Is lingering joint pain holding you back? To lose weight in Beverly Hills, try Yin Yoga.

Exercise is an important component of a successful weight loss plan, but when your joints hurt it can be hard to move much, let alone work out. The problem is that a lot of overweight and obese individuals are subject to severe joint pain that develops over time, making it hard to work out even after you start to lose the weight. You might feel a sharp pain in your hip as you attempt to jog or a stabbing pain in your knee when you try to walk up the stairs. Your mind and muscles are ready to go but your joints are holding you back.

Finding an exercise strategy may be hard, but rest assured there is something out there right for you. While swimming and walking are good forms of exercise for a lot of people with joint troubles, others benefit from the slow and methodical movements of yin yoga.

Yin Yoga: Fitness for your Joints

You might not have heard of yin yoga. Unlike other more popular types of yoga like ashtanga or vinyasa that build balance and target muscles, yin yoga is focused on joint rehabilitation. Yin yoga targets the connective tissues that other types of yoga miss.

In between the slow movements of yin yoga, you will hold poses for extended periods of time. Deep stretches like this penetrate the connective tissues in your spine, hips and other joints, helping you to build strength and overcome the lingering pain that haunts a lot of people as they lose weight.

The extremely slow movements make yin yoga a good complementary form of fitness for a lot of dieters. You won’t burn as many calories during this type of exercise as you would during a more advanced yoga session, but adding yin yoga to your fitness regimen may make it easier for you to work out without such severe joint pain.

Are you ready to give yin yoga a try?

There are a few yoga studios in the Beverly Hills area that offer yin yoga for joint restoration:

• Beverly Hills Club offers yin yang yoga. This is a muscle and core strengthening branch of yin yoga that offers the joint health benefits while also incorporating some strength training moves.
• Exhale spa  in Los Angeles offers classes in yin+ restorative yoga that enhances the health of tendons, ligaments and cartilage with slow, methodical movements.

Joint aches are a common concern after weight loss. If you give yin yoga a try and find that it helps your joints, let us know in the comments below.