You don't have to practice yoga to lose weight however yoga can facilitate the weight loss in many different aspects. In fact, if you love yoga and want to practice it - it might be the only thing you need to lose weight.

How is it possible?

Yoga includes postures (asanas) and breathing exercises. Together they form a powerful combination that helps to increase the awareness of our own body, relax deeply and connect with your Higher Self.

In order to start experiencing this, you need to practice regularly, at least 2-3 times per week, for 4-5 months. Self-awareness brings a desire to take a better care of the body; it also cultivates self-love. These inner psychological changes make it easy for you to follow any diet or exercise program without any effort because healthy, fit body becomes a new program engrained in your subconscious mind. This way you can lose weight effortlessly.

Another benefit of yoga is that yoga provides a gentle massage to endocrine glands and hence can help normalize hormonal disbalances in the body. These disbalances are often the reasons for weight gain.

Major energy centers of the body (chakras) are connected to major endocrine glands. The gentle massage that yoga provides for the body also improves the energy flow between major chakras and this is the reason why yoga promotes positive psychological changes that lead to effortless weight loss.

Yoga is also an excellent stretching exercise that incorporates resistance training (try Ashtanga or Power yoga); in addition it can also help to detoxify the body (try hot yoga or Bikram yoga).

Give it a try. If you persist you will reap all the benefits.