Calculate calories burned doing yoga by style, weight, and duration. MET-based calculator using 2024 Compendium values for Hatha, Vinyasa, Power/Ashtanga, and Hot yoga.
Quick answer
Doing yoga burns about 159–251 calories per hour, or 80–126 calories in 30 minutes, for adults weighing 130–205 lb (59–93 kg). That estimate uses a MET value of 2.7 (vinyasa flow); see the table below for other intensities. These figures are estimates from population-average MET values, not measurements of your own energy expenditure — actual burn varies with intensity, fitness, body composition and technique.
Example calculation
A 155 lb (70 kg) adult — vinyasa flow — for 30 minutes:
2.7 MET × 70 kg × 0.5 h = 95 calories
That is 189 calories per hour, or about 3.2 calories per minute.
Calories burned doing yoga per hour, by body weight
Calories burned per hour by yoga style and body weight (MET method).
Yoga style
MET
130 lb (59 kg)
155 lb (70 kg)
180 lb (82 kg)
205 lb (93 kg)
Hatha / restorative
2.3
136 cal
161 cal
189 cal
214 cal
Vinyasa flow
2.7
159 cal
189 cal
221 cal
251 cal
Power / Ashtanga
4
236 cal
280 cal
328 cal
372 cal
Hot yoga (incl. Bikram)
3
177 cal
210 cal
246 cal
279 cal
Calories burned in 30 minutes
Calories burned in 30 minutes of doing yoga, by body weight.
Yoga style
130 lb (59 kg)
155 lb (70 kg)
180 lb (82 kg)
205 lb (93 kg)
Hatha / restorative
68 cal
81 cal
94 cal
107 cal
Vinyasa flow
80 cal
95 cal
111 cal
126 cal
Power / Ashtanga
118 cal
140 cal
164 cal
186 cal
Hot yoga (incl. Bikram)
89 cal
105 cal
123 cal
140 cal
Method and formula
Calories = MET × body weight in kilograms × duration in hours. MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) expresses the energy cost of an activity as a multiple of resting metabolism, where 1 MET ≈ 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour. Pounds are converted with lb ÷ 2.20462 = kg. Totals are rounded to the nearest whole calorie and per-minute figures to one decimal; no rounding is applied before the final step.
MET values for doing yoga are taken from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (yoga codes 02150, 02185, 02160, 02155).
What changes the result
Body weight: Directly proportional — doubling body weight doubles the estimate at the same MET and duration.
Duration: Directly proportional — calories scale linearly with time at a constant intensity.
Intensity: Sets the MET value. Moving one intensity step up typically raises burn 20–40%.
Terrain and incline: Not in the base MET value; uphill or resistance work increases the true cost.
Fitness and efficiency: Trained people use less energy for the same output, so estimates skew high for them.
Age, sex and body composition: Change resting metabolism and therefore the baseline the MET multiplies.
Limitations
A hot room increases sweating; sweat loss is not the same as calories burned.
Class pacing varies widely between studios and teachers.
Every figure here is an estimate, not a measurement — treat it as a planning number rather than a result.
MET values are population averages from the Compendium of Physical Activities; individual results commonly differ by 10–20%.
Actual intensity and pace matter more than the label: two people at the same nominal intensity can differ substantially in real effort.
Body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness change the result — more lean mass raises the baseline, while trained people move more efficiently and often burn less than the table shows.
Terrain, incline, surface and movement technique are not captured by a flat-ground MET value.
These are gross calories — they include the resting energy you would have burned anyway during that time.
MET tables are standardised on a 70 kg adult, so estimates are least accurate at very low or very high body weights.
Heart-rate monitors, wearables and laboratory indirect calorimetry can all give different numbers; measured testing is more accurate for an individual than any MET-based estimate.