How many calories does yoga burn?
A typical yoga session burns anywhere from about 120 to over 400 calories per hour, depending on intensity and your body weight. Gentle, restorative styles sit at the low end, while dynamic, flowing or heated styles burn considerably more. Heavier people burn more calories doing the same activity because it takes more energy to move a larger body.
How this calculator works
The calculator uses the MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) method, the standard way exercise calorie burn is estimated. Each yoga style has an established MET value, and the formula combines it with your weight and session length.
The formula is: calories = MET × 3.5 × body weight (kg) ÷ 200 × minutes. Worked example: vinyasa yoga (MET 3.0) for a 70 kg person over 30 minutes = 3.0 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 × 30 ≈ 110 calories.
Calories burned by yoga style
The table below shows typical MET values and the approximate calories a 70 kg person burns in 30 minutes of each style. Scale up or down for your own weight using the calculator.
| Yoga style | MET | Calories (30 min) |
|---|---|---|
| Restorative / gentle | 2.3 | ~85 kcal |
| Hatha | 2.5 | ~92 kcal |
| Vinyasa / flow | 3.0 | ~110 kcal |
| Power / hot yoga | 4.0 | ~147 kcal |
What affects how many calories you burn?
Your body weight is the biggest factor, followed by the intensity of the style and how long you practise. Heat (as in hot yoga) raises your heart rate and perceived effort, though much of the extra 'burn' people feel is fluid loss from sweating rather than fat. Holding challenging poses, flowing continuously and engaging large muscle groups all increase energy expenditure.
Yoga for weight loss
While yoga generally burns fewer calories than running or cycling, it builds strength, mobility and body awareness, and reduces stress - which can support weight management by curbing stress-driven eating. For fat loss, combine regular yoga with a sensible calorie deficit and some higher-intensity exercise. The calorie figure here is an estimate; actual burn varies with effort and fitness.
How yoga compares to other workouts
Yoga generally burns fewer calories per minute than running, cycling or rowing, but it offers benefits those activities don't - improved flexibility, balance, core strength and stress reduction. The table below shows roughly how 30 minutes of vinyasa yoga stacks up against common cardio for a 70 kg person.
| Activity | Calories (30 min) |
|---|---|
| Vinyasa yoga | ~110 kcal |
| Brisk walking | ~140 kcal |
| Elliptical (moderate) | ~184 kcal |
| Running (8 km/h) | ~245 kcal |
How to use this estimate in a real plan
Use the Yoga Calories Burned Calculator as a consistent planning estimate rather than a perfect measurement. The strongest use case is comparing similar sessions over time: same activity, similar duration, similar intensity and updated body weight.
If you are using exercise calories for fat loss, be conservative. A workout can support a calorie deficit, but eating back every estimated calorie often erases the gap the workout created.
What to log alongside calories
Track at least two real-world signals with the calorie number: weekly average weight, waist measurement, workout performance, hunger, sleep quality, step count or recovery. Those signals tell you whether the estimate matches your body.
If calorie burn looks high but weight, measurements and performance do not move as expected for several weeks, adjust the plan based on the trend rather than changing the formula every day.
How to make future estimates more accurate
Update body weight when it changes meaningfully, use the same effort labels consistently and keep notes about conditions that change the cost of a session, such as heat, incline, resistance, terrain, technique or long rest periods.
The goal is not laboratory precision. The goal is a repeatable estimate that helps you compare sessions, plan recovery and connect training with body-composition progress.