Best Yoga Poses For Building Your Strength
Yoga not only stretches your tight muscles but can strengthen them as well! The strongest people that I know do yoga. Yoga takes a lot of strength to hold certain poses while creating a more flexible you. Yoga poses help with core strength and stability, arm toning, booty lifting, and so much more. Here are some of the best yoga poses for building your strength!
Plank Pose
This is such a simple but brutal pose! Plank pose is an all-around strengthening position. This pose targets your core, arms, and legs. You want to make sure to keep your shoulders over your elbow and keep a ninety-degree angle with your arms.
Try to avoid sticking your bottom too high in the air or sinking to the mat. If you want to build strength, this is definitely one of the best yoga poses for that!
Boat Pose
Another pose that targets your core! This pose challenges your balance and core strength like no other! There are many variations of this pose if full boat pose is too intense for you. You can start in half boat pose with your knees bent or keep your toes on the floor.
Once you build your strength you can challenge yourself to holding this pose longer and longer.
Downward Dog
As simple as this pose looks, it’s not. Holding downward dog correctly is supposed to challenge you while strengthening your shoulders, chest, and core. This pose stretches your entire back body, releasing tension in the back of your legs.
This pose lengthens your spine and build strength simultaneously!
Bridge Pose
This is one of the best yoga poses for strengthening your glute muscles! If you’re looking to work on lifting and rounding out your booty, this is the perfect pose to practice. You can add in pulses, lifting and lowering your bottom to tone and strengthen the under booty. That’s the muscle that creates the lift everyone is looking for.
Bridge pose can be such a dynamic pose if you incorporate different moves within the pose. Try it and feel the burn!
Crow Pose
This pose can be difficult to get into if you are just beginning your yoga journey, but it is one of the best yoga pose to build your arm and chest strength. If you are trying this pose out, make sure to put a pillow underneath you, just in case you face plant (not fun, trust me).
Start out by keeping your elbows bent and as your strength builds, you can gradually straighten your arms. This pose requires a lot of balance which strengthens your muscles too!
Goddess Pose
Goddess pose is perfect for toning your quads and inner thighs. This is a burner of a pose! Drop down into goddess pose by stepping your feet out into a wide stance with your toes angled slightly outward. Bend your knees and slowly sink into a squat.
Make sure to keep your knees aligned with your toes and bring your arms up into a ninety-degree angle or palms together over your head.
Warrior II Pose
This is one of the best yoga poses for balance and strength! The longer you hold this pose, the more the burn! Remember to draw in your navel and keep your knee directly over your ankle.
Warrior Poses are great for toning and strengthening your legs and arms. This pose is also beneficial for your core due to the balancing. Engaging your muscles makes all the difference.
Side Plank
Like a regular plank, this pose is demanding of your arms and core. Instead of targeting your inner abdominals, this pose is mainly targeting your obliques. Side planks strengthen and tone your shoulders too as they are working intensely to hold your weight up.
You can add in variations to this pose, like hip dips which focus on your obliques even more! If you have weak or injured wrists, drop down onto your forearms and hold there. You can even add in reaches by bringing your top arm up then swiftly sliding it under you, between your ribs and armpit.
Chair Pose
This pose can do so much for your body! Chair pose is one of the best yoga poses for strengthening your thighs, hips, chest, and arms. Make sure to contract your ab muscles for toning. This pose also tones your quads, knees, and ankles.
Drop down into this pose by acting like you’re going to sit in a chair. Pull your knees together and lengthen your tailbone. Avoid rounding your back by keeping your spine long, like someone is pulling a string up from the crown of your head. This will help avoid any lower back pain. Keep your weight in your heels and chest lifted. This pose will burn your muscles so good!
Superman Pose
This is such a tough pose but so worth it! Superman pose help strengthen your lower back and glutes. This pose is great for helping fix posterior pelvic tilt, which is normally caused by an inactive lifestyle or if your work requires you to sit for long periods of time.
Start by lying flat on a mat on your stomach, your arms straight out in front of you. Gently lift your chest off the mat and hold for at least thirty seconds. Then lower back down to the mat for a short pause then back up again. Repeat for as many times as you can.
Upward Dog Pose
Upward dog pose is one the best yoga poses for strengthening your arms, shoulders, and chest. This intense pose tones your triceps, lower back, and core as well. When getting into this pose, make sure your knees, thighs, and hips are off the floor and press into the tops of your feet to put most of your weight there.
Keep your chest pulled up and open. This will help draw your shoulder blades together and down your back. This is such a great pose once you master it!
