Which Yoga pose will tone my stomach?
Short answer: All of them. But a specific few can do amazing things.
There are certain things I repeat, over and over again, in every yoga class I teach. Among the most common are:
- Tighten that tummy
- Engage the core
- Pull everything in towards the spine
- Pretend you’re getting punched in the gut
All of these cues are to help my students activate their cores and lengthen their spines, two fundamental principles that should be practiced throughout every yoga sequence. And when these are applied, they work the muscles of the core, making it stronger and making you look slimmer and more toned.
In most yoga flows, your core should be engaged throughout about 80% of your sequence, if not more. But when you’re really looking to tighten your stomach, I recommend adding these poses into your yoga practice:
Plank: The gym class standard, plank continues to be one of the best core strengtheners available to just about everyone. To get the best out of your plank, ensure your wrists are under your shoulders (unless you come to the elbows, like I am above). Make sure you’re body is straight from your shoulders to your heels (no butts sneaking towards the sky, which mine is trying to do in the example). Drive the heels back. Keep core engaged. If you can manage to squeeze in two minutes of planking each day, even if its broken up into smaller sections, you’ll notice significant difference in your core within a few weeks!
(not me)
Chaturanga: A fundamental position in a traditional vinyasa, this pose is extremely difficult and sort of like a plank on steroids. To reach chaturanga, start in plank. Pull your hands back a little bit towards your hips. Lean forward to come more onto your toes. Hugging your arms into your ribs, lower the body until the elbows reach a right angle. Check to make sure wrists are beneath the elbows. Hold. If I’m honest, it’s a bitch of a pose, so if you don’t have the core strength to hold this pose, take it to the knees and practice there while your strength develops (remember there’s no room for an ego on your yoga mat). I’ve found very few people new to yoga can accomplish chaturanga and, in mho, it should be one of the first positions students actively work towards.
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Boat pose: Boat is always a hard one, but variations in the position make it available to most everyone. Start sitting on your mat, feet flat and knees pointed toward the ceiling. Engage the core and lift the shins parallel to the floor, maintaining a nice “V” shape between your tummy and thighs. Arms float above the legs. If you can manage this, straighten the legs, toes pointed high, to reach the full expression of the pose. For easier variations, wrap the hands around the thighs or put the hands on the floor by the hips, fingers pointed towards the toes.
Crow pose: The first of the arm balances, crow and reverse crow (which should be practiced first) are great ab strengtheners and tummy toners. Crow is a pose that needs to be built up and a first time yogi shouldn’t attempt it. Instead, work on reverse crow, which is basically an upside down crow pose, where the back is in contact with the floor instead of the hands. To begin, lay on the back and make a triangle or diamond shape with the hands above the face. Engage the lower core to bring the knees and legs and sit bones (yoga term for butt cheeks) off the mat. Now engage the upper abs to lift the head and shoulders off the mat. Bring the elbows to the inside of the knees. Now activate the pose by pushing knees against elbows and elbows against knees. Hang here as long as you can while mantaining the position.
Sun salutation B: If toning your tummy via yoga is your goal, I’d also recommend adding a few (like three to 10) sun salutation B flows to your practice. This sequence has core strengthening poses (like the above mentioned chaturanga), but also acts as a cardio boost, especially when done on sync with the breath. It’ll get your blood flowing, and if repeated enough times, should help you get your sweat on, too. If you’re new to yoga, I encourage you to Google sun salutation B to get a full understanding of the flow, but here are the basics.
- Start in mountain pose
- Inhale, arms reach toward the sky, take a little backbend
- Exhale to chair (like you’re pausing halfway down to sitting in a chair)
- Take a deep inhale
- Exhale, forward fold
- Inhale, bring hands to shins and rise half way, lengthening the back
- Exhale, fold
- Inhale, step back to plank
- Exhale, chaturanga (come to the knees if necessary)
- Inhale, cobra (lift head and shoulder off mat with a little backbend)
- Exhale to the mat
- Inhale, transition to down dog
- Chill in your down dog for a bit (walk out the feet, lift to the toes, wiggle your tail, find what makes your body feel good)
- On an inhale, look between your hands and walk your feet forward
- Exhale, forward fold
- Inhale, hands to shins and up halfway
- Exhale, forward fold
- Inhale, lengthen the back and start to rise, sitting back to chair
- Take one full breath
- On an inhale, reach your hands towards the sky, take a little backbend if it feels right
- Exhale hands to heart
Hope this was helpful!
Namaste.
Fitiland
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