Yoga strengthens your legs, back and shoulders, as well as improves balance. Try this intermediate routine to build strength and flexibility.
A consistent yoga routine promotes positive mood and emotional stability. It also helps reduce stress and anxiety, boosts metabolism and aids in weight management. It even has a few health benefits, including: a healthy heart.
Warm Up
Warm up yoga helps prepare the body for more intense exercise by increasing blood flow to muscles, releasing tension and loosening joints. It also helps to improve balance, coordination and strength.
Begin with the Cat-Cow stretch to warm your back and core. Get on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees underneath your hips. Stretch and breathe here for 10 seconds.
Lunge
Lunges stretch the ankles, calves, hamstrings and hip flexors and strengthen the knees. They also help alleviate lower back and knee pain.
The lunge is a fundamental exercise for feeling physically capable. It works many muscle groups, and offers multiple variations to vary difficulty or emphasize different muscles. It is important to do lunges correctly to avoid injury. Crescent low lunge challenges balance, deepens the hip flexor stretch and opens up the chest and shoulders.
Forward Bend
Forward bending poses are soothing and calming, while also promoting circulation. They stretch the whole legs, back, and shoulders, allowing for a deep, full-body stretch.
These postures flex the hip joints and signal the gluteus maximus, erector spinae, and quadratus lumborum to relax into the stretch. Remember not to pull, as this can cause injury. Instead, focus on releasing into the pose and breathing deeply for 4-5 breaths.
Downward Facing Dog
Downward-facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) is one of yoga’s most recognized poses. This foundational pose strengthens the core and improves circulation with a delicious full-body stretch.
Begin on your hands and knees, with feet hip-distance apart. Position your hands slightly ahead of your shoulders and spread your fingers, creating a suction cup with the palms. Press evenly through all the edges of your fingertips.
Child’s Pose
This soothing pose teaches you to listen to your body and respect its signals. Often, a body is better off taking the rest it needs than pushing itself into a pose that is physically or emotionally difficult to hold.
This posture is a great way to end your yoga session or pause during an active sequence. It provides a full-body stretch and relieves pressure in the back, hips, thighs and ankles.
Chaturanga
Chaturanga, also called staff pose or four limbed staff pose, is a great way to practice balancing body weight and core strength. It strengthens the wrist, shoulder, and back muscles and helps to prepare yogis for more advanced arm balances.
It requires strong trunk and core muscles as well as anterior leg muscles to support the shoulders, which can be challenging for beginners. Consider using a block to help support your chest and shoulders if needed.
Pyramid Pose
Pyramid pose, or Parsvottanasana, strengthens the back muscles while stretching the hamstrings and hips. It also helps correct rounded shoulders and reduces stress.
To practice this pose, start in Warrior 1 stance and place a block between your hands. Then fold forward gradually and slowly. Hold the pose for a few breaths. Then release the arms and come out of the pose.
Upward Facing Dog
Upward facing dog, also called Urdhva Mukha Svanasana in Sanskrit, is a dynamic backbend that strengthens the shoulders and arms. It is a core part of the Sun Salutation and many vinyasa flow sequences.
Getting into the pose correctly requires firing a lot of muscles at once, which makes it important to check in with one’s alignment regularly. Incorrect alignment can lead to injuries.
Happy Baby
Happy Baby Pose stretches your inner thighs, hips, and groin while giving your hamstrings a stretch. It’s also a core exercise and can help reduce back pain.
Start with your hands on the floor, hugging your knees into your chest and gently rock side to side. It’s a relaxing and restorative pose.