If you’ve ever rolled out a mat and tried yoga hoping it might help with weight loss, you’re not alone. Many women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s find themselves searching for something gentle that won’t leave their joints aching but still helps them feel slimmer, stronger, and more like themselves again.
Maybe you’ve noticed your body changing. The extra weight around the middle that refuses to shift. The stiff hips or sore knees that make running or high-impact classes feel impossible. The dip in energy that no amount of coffee seems to fix.
It’s frustrating, isn’t it? What worked in your 20s and 30s just doesn’t seem to work anymore. And that’s exactly why so many women turn to yoga because it feels like a safe, healthy practice that might finally make the difference.
But here’s the truth. While yoga is brilliant for calming stress, improving mobility, and helping you reconnect with your body, it isn’t the magic solution to weight loss on its own.
The good news? When used in the right way, it can play a powerful role in helping you finally feel fit, toned, and confident again, without punishing workouts or strict diets.
Why Yoga Has Become So Popular
The word yoga brings up images of calm, flexible people stretching on mats, and it’s true that yoga is fantastic for health. It improves mobility, reduces stress, and helps you feel more connected to your body.
For women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, this can feel like a lifeline.
But here’s the reality. If your main goal is to lose weight and drop a dress size or two, yoga on its own probably won’t get you there.
What it will do, however, is make your journey easier by calming your nervous system, improving joint health, and lowering stress hormones that make weight loss feel impossible.
Why the Way You Exercise Has to Change in Menopause
During menopause, women who once thrived on HIIT, spinning, running, or long gym classes often find that the same workouts stop producing results.
Despite working harder than ever, the scales do not move, waistlines expand, and clothes feel tighter. It can leave you feeling as though you’re just not doing enough, but it’s actually down to what exercise you’re doing.
Falling estrogen levels increase sensitivity to stress, which raises cortisol, a hormone that makes fat loss harder and encourages storage around the middle.
At the same time, joint pain, stiffness, and inflammation become more common, while muscle mass and bone density naturally decline.
Together, these changes mean that the old methods of exercise no longer deliver the results they once did. Instead, a new approach is needed, you need one that manages stress, protects the joints, and rebuilds muscle to keep metabolism high.
“Before starting Trinity in April 2024, at age 52, I weighed 14 ½ stone which was my heaviest ever. I have a bad back with compromised discs in my lower back and a torn disc. I have problems with my sacroiliac joint and my neck. Sometimes I have sciatica. In the past I probably would have stopped exercising completely and led on the sofa but Trinity has taught me more resilience. When I’m doing a tough workout and I think I can’t do something, I push through and find that I am strong and I can do it. Since Trinity I have lost 3 stone, I actually bought and wore bikinis. I haven’t worn bikinis for years. I felt feminine and confident.”
– Rachel Pratt (52), Trinity Client
The Benefits of Yoga For Women Over 40
1. It helps to lower cortisol
Yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system, calming the body and reducing stress hormone levels. Lower cortisol makes it easier to move from fat-storage mode into fat-burning mode.
2. It supports mobility and flexibility
Regular yoga practice relieves stiffness in the hips, back, and shoulders, helping women move more comfortably in daily life and during workouts.
3. It boosts mental wellbeing
Yoga provides time to pause, breathe, and reflect. This mental reset can improve sleep, reduce overwhelm, and make it easier to stick with a healthy lifestyle.
What To Do Alongside Yoga For Weight Loss
1. Low Impact Strength Training (LIST)
Strength training is one of the most powerful tools for women in menopause. It helps reshape the body, boosts metabolism, and makes weight loss much easier.
Unlike long cardio sessions that can leave you drained, or high-intensity workouts that spike stress hormones, strength training builds lean muscle while keeping the body in a fat-burning state.
Adding muscle increases your resting metabolism, meaning you burn more calories even when you’re not exercising.
This helps reduce stubborn areas of fat that often build up during menopause, such as the stomach, hips, and arms. It also improves muscle tone, strengthens bones, and supports hormone balance.
How Often to Do It:
For most women, the sweet spot is 3 strength training sessions per week, lasting 40–45 minutes each. This frequency is enough to trigger fat loss and build strength without leaving the body overworked.
Rest days or lighter activity (such as walking or yoga) can be included in between.
2. Walking and gentle movement
Walking may seem simple, but it is one of the most underrated tools for fat loss around menopause. A brisk walk can burn 200–300 calories per hour, depending on pace and body weight.
For many women, consistently hitting 8,000–10,000 steps per day can make the difference between gradual weight gain and steady fat loss.
How to increase step count day-to-day:
- Break longer walks into smaller chunks if time is short as three 15-minute walks can be as effective as one long session.
- Take a 10-minute walk after meals to aid digestion and boost calorie burn.
- Park further from shops or workplaces to add steps without thinking about it.
- Use phone calls as an opportunity to pace rather than sit still.
3. Yoga as a supportive practice
Once strength training and walking are in place, yoga becomes the perfect complement. It helps reduce stress, enhances recovery, and improves mobility, making LIST workouts feel easier and safer.
Even a 15-minute session in the evening can help regulate cortisol, improve sleep, and support consistency with other forms of exercise.
Watch How Rachel Lost 5 Stone at 54
How Trinity Can Help You Shift Menopause Weight
If you’ve been struggling with your weight, tried every diet under the sun, and even considered weight-loss jabs, you’ve probably realised the quick fixes don’t work.
At Trinity, we’ve helped over 7,000 women transform their bodies and lives, with a 97% success rate. And it’s not through fad diets or impossible routines. Our Fit Over 40 program is a complete re-education, designed specifically for women in menopause.
We’ll show you how to eat in a way that balances hormones, how to train in a way that tones your body without overloading your joints, and how to add in supportive practices like yoga to reduce stress and keep you motivated.
Unlike restrictive plans, we’ll teach you how to build long-term habits that fit into your lifestyle, whether that’s knowing what to order at dinner with friends, how to adapt workouts when life gets busy, or how to manage stress so it doesn’t derail your progress.
With our coaching, you’ll get:
- Tailored nutrition guidance that balances hormones and keeps you full and energised.
- Structured strength training plans that tone your body and accelerate fat loss.
- Mindset and lifestyle coaching to help you stay consistent and motivated.
- Expert support and accountability every step of the way.
Yoga can absolutely be part of the picture and not just for stress relief but as a supportive tool to keep your body moving and your mind focused.
Combined with the right nutrition and training, it becomes one of the many practices that help women in midlife finally feel in control of their weight and health again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chair yoga is gentle and great for mobility and stress relief, but it does not burn enough calories or build enough muscle to drive significant weight loss.
What yoga is best for a flat tummy?
Core-focused yoga styles such as power yoga or vinyasa can strengthen abdominal muscles, but they should be combined with strength training and good nutrition for visible results.
Does yoga burn calories for weight loss?
Yes, yoga does burn calories, but usually fewer than cardio or strength training. Its main benefit for weight loss comes from lowering stress and improving consistency.
Can yoga help you lose belly fat?
Yoga alone will not reduce belly fat, but by lowering cortisol and improving mindfulness around eating, it can support fat loss when combined with strength training and healthy nutrition.
