Free tool
Yoga calories burned calculator
The yoga calories burned calculator estimates energy use for a yoga session. Choose a style, enter your body weight in kilograms and the minutes you practised, and it multiplies the style's MET value from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities by your weight and time. The result is an estimate, not a measurement.
About 150 kcal
Estimate only: MET 2.5 × 60 kg × 1.00 h. Compendium code 02150. Real burn varies with effort, heat and body.
Source: Ainsworth BE et al., 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 43(8):1575 to 1581. Codes 02150 (hatha yoga, 2.5 MET), 02160 (power yoga, 4.0), 02170 (nadisodhana, 2.0), 02180 (Surya Namaskar, 3.3). Estimates only.
How does the yoga calories calculator work?
The calculator uses the standard MET formula:
calories (kcal) ≈ MET × body weight in kg × hours
The MET values come from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth BE et al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 43(8):1575 to 1581), which lists an average energy cost for hundreds of activities. Four yoga entries are used:
| Compendium code | Activity | MET |
|---|---|---|
| 02150 | Yoga, hatha | 2.5 |
| 02160 | Yoga, power | 4.0 |
| 02170 | Yoga, nadisodhana | 2.0 |
| 02180 | Yoga, Surya Namaskar | 3.3 |
Choose the style, type your weight and the length of the session, and the estimate updates as you type. As a worked example, a 60 kg person doing 60 minutes of hatha yoga gets 2.5 × 60 × 1 = 150 kcal.
How do you choose the right style?
Pick the entry closest to what you actually did. A slow class with held poses fits hatha. A fast, flowing vinyasa or power class fits power yoga. A session spent mostly on breathing practice such as alternate nostril breathing fits nadisodhana, a technique covered in the pranayama guide. If you practised rounds of sun salutation for most of the time, use Surya Namaskar. For a mixed class, run two estimates and split the minutes.
How should you read the result?
Read it as a ballpark. The Compendium values are averages for adults, and they do not account for your fitness, body composition, effort level or how much of a class is spent resting. Time in savasana and between poses uses less energy than the average suggests, and a strong practitioner moving quickly may use more.
What are the limits?
This is an estimate for general interest, not medical or dietary advice. It does not measure anything about your body. If you are managing weight, diabetes, a heart condition or pregnancy, ask your doctor or a registered dietitian for advice that fits you.
Calories are also a narrow way to judge yoga. Many people practise for strength, flexibility, balance and a calmer mind. If you are just starting, the beginner’s guide to yoga is a better first step than any number.
Questions
What does MET mean in the yoga calories calculator?
MET stands for metabolic equivalent of task. One MET is roughly the energy you use sitting quietly. A value of 2.5 means an activity uses about two and a half times that resting rate for the same body weight and time.
Why is there no hot yoga option in the calories calculator?
The calculator only uses activities that have their own code in the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities. Hot and Bikram yoga do not have a separate code there, and sweating more in a heated room is not the same as using more energy.
Why does the calories calculator give a different number from a fitness watch?
A watch uses its own formula, usually based on heart rate, and heat or stress can raise heart rate without much extra work. The calculator uses an average MET value for the activity. Neither is a lab measurement, so read both as rough guides.