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 brisk walk or run (done in a way which doesn't stress your body) 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 a 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. Spend some extra time in Mountain Pose. As you line up your bones correctly, and find your center of gravity, 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. Also pay attention to reminders such as pressing your lower back ribs into the floor and releasing the hip flexors (as well as the solar plexus) as you do abdominal exercises on your back so you are really engaging the deep core muscles.

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).