The Complete Yoga Calorie Breakdown
Saturday, January 31, 2009 0:58
When asked how many calories a yoga class burns many people routinely say about 200… this is the commonly accepted average of a 60 minute class.
However, after doing more research and looking into other forms of yoga I was able to find a website that gives a little better breakdown and estimates on how many calories you can hope to burn per class.
Here’s what was quoted for each practice:
HATHA
Calories burned in Hatha Yoga: 175 per hour
Same as: a slow walk
ASHTANGA
Calories burned in Ashtanga Yoga: 300 per hour
Same as: a brisk walk
POWER YOGA
Calories burned in Power Yoga: 300 per hour
Same as: a brisk walk
VINYASA
Calories burned in Vinyasa Yoga: 445 per hour
Same as: moderate bike riding for one hour
BIKRAM and HOT YOGA
Calories burned in Bikram or Hot Yoga: 630 per hour
Same as: jogging for one hour
You’ll notice there’s some rather large discrepancies in terms of calories burned, from a low of 175 to a high of 630. Keep in mind, though, that when you are calculating your own caloric expenditure it may not be exactly equal to what you see here. The reason is that your age, gender, weight, height, and fitness level all are determinants when it comes to individual calories burned. On the other hand, these yoga breakdowns will give you a better idea of which practice burns more calories per hour.
Source: Yoga Class Descriptions