8 Challenging Yoga Poses For Core Strength

Most people enjoy yoga for stretching, lengthening, and the calm, centred feeling you get afterwards. However, any yogi can tell you that yoga is also all about the core! From the moment you begin your practice, you’re encouraged to draw your low abs up and in to align your spine and stabilize your body. Most forms of yoga use something called “Uddiyana Bandha” or an upward abdominal lock to keep the spine healthy and posture tall. While Yoga Journal describes how to practice the upward abdominal lock as an individual exercise, it’s also good to practice this move so your body can memorize the muscle action and use it throughout your entire yoga practice. In general, practising how to pull in your lower abs and back will help not only your yoga practice but help you work toward flat abs and a strong core every day.


8 Yoga Poses For Core Strength

We’ve pulled out 8 of our favourite yoga poses that emphasize core strength and brought them to you here for your practice. Try them out one at a time, holding each for 30 seconds. Go through the entire sequence twice; for one-sided moves, do one side the first time through and the other hand the second time through.

Windshield Wiper


 

This will be a great pose to end on. You’ll get a great finishing stretch while also working your obliques by moving your legs slowly from side to side. You and your abs are going to feel strong, powerful, and amazing after this yoga practice!

Boat Pose


Boat pose is a challenging position that forces you to pull in your lower abdominals to keep your legs lifted. Don’t worry if your legs aren’t perfectly straight—most people have tight hamstrings, which will inhibit this. Just extend your legs as long as you can and do your best to let your hip flexors relax to keep the focus on the abs.

Chaturanga


While chaturanga (low plank) may seem very upper-body focused, it is your core strength that supports your body and allows you to lower down slowly without letting your back sag. Be sure to keep your spine aligned; abdominals tucked in tight, and elbows close to your side.

Star Plank


Star plank is a great way to strengthen your obliques and lower abs while practising balance and focus. To get started you can try practising with your legs together in a full Side Plank, then work your way toward lifting the leg into a full star.

Warrior 3


Warrior 3 is a standing balance pose. This pose gets you to focus on lengthening your body and practising balance. However, to hold that balance steady while keeping your body aligned and straight, you must use a significant amount of core strength. Draw your belly upward into your spine and breathe with a strong exhale.

Bird Dog 


Bird Dog challenges you not only to hold your long leg and arm away from your body but also adds the challenge of holding your body very still. This challenge can be met by drawing the abdominals up and in and keeping them tight as you breathe smoothly. Every time you feel a little shaky or like you are tipping one way or another, draw your abs in a bit tighter.

Crow Pose 


This is going to be your challenge pose! Crow pose is an arm balance move, but that doesn’t mean your arms are riding solo. There is virtually no way you will be able to accomplish this pose without using a significant amount of core strength. After bringing your knees toward the back of your arms, be sure to draw your transverse abdominus in before you lift your feet off the ground to get your balance. To modify, gently place your head down on the floor as well and practice Tripod Pose instead.

Side Plank Scoop


Side Plank Scoop takes a basic Side Plank pose to the next level! Not only are you working to hold yourself up in your side plank using your obliques, but you are now adding the strength of those low abs (called the transverse abdominus) to scoop your arm under your body and add the rotation without falling over. To modify, you can either place your bottom knee on the ground, or you can do it on your forearm if your wrist bothers you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Exercises To Lose Arm Fat In a Week Simple And Effective

Image
Fat or enormous arms can really place you in an unpleasant situation because of they're difficult to hold in a thin match outfit and going sleeveless is an expansive shame. All people, women, and folks have the indistinguishable issues in relation to the arms, in any case, women require toned and thin arms, though folks require huge muscle tissue. Plainly no one prefers droopy arms as they make your arms look more prominent than they truly are. You should realize that it is never past the point where it is possible to begin practice for arms and locate the best program that incorporates arm toning works out. The program offered in this article won't simply diminish the fat around the region, however it likewise gives you toned arms. You will begin feeling confident about yourself.  Best activities:  Here are some fast and viable activities you can do at home to consume your tenacious arm fat. Here excluded weights, no machines, no push – ups, and no protracted...
Read more

After 50 , How To Regain Flexibility

Image
Finding yourself shuffling as you walk? Feeling lethargic and tired all the time? As we age older, our joints become stiffer while our tendons and ligaments are being shortened. This greatly decreases our range of motion which makes us less flexible. Just as much as exercise is important as we age, so does flexibility too! The many benefits of maintaining flexibility after 50 years of age is that it improves your overall physical performance, relieves nagging body pain and aches, improves posture, and decreases the risk of injuries. After 50 , How To Regain Flexibility So if you’re thinking it’s too late to start to regain flexibility over 50 years of age, get ready to feel young and healthy again! Here are the 6 yoga poses you can easily practice by yourself! 6 Yoga Poses to Regain Flexibility After 50 1. Yogi Squat Pose The Yogi Squat Pose is a pose that should be usually done before and after a workout, or included in part of your yoga practice. Yogi Squat Pose ...
Read more

The best exercise to alleviate knee pain

Image
People complain of knee pain all the time. For many, it is a case of intermittent pain, a sharp pain or slight discomfort experienced now and then. Then there is the chronic pain, which can wear down the knee structure over time, require constant medication and eventually surgery. This you want to avoid; the “letting go” of the issue for so long that arthritis sets in and surgery is required.   Often times the cause of intermittent knee pain is due to a muscle imbalance in the quadriceps or thigh muscles. The quads are made up of four muscles, and often because of how we move on a regular basis and the daily activities, the muscles on the outer sides of the thighs are stronger and take on the load. That means, the smaller muscles on the more interior portions of the leg, like the vastus medialis, are weaker and therefore less able to hold the knee in line for proper tracking. The Vastus medialis is not used as much in lateral movement, which is usu...
Read more