Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced practitioner, you’ve probably realized by now that yoga requires muscle strength and activation that you otherwise wouldn’t think about during other types of exercise and movement. Working to increase your muscle strength can help you improve your ability to achieve poses while maintaining alignment and integrity. As with Asana, working to improve our strength doesn’t head results immediately but is a gradual process.
Here are five strength training exercises that can be used to improve your muscles’ strength and tone and enhance your posture.
Tricep Dips
A fantastic muscle to strengthen and activate to aid in poses like Chaturanga for arm balances, the tricep muscles can be maintained with the weight of your body.
How to accomplish it
Get yourself on a firm, flat surface. Place your hand’s heel with your palms, looking forward. While your shoulders are under your wrists, you can roll your shoulders back and forth on your back and then move your feet outwards on an even surface. Your knees can remain bent, or extend your legs. Lower to bend your elbows, and create a 90-degree angle between your upper arm and forearm. Bring your elbows closer to one another to bring them up to complete a rep.
Transverse Abdominal Curls
The abdominals of the transverse act as a corset, which securely holds the internal organs. By strengthening the core, we can ensure our spine is protected in every yoga posture, including yoga, Tadasana Handstand, Bird of Paradise, and more.
How to go about it
From the Side Plank From the Side Plank, place your upper body in half goal posts. Maintain your wrist in a straight line and your elbow. While keeping a comfortable grasp on your weight, bend your arm below your torso as if you were threading a needle. Pull your belly button toward your spine, then uncurl it back to neutral for a single repetition. You can hold your lower leg in a kickstand to make a change.
Low Lunge
Lunging is a key component of Sun A and B sequences, as well as high Lunge, Chair pose, Eagle pose, and many more. It’s crucial to strengthen glute and quadricep strength to assist us in these exercises.
How to accomplish it
From down, Dog places one foot between your hands. After using your weights off the highest point of the mat, stand up for an upward lunge. Maintain an incline to your rear knee, and keep your front knee in place over your ankle. With your hips in a tucked position slo, slowly lower your body until you are at 90 degrees. Engage your glute and quad muscles to rise and complete the exercise.
Neutral Grip Shoulder Press
Our shoulders and the latissimus dorsi help us to perform Dolphin posture and balance for the forearms and Headstand, among others.
How to go about it
While keeping your wrists in line with your elbows, keep your elbows in a forward direction and then push the dumbbells up above your head with arms extending over the ears. Then, slowly lower them until your arms drop lower than the shoulder line.
Bicep Curls
Biceps are used to help our bodies support themselves when we are in Down Dog, Plank, Upward Facing Dog, and other poses, such as inversions.
How to go about it
Standing up straight, with an incline in your knee, you can hold your elbow by your side. Keep a firm hold on the object and keep your wrist straight. While bracing the core, pull it upwards. When your forearm is at an angle of 45 degrees, and you are able to lower it slowly, bring the weight back toward your back. Be sure to keep your core active and breathing.
Strength building should be worked on in the same way as our asana. In time, utilize these exercises to build up your strength and muscle tone, and you’ll be able to maintain the quality of each posture.