward your hands to touch the big toes. Try to bring your elbow down towards the floor to deepen the stretch and bring your forehead down on the shin.

• Hold the pose for couple of seconds and release by inhaling and coming back to start position.

Benefits:

• Improves blood circulation.

• Stretches the superficial and deep muscles of the legs, shoulders and the back.

• Great stretch to the spine.

Limitations/ Contraindications:

• A hernia, hypertension, heart ailments, pregnancy, peptic ulcers and abdominal inflammations

• Hyperthyroid, serious spinal disorders, myopia, glaucoma and serious eye disorders.

• Dynamic variation can be performed by all, to individual capacity.

4. Konasana 2

• Keep a distance of two feet between your legs and lift your right hand up keeping it close to your head.

• While breathing in bend left side from your waist slowing sliding your left hand down towards the knee. Make sure you don’t push your hip out while bending and also do not learn forward or backward in the side bend position.

• Bend as much as possible in the ok n breath and hold the pose for couple of seconds.

• While you exhale come back up to the starting position and bring your hand down.

• Repeat in the same way with the left hand going up and you bending on the right side.

Benefits:

• Develops and tones the muscles of the sides.

• Improves digestion.

• Aids good blood circulation.

Limitations / Contraindications:

• Spinal injury

• Severe back problems,

• Frozen shoulder,

• Severe arthritis,

• Hypertension,

• Serious cardiac complaints

• Pregnancy (2nd and 3rd trimester).

5. Konasana 3

• Keep a gap of almost 20-25 inches distance between both the feet. Both hands in front and inhaling open your arms to the side and turn your neck to right side.

• Exhaling twist your body to the left and bend down to touch your left toe with your right hand while your left hand goes up towards the ceiling.

• Turn your neck and look at the hand on the top. Maintain that the lower body is fixed.

• To release the pose, turn you neck down to look at your right hand and inhaling untwist yourself and come back up to starting pose. Repeat the same on the other side, with your left hand touching the right toe.

Benefits:

• Develops muscles of the shoulder.

• It strengthens the weak spine.

• The compression give great massage to the internal abdominal organs.

Limitations/Contraindications:

Vertigo ,

• severe cardiac problems

• hypertension

• lower back problems

• Cervical spondylosis

• slip disc

• hernia.

6. Ardh Matsyendrasana

• Keep your legs and back straight. Fold the right leg under your left hip and bring your right heel close to the perineum.

• With your left leg bend the knee and place the foot across the right thigh placing it near the right knee. Left knee should be pulled close to your chest.

• Twist your torso on the left side, hold your left toe with your right hand by bringing your left knee under the right armpit and exhaling twist further and place your left hand at your back palm facing outside. Simultaneously turn your neck Towards the left shoulder.

• Hold the pose for few seconds then release by coming back to starting position and repeat on the other side where your left leg will go under and right leg will be on the top.

Benefits:

• It gives a lateral twist to the spine.

• It opens the shoulders, neck, and hips.

• Deep and superficial muscles of your spine are massaged.

Limitations/Contraindications

• Hernia

• Peptic ulcer

• Pregnancy

• Spinal issues

• Slip Disc

• Knee issues or injury

Read More : 5 Benefits of Yoga for Weight Loss 

7. Parvatasana

• Sit in Sukhasana or cross leg position keeping hands on the side. Now breathing in raise your arms up Above your head and join then in Namaste. Stay in the pose for couple of seconds by keeping your eyes focused at one point and breath normal.

• While breathing out bring your arms down and release the posture.

Benefits:

• Stretches all the abdominal and pelvic muscles and loosens the hips.

• Belly fat is reduced, flabs are reduced by the exercise of the inactive area of the waist.  

• Abdominal organs are massaged.

• All the vertebrae gets proper blood circulation.

Limitations / Contraindications:

• Arthritis of the knees and frozen shoulders.

• Those who cannot sit on the ground can practise sitting on a straight-backed chair.

• Hypertension and cardiac patients must not hold their breath and avoid variations.

8. Utkatasana

• One foot distance between your feet, while breathing in raise arms at shoulder level palms facing the floor and simultaneously come on your toes.

• While you exhale squat down by bring your hips to your heels and hold the pose for few breaths and inhaling come back to standing position remaining on your toes and then release the pose by come flat on your feet and arms down.

Benefits:

• Tones and strengthens the leg muscles

• Helps strengthen the lower back and torso.

Limitations/ Contraindications:

• chronic knee pain,

• arthritis,

• sprained your ankle;

• any knee problem or damaged ligaments;

• headache or insomnia (sleeplessness),

Menstruation,

• Pain in the lower back.

All these Yoga Asanas For Weight Gain help in overall workout of the body and muscle building. Eating anything and everything along with it becoming less active will not help, eating healthy meals and weight gain yoga exercises done optimally will help with healthy weight gain. Also if your mind is stressed nothing is going to work, make sure you are happy and enthusiastic with what you are doing and reap the benefits. Happy mind makes happy body is the Best yoga for weight gain.