A regular yoga practice can strengthen your body. It can also help with achy hips and shoulders, as well as boost your concentration and balance.
There are many different yoga moves, but you can build your own routine to suit your needs. This article will cover seven yoga poses that will challenge your strength, flexibility and endurance.
Downward-Facing Dog
Often used as a counter to backbends, Down Dog is a powerful stretch for the entire upper body. It also strengthens the wrists, forearms, core and thighs, while opening the shoulders and spine.
Beginners may struggle with achieving proper Down Dog alignment. The feet should not be as wide as the mat, but rather hip distance apart.
A properly executed Down Dog is a great way to reset the spine between backbends and to re-energize the body during a vinyasa or Ashtanga class. Learn more about the correct alignment for Down Dog from Young Ho Kim in the Inside Yoga Alignment program on TINT.
One-Legged Forward Bend
Forward bending yoga poses stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and bring a sense of calm to your body. They also encourage deep breathing, which improves digestion.
The One-Legged Forward Bend opens your hip and shoulders joints, stretches the back contracting abdominal muscles and helps burn fat in this area. It also strengthens the legs.
Like all standing forward bending postures, Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana stretches the spine and shoulders, groin and the hamstrings of both legs. It also strengthens the knees and calves. As with all forward bending poses, it is important to move slowly and gently, especially if you have a history of lower back or hip problems. Gradually increase how low you can go until you reach a comfortable stretch. Then pause and return to your starting position.
Cat Pose
The beginner-friendly Cat Pose is great for a gentle back stretch. It strengthens the neck and shoulders, improves posture and balances the spine. It can also help alleviate back pain and discomfort associated with menstruation, and it is often included in women’s yoga sequences. However, if you have back or wrist injury, consult your doctor before practicing it.
Rarely seen on its own, Cat Pose (Marjaryasana) is almost always paired with its counterpose Cow Pose (Bitilasana). They are a classic yoga pair that articulate the spine and warm-up muscles before moving into a full Sun Salutation in Vinyasa yoga. When practiced in a slow rhythm, the transitions between Cat and Cow pose help to synchronize movement with breath, promoting greater strength, focus and awareness of body movements.
Warrior II
Warrior II is the second of five standing asanas that use a wide, hip-opening stance. It strengthens the back leg, chest, shoulders and core muscles. It also stretches the front hip flexors and the psoas muscle, and increases the strength of the hamstrings and inner-thigh muscles in the bent leg.
It’s important to avoid pushing the back knee into its socket. The quadriceps muscles of the front leg need to remain strong to keep stability in this posture.
Some teachers encourage students to bring the front knee as close as possible to a 90-degree angle. However, this is not necessary for most bodies; bending the front knee as much as you can without dumping weight into it will still strengthen the front leg and improve balance.
Lunge
Lunges work the quads, hamstrings, and glute muscles. They’re also a great way to train unilaterally, meaning one side of the body at a time, rather than bilaterally, which is how most weight training exercises are done.
Try a forward lunge, which requires that you stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, and then take a large step back, lowering your body until your front knee is parallel to the ground. Then, return to standing with your front leg straightened.
A twist lunge will challenge your core more than a basic forward lunge, as it requires that you rotate your upper body as you lower down and up again. For an added challenge, add a stationary object like a chair in the back of your right foot for support, which can help you keep balance and form as you move through the lunges.