Belly Fat

Q: I was wondering how to get rid of belly fat. My abdominal muscles are strong, I would just like to get rid of the extra blubber around my middle. I am 47 years young, so part of it is hormone changes. Is there certain exercises to work on those hormones or a supplement I could take. I started doing some extra cardio by doing some Chi running for 20 minutes a day. I also do your DvD\'s everyday. Your help would be greatly appreciated. I eat a pretty healthy diet. I can cut out sugar but I do like my chocolate even if it is a small piece everynight.

A: Thanks for writing. Upping your cardio is a great start in achieving your goal! Moderate cardio, especially in the morning before breakfast is a great way to stoke your metabolism. A 20 minute Chi run followed by your Kundalini Yoga practice is ideal if time allows. If your extra belly fat is due to hormonal fluctuation, a regular Kundalini Yoga practice will help smooth things out. Do you have our Fat Free Yoga? We suggest the \"Your Life is in Your Own Glands\" segment done on a regular basis. When time allows, we recommend that you do the entire DVD.

Very often, belly fat is caused by stress and/or lack of sleep. Try to keep regular hours and don\'t skimp on the relaxation portion of your yoga practice. We also recommend increasing meditations such as \"Hands Like Teapot,\" (also on Fat Free Yoga), to 11 minutes a day.

Sometimes belly fat is due to energy stagnation caused by a body misalignment. We recommend that you pay special attention to alignment cues in our DVDs - especially ones like \"...be sure the crown of your head is over your sitting bones...etc.,...\" Spend some extra time in Mountain Pose breathing into your upper back as you release the tailbone down, making your spine as long as you can and see if your belly flattens. If it does chances are, its\' posture you need to pay attention to. The Posture Primer on our Yoga for Beginners & Beyond: Stretch, Strengthen Be Stress Free, can be very helpful.

One more possibility is that your liver needs detoxing. You are right to think sugar may not be such a good thing. Too much sugar stresses the liver. Hormonal fluctuations also tend to make the liver sluggish. When that happens, belly fat occurs. We recommend our Yoga Cleanse DVD once a week. You can also try the supplement called silymarin (Milk Thistle Extract).

Moderate cardio, even just a brisk walk, especially in the morning before breakfast is a great way to stoke your metabolism. A 20 minute Chi run followed by your Kundalini Yoga practice is ideal if time allows. If your extra belly fat is due to hormonal fluctuation, a regular Kundalini Yoga practice will help smooth things out. Do you have our Fat Free Yoga? We suggest the \"Your Life is in Your Own Glands\" segment done on a regular basis. When time allows, we recommend that you do the entire DVD.

Very often, belly fat is caused by stress and/or lack of sleep. Try to keep regular hours and don\'t skimp on the relaxation portion of your yoga practice. We also recommend increasing meditations such as \"Hands Like Teapot,\" (also on Fat Free Yoga), to 11 minutes a day.

Sometimes belly fat is due to energy stagnation caused by a body misalignment. We recommend that you pay special attention to alignment cues in our DVDs - especially ones like \"...be sure the crown of your head is over your sitting bones...etc.,...\" Spend some extra time in Mountain Pose breathing into your upper back as you release the tailbone down, making your spine as long as you can and see if your belly flattens. If it does chances are, its\' posture you need to pay attention to. The Posture Primer on our Yoga for Beginners & Beyond: Stretch, Strengthen Be Stress Free, can be very helpful.

One more possibility is that your liver needs detoxing. You are right to think sugar may not be such a good thing. Too much sugar stresses the liver. Hormonal fluctuations also tend to make the liver sluggish. When that happens, belly fat occurs. We recommend our Yoga Cleanse DVD once a week. You can also try the supplement called silymarin (Milk Thistle Extract).