Yoga is an effective way to meditate and connect your body and mind. It also helps improve immunity and overall physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. As far as strengthening your core goes, yoga does so by working with the muscles in your pelvis and abdomen.
The core yoga consists of our abdomen and pelvic region, and the abdominal walls. It supports us physically, helps with our movement, and makes us more flexible. Though you may not see weight loss after practicing yoga, it strengthens your abdominal muscles in ways other exercises cannot match. There are different types of yoga focusing on postures and movements called asanas.Yoga is a highly recommended meditative practice that has been medically proven to improve all aspects of our health and promote healthier living. Yoga is all about balance and giving back control to our body, both of which directly influence our core. So, how can yoga strengthen your core?
In addition to supporting our spine and back, strong abdominal muscles also help protect our gut and thighs. As a result, having a stronger core leads to increased flexibility and mobility, decreased joint pain, improved posture, and less stomach issues. And there's nothing that makes us look more slouched over and less confident than weak abdominal muscles!
Medically, it is recommended to have a strong core because our physical core supports many of our bodily functions. Yogis attest to the infinite benefits of yoga, especially for strengthening the gut. As Natalie Nevins points out, the goal of yoga is to improve strength and maintain balance in both the body and mind. Dr. Carrie Silverman, an osteopathic physician based in Hollywood who specializes in Kundalini Yoga, relies on yoga not only as a way to keep her own health but also recommends it to patients regularly. The basis of yoga - preventive medicine and the body's ability to heal itself - are closely aligned with optimal health principles.
Here are some core-strengthening yoga postures she recommends:
The side plank pose helps you maintain balance and creates stability in your body. Additionally, it engages the two muscles and puts them into functional action and alignment with each other. This means that as you inhale, your body opens more, and when you exhale, it comes back to its natural posture. The plank pose itself is a great full-core workout because it brings together the internal and external muscles of the abdomen, including the obliques, rectus abdominis, and transverse.
A high lunge strengthens our core and helps us maintain balance while in an upright posture. It pulls in our navel while bringing both ribs toward each other. This pose fires up external and internal obliques as well as the rectus abdominis. For more balance, straighten the right leg on the inhale and bend the right knee when you exhale. Five such breathing cycles tell the core muscles to create more room for movement.
The Dolphin-Plank pose is a unique yoga position that offers the benefits of both common poses: Dolphin and Plank. It's also great for core strength, as it activates abdominal muscles more than the traditional plank stance. To do this pose, you must assume a flat coffee-table like posture by repositioning your body accordingly.
If you're hesitant about how yoga can actually help to strengthen your core muscles, try out the bridge pose. It's one of the best poses for working both the abdominal and back muscles.
To improve your leverage and balance, align your knees. Inhaling and exhaling in this position will benefit the lower back region by supporting the erector muscles.
There are many yoga positions that core muscles, but the above listed ones require minimal effort and can be done at home without risking injury.
