Yoga is a known as a stress buster, but it’s also one of the most effective workouts for fighting stubborn fat stores. Yes, you can use yoga for weight loss. Yoga is a great way to lose weight if practiced regularly using the right form. Studies show that yoga lowers levels of stress hormones and increases insulin sensitivity—a signal to your body to burn food as fuel rather than store it as fat.

An hour of yoga every morning can help us burn calories and lose weight naturally. Here are 15 yoga postures which, when done correctly and regularly, promise healthy weight loss. These yoga poses for weight loss will do just that while firming up your arms, legs, butt, and abs.

1. Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation)

Surya Namaskar, one of the most widely practiced and basic yoga asanas, actually focuses on various parts of the body and work wonders with weight loss. It comprises a series of 12 different poses encompassed in one including the prayer pose, forward bend and the bhujangasana.

Benefits: It helps strengthen your skeletal system and ligaments. Being a great way to keep the body active, it also aids in reducing stress and anxiety. If you keep breathing in and out during the poses, it helps you lose more weight. Try to do at least two rounds to notice and feel the difference.

2. Ardha Chandrasan (Half moon)

How to do it: Keep your feet close together and while taking your breath in bend towards one side with your hand upstretched. Breathing in and out is instrumental in the process of doing an asana. It’s necessary to pay attention to it.

Benefits: It’ll exercise your side muscles and help you stretch all your limbs, while relaxing you at the same time.

3. Ardha Matsyendrasan (Half Spined twist)

How to do it: Sit straight with your legs outstretched in front of you, lift one of them and place your foot beside the knee of the outstretched leg. Put the opposite hand of the leg that is up the other leg and place it behind your knee with the other hand on the floor for balance.

Benefits: It’ll make your back stronger, exercising your back muscles as well your abs and thighs.

4. Ardha Uttanasana

How to do it: Press your palms or fingertips into the floor (or blocks on the floor) beside your feet. With an inhale, straighten your elbows and arch your torso away from your thighs, finding as much length between your pubic bone and navel as possible.

Benefits: This pose will strengthen your inner thigh muscles, and stretch your hamstrings. It will also improve your flexibility considerably.

5. Badhakonasana (Butterfly Pose)

How to do it: From staff pose, bend your knees. Bring the soles of your feet together, letting your knees fall out to either side. Draw your feet in as close to your body as is comfortable. Back off if you feel any pain in your knees. Press the outer edges of your feet together strongly.

Benefits: Butterfly pose offers a good stretch for the inner thighs; groin and knees. This can help eradicate fatigue caused by long hours of standing or walking. It improves and regulates bowel movements.

6. Chakrasan (Bridge)

How to do it: Lie straight and pull your legs upwards bent at the knees. Keep your feet flat on the ground. Now try lifting yourself up, while holding your ankles, while keeping your head on the ground.

Benefits: It’ll work your back and abdomen primarily.

7. Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)

How to do it: Lie down on the floor on your belly with your belly touching the ground. Keep your hands besides your chest in such a manner that your palms touch the ground. Now take a deep breath. Now lift up your legs and your thighs. Bring your heels close to your buttocks. At the same time stretch your chest and look in the upward direction. Look in the forward direction. Press your belly firmly against the floor.

Benefits: This yoga pose not only helps in losing weight but also helps in strengthening the abdominal core. To reach its full potential you can rock back and forth. It is an excellent belly massage, and also fights constipation and accelerates digestion. Great for a full body stretch.

8. Konasana (Angle Pose)

How to do it: Sit with your legs straight out in front of you. Bend your knees and pull your feet towards as close towards your pelvis as you can, with the soles of the feet touching each other. Drop your knees towards the floor and push the feet together.  With your index and middle finger and thumb grab the big toes of each foot. Lengthen through the front of the torso to the sternum as you pull your body down towards the floor.

Benefits: Strengthens and improves flexibility in the inner thighs, groins and the knees. It helps to sooth menstrual discomfort and digestive complaints. It tones the arms, legs, and abdominal organs.

9. Naukasan (Boat)

How to do it: It means to pose like a boat. Outstretch both your limbs forward and stay that way for some time. There is a reverse variation to this to where you can hold both your feet while lying on the floor on your stomach.

Benefits: It’ll strengthen your stomach muscles and leg muscles.

10. Trikonasan (Triangle)

How to do it: Spread your legs as far as possible, keeping them straight. Try to place your palm flat on the floor while bending towards the side opposite to your upward stretched arm.

Benefits: Trikonasana stretches the sides of the body. It tones the arms, legs, and abdominal organs. This aasan also improves flexibility of the spine and hips.

11. Utkatasan (Chair)

How to do it: This is the yogic version of squats; you basically have to pretend you’re sitting on a chair. Stand upright and keep some gap between your feet and sit with your butt out like sitting on a chair and your hands outstretched for balance. Make sure your knees and feet are in one line.

Benefits: This pose will work the insides of your thighs, calves, abdomen and back.

12. Veerbhadrasan (Warrior)

How to do it: Keep a large gap between your legs and stretch your limbs sideways. Face sideways and open the palm of the side you face upwards.

Benefits: The warrior pose strengthens the hamstrings, thighs, legs and ankles as the body weight is transferred on the thighs with the forward bend. It helps to stimulate abdominal organs which can help increase the stamina.

13. Viparitakarani (Legs up the wall)

How to do it: Sit with your legs up the wall with a cushion under your back for support for starters. You can go ahead to advanced stages without the wall when you get enough practice.

Benefits: It’ll work on your lower back and the strength of your spine.

14. Vrkasan (Tree)

How to do it: There are two versions, one is the folding of your hands near your chest and one is stretching them skywards. Stand on one leg with the other one place on your thigh.

Benefits: It’ll stretch and exercise all the muscles in your body.

15. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward facing dog)

How to do it: Keep nominal distance between your feet and bend forward while breathing in so that both your palms are flat on the floor. Make sure your feet are also flat on the ground.

Benefits: This will stretch your limbs and help you exercise your abs.

Like the wise say, there’s nothing like starting today. So don’t make excuses. Instead, make progress. You need to take care of your body, and only you can make a difference. I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it. Note that’s your competition. You have to do it for yourself.