Physical Education · Ch 3 — Yoga as Preventive Measure for Lifestyle Disease
Asanas to Prevent Obesity
Asanas to Prevent Obesity
Obesity is the excessive accumulation of body fat to a point where it begins to harm health. It develops mainly from eating more energy than the body uses — over-indulgence in food combined with physical inactivity — and it is one of the most common lifestyle diseases among young Indians today. Excess weight strains the spine and joints, crowds and compresses the abdominal organs, slows digestion, and tends to settle first around the waist and abdomen.
Yoga helps counter obesity in a particular way. The asanas below do not burn large numbers of calories the way running does; instead they tone the abdominal wall, massage and stimulate the digestive organs, correct the poor posture that excess weight causes, and improve metabolism and digestion — so that the body stores less and uses more. Practised regularly, as a sequence, and combined with a balanced diet, they form a steady preventive programme.
The CBSE Class 12 syllabus prescribes ten asanas and pranayamas to prevent obesity, and for each you should know its procedure, its benefits and its contraindications:
- Tadasana (Palm-tree pose)
- Katichakrasana (Waist-rotating pose)
- Pavanmuktasana (Wind-releasing pose)
- Matsyasana (Fish pose)
- Halasana (Plough pose) …