Optimize Your Yoga Practice with These Essential Core-Strengthening Exercises
An essential component of yoga is the core strengthening exercises. Even though it is that part of yoga that we loathe doing and are not very comfortable with. Yes, it is tougher. But then it is a matter of ‘no pain no gain’, the choice is ours! The benefits of strengthening your core are immense and incomparable.
What are core strengthening exercises?
Yoga exercises that involve the use of your stomach, abdomen, and back muscles in a coordinated way count as a core exercise.
Benefits of Core Exercises
- Stabilize and strengthen your core — abdomen, tummy, and spine. Thereby affecting the upper body and legs
- Helps in doing physical activities
- Helps to maintain an ideal body posture
- Helps with balance and flexibility of the body
- Reduces back pain. Having strong core muscles creates a system of support for your spine.
Here is a detailed description of three Core Exercises that I do regularly, and it has helped a lot.
Boat pose — a stationary posture that improves stability and mobility.
- Sit on the floor with your legs extended out in front of you. Lengthen your spine while leaning back.
- Keep leaning back until you’re able to lift your legs off the floor completely. You can hold your legs with your hands for support.
- Slowly leave your hands and bring them forward, extended before you. Ideally, this pose should be in the form of a V, with your legs and hands fully extended.
- Hold this posture while taking deep breaths for 30 seconds to a minute. The longer the hold, the more effective the practice is.
Breathing is the key element of each yoga posture. Coordinate your inhalation and exhalation while holding the posture.
Dolphin plank — A good exercise for stabilizing, additionally, activating the abdominal muscles.
- Lie on your stomach and come up on your hands and knees.
- Slowly lower both the elbows on the floor one at a time.
- Stretch your legs backward and lift the knees off the floor so that the entire body is long and flat like a coffee table. Arms and legs should be parallel to each other.
- Hold the position for 15 to 30 seconds. Do as much as is comfortable without straining yourself. This can be repeated 2 or 3 times.
Bridge pose or Sethubandhan — a gentle, versatile pose that is energiing and rejuvenating.
- Lie supine with your legs together, and hands by the side of the body.
- Fold both your legs at the knees, placing the heels on the ground near the hips.
- While inhaling, raise the back, hips, and trunk up off the floor as far as you can. Hold in this position as long as possible.
- Then lower them down to the floor.
- Keep your hands on the ground all the time.
Feel the stretch in the lumbar region while going up and release the stretch while coming down.
Synchronize the breathing with movements.
