Activate your core and slowly extend your right arm straight out in front of you, so the chest is hovering above the right thigh. Extend your left arm forward so it reaches in the direction of your right toes. Bring your right elbow to rest on your right thigh and engage the leg muscles to keep you steady. Step by Step: Begin in Warrior II pose with the right foot forward and right knee bent. Extended Side Angleīenefits: Traditional Side Angle fires your leg muscles as well as the side and front of the core-but the Warrior variation also engages the arms for an even stronger workout. Try a few rounds to really build up the heat. Draw your navel in and up to activate your abs then relax your shoulders down and back. Extend your arms overhead and turn your palms toward each other.

Bend your knees and sit back as if you were sitting into a chair. Step by Step: Start standing in Tadasana (Mountain pose). Utkatasana is a sneaky pose because it can be easy to hold for a couple breaths, but you can really feel the burn, the longer you hold. Chair poseīenefits: This pose tones the legs, abs, and arms. Extend your left arm overhead and hold, but make sure you’re breathing! After 10 breaths, gently lower your hips down to the mat and switch sides.įor bonus points, scoop your left arm underneath your torso and then lift it back up 10 times, with hips lifted off the mat the whole time. Then come onto the outer edge of your right foot, stack your left foot on top of your right foot, and lift your hips off the mat so your whole body is in a long line. Step both feet back until the legs are fully extended. Bring your right forearm down to the mat and line your elbow underneath your shoulder. Step by Step: Start on your hands and knees. It also improves balance, focus, and concentration. Forearm Side Plankīenefits: This variation of Vasisthasana tones up the arms, legs, and sides of the core while saving your wrists from the pressure of a typical Plank. Draw your navel inward and firm up the front of the body. Then step both feet back so you are balancing on the balls of the feet with your heels lifted. It also prepares you for more advanced poses like arm balances.

Plank is great for building core strength and arm strength. Plank poseīenefits: This classic pose transcends yoga because many other fitness modalities incorporate it as well. These hardcore strength moves will tone you up and make you stronger from the inside out. So for those who are looking to build some muscle, earn some yang points, or just balance out their flexibility, here are five yoga poses for building total-body strength. Some yogis come to the mat with both, but they typically lean in one direction or the other-either wanting more strength or more flexibility. To represent the opposites of day and night, hot and cold, light and dark, or yin and yang.Īs yoga practitioners in this day and age, we typically strive to create a balance between strength and flexibility. The word hatha, as in hatha yoga, is a combination of the words ha (the sun) and tha (the moon). In the yoga tradition, there is always a balance: A mixture of two opposites.

Core yoga exercises