There are some times that I want to feel extra strong, but my body is not craving a weight lifting session and I don't have time for a full yoga practice. In those cases, I like to turn to five different poses that full embrace the strength in our body. If that resonates with you, join me in taking a deep dive into five yoga poses for full-body strength to help you feel just as confident as lifting weights!
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm still a fan of a weight-lifting session a week or more if you are a true rockstar, but for those days that looking at the weight rack doesn't inspire you, here are some of my favorite yoga poses to practice. You'll get that burn, challenge your balance and build strength.
Spinal Balance with Blocks (Dandayamana Bharmanasana) - Now, for some, there is quite the stigma out there that blocks are a weakness or you shouldn't be caught grabbing blocks in a yoga studio when you set up your space practice. Well, I am here to set the record straight and let you know that blocks can not only improve the intention of a posture through the proper form, but also increase the challenge of a pose. Our spinal balance table posture challenges our core, hips, lower back, and spine. And, this pose is SO GOOD for our spinal health and posture. Our erector spinae muscles help lift the back and this neutral back and strengthening brings such a confidence boost to you!
Benefits:
Helps elongate and strengthen the spine.
Encourages the body to engage in deep breathing as the core is pulled up and in, the breath becomes deeper.
Calms the nervous system.
Boosts self-confidence through the combination and strength, length and balance.
How to Get In the Pose:
From child's pose, Inhale rise into a box. Stack shoulders over wrists and hips over knees.
In tabletop, find length and strength and sink into the pose. As you take a full and deep inhale and exhale, take a full body scan and begin to engage your core, back, arms and leg muscles.
Inhale lengthen your right arm and left leg. Hold this variation for a few breaths.
Exhale lower your limbs.
Inhale lengthen your left arm and right leg. Hold this variation for a few breaths.
Exhale lower your limbs.
Next, begin to take some movement with an elbow to knee tuck. Inhale lengthen your right arm and left leg. Hold this variation for a few breaths.
Exhale tuck your knee and elbow into the center of your box. Inhale extend and lengthen your limbs. Repeat five times.
When complete, exhale lower your limbs.
Take this on the other side. Inhale lengthen your left arm and right leg. Hold this variation for a few breaths.
Exhale tuck your knee and elbow into the center of your box. Inhale extend and lengthen your limbs. Repeat five times.
When complete, exhale lower your limbs.
Now that you are warm, add two blocks into the above routine. Place one block below your back knee that is down on the mat, and the other block under your opposite hand. Flow with your breath or hold the spinal balance series and focus on the strength in your core, quadriceps, and back.
Repeat on the other side.
Side Plank (Vasisthasana) - Named after the Sage Vasistha, this pose challenges the body from head to toe. It also give love to our shoulders and wrists through aiding in our strength and challenging our balance. Vasistha was the teacher of Ram, a great King, and he taught Ram kindness towards all, patience in practice, and the vision to let go of what no longer serves us. This reaching can be applied in our Side Plank pose, as we hold this posture and with more practice, we can feel the strength build and the negative thoughts that once prevented us from holding this posture with confidence drift away.
Benefits:
Improves core strength by using the abdominal muscles to support the spine and keep the hips square. When done efficiently, the core gets stronger.
Teaches patience and perseverance. By holding this posture, our mental endurance is challenged along with our physical strength and balance, which helps ignite the teachings of Vasistha.
Energizes the body. This posture creates heat in our body, which with every breath is moved from our head to our toes to make for a safer and stronger practice.
Enhances oxygenation of the body. When we open our chest, we open the pathway to circulate oxygen and blood to the rest of our body.
Opens our chest and our heart chakras. As we open our Manipura chakra, we release negative thoughts like anger, grief, and sadness that no longer serve us, which balances our mental and emotional state.
How to Get In the Pose:
From your box, inhale shift your weight forward.
Exhale curl your toes and press back into Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Savasana).
Inhale shift your weight forward into plank. Engage your core. Imagine one strong and straight line from your head through your toes.
Hold plank for a few breaths.
Inhale revolve open into Side Plank. Stack your ankles, hips, and shoulders. Avoid caving into the shoulder and lift through the chest. Top arm reaches to the sky and gaze follows, if your neck allows. Option to float the top leg or bring into a bind.
Hold Side Plank for 5 breaths.
Exhale roll back into Plank.
Inhale revolve open into Side Plank on the other side. Stack your ankles, hips, and shoulders. Avoid caving into the shoulder and lift through the chest. Top arm reaches to the sky and gaze follows, if your neck allows. Option to float the top leg or bring into a bind.
Hold Side Plank for 5 breaths.
Other Variations: 1. With your top hand, reach and grab a bind with your top toes. 2. Pulse the top leg - lift it towards the sky and back down to stack over the ankles. 3. Tap your toe in front of you and behind you. 4. Flow with your breath from right side plank to plank to left side plank and back again.
Chair Pose (Utkatasana) - There are so many fantastic variations to really bring the heat into our body with the pose. I absolutely love sinking into this posture and tapping into my creative side and adding new challenges from this one posture. This is a full-body strength posture, but some of the main muscle groups that are targeted are: the quadricpes and glutes are active in stabilizing the lower body and our back muscles - the erector spinae muscles - are engaged to create a strong back, and the deltoids are activated to lift the arms over head.
Benefits:
Strengthen the knee and ankle joints. As we sink into this posture, we are rooting down through our feet and engaging the lower body.
Slows our breath. Since this posture is a full-body strengthening and balancing posture, we can allow ourselves to tune in and slow down to reap all the benefits of this pose.
Tones the full-body. The quadricpes, hamstrings, and glutes help stabilize the lower body, our back muscles - the erector spinae muscles - create a strong back, the deltoids lift the arms over head as our deep intercostal muscles are stretched, and our hips engage the keep a steady seat.
Therapeutic for digestion, metabolism, and sexual health. As the abdominals squeeze our internal organs are stimulated and trigger digestion, as we look up and stretch our neck we are saying hello to our thyroid gland that aids in metabolism, and as we tuck our pelvis and stabilize the muscles around it, we are enhancing the function of our sexual organs.
How to Get In the Pose:
From Plank, inhale shift your weight forward. Exhale lower slow into Chaturanga Dandasana.
Inhale Up Dog or Cobra.
Exhale Down Dog.
Inhale bend your knees and look forward.
Exhale walk, float, or jump to the top of your mat.
Inhale halfway lift.
Exhale forward fold.
Inhale rise into your Chair Pose. Squeeze your ankle knees and thighs to engage the lower body. Tuck your pelvis to protect the lower back. Arms extend overhead and gaze follows. As you reach your heart forward, pull and squeeze your shoulder blades together to engage the arms and pull your arms and shoulders fro your ears.
Hold this posture for 5 breaths.
Feel free to flow this back from the starting position in Down Dog, adding a flow from Chaturanga Dandasana.
Other Variations: 1. Rise onto your toes (option to pedal this between the left and right). 2. Lift one leg to your sitbones. 3. Figure-Four. 4. Chair Twist. 5. Flow into Eagle. 6. Flow Chair with Humble Warrior Arms. 7. Add Cactus Arms.
Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III) - In all honesty, I could not pick a favorite yoga pose but there are many classes that I teach and I would have to admit that I include this pose in every class for multiple reasons. First, I like the combination of balance and strength. The standing leg is being challenged as the muscles on the outside of the shin (peroneals) glue the foot to the mat, the TFL (tensor fascia lata) helps keep the hip square to the mat and the knee strong, and the quadriceps are a key player in keeping the leg straightened. Second, there is not a muscle that is not touched my this full-body yoga pose. The gluteus maximus and medius help life the floating leg, the back muscles (erector spinae group lift the spine as the core stabilizes the trunk, and the upper trapezius draws the shoulder blades down and away from the ears.
When you are practicing Virabhdrasana III, keep your hips square, internally rotate your inner thigh, engage your belly up and in, gaze just in front of you and bring your biceps to your ears. There should be one long line of energy from your floating foot to your outstretched hands. Focus on the energy flowing through your body, your strength and balance.
Benefits:
Strengthens the arms, shoulders, hips, and legs. The gluteus maximus and medius help life the floating leg, the back muscles (erector spinae group lift the spine as the core stabilizes the trunk, and the upper trapezius draws the shoulder blades down and away from the ears.
Improves our posture as we engage the erector spinae group.
Challenges and improves balance. Remember: Every little wavering in your lower foot and ankle is just building strength in your ankle. Embrace the differences in your bosy - one side is more flexible and one side is stronger.
Boosts energy and concentration. This posture creates heat in our body, which with every breath is moved from our head to our toes to make for a safer and stronger practice.
How to Get In the Pose:
From Down Dog, inhale bend your knees and look forward.
Exhale walk, float, or jump to the top of your mat.
Inhale halfway lift.
Exhale forward fold.
Inhale rise into Chair Pose. Shift your weight into your right foot. Exhale lift your left toes towards your sitbones and lean your chest slightly forward.
Inhale extend your left leg and reach your arms.
Exhale sink into Warrior III.
For an added challenge, close your eyes. Option to flow this into Half Moon or Crescent Lunge or Standing Splits or Dancer.
Repeat on the other side.
Other Variations: 1. Pulse the top leg 2. Flow with your breath - inhale extend out into Warrior III and exhale squeeze into center like the box flow.
Boat Pose with a Block (Navasana) - In this pose we are engaging our core while strengthening our psoas and quadriceps. Boat pose awakens our main core muscle, the rectus abdominis. This pose is a true symbol at play and bear with me while I truly sink into this symbolism. As we form a boat with our body, we begin to navigate the rough and choppy waters of our mind the longer we hold the posture. In order to reach our destination with grace, love and strength, we need to bring awareness to our breath, turn towards our intention for practice, and be open for direction and guidance wether that is the winds of the Universe or the direction of our yoga teacher.
Benefits:
Stretches the entire body from hips to toes and shoulder to fingers. Focus on feeling a lift from the sacrum, a slight stretch in the hamstrings, and openness in the chest.
Deepens breathing. As you engage the upper body by drawing the shoulders down and away from the ears, and keep the torso nice and straight, your diaphragm will be able to draw in more air which strengthens the lungs and oxygenates the body.
Calms the nervous system. As your breath deepens, the body will calm and the mind with connect to your breath and your intention and this will help calm the nervous system.
Deepens the connection between the body, mind and spirit. Think back to the boat symbolism - as you find the calm in this pose despite every muscle engaging to keep the pose steady, you will gain a deeper connection to stillness.
How to Get In the Pose:
From Down Dog, inhale shift your weight forward.
Exhale drop into your box.
Inhale cross your ankles behind your and roll back over your feet to come into a seat.
Exhale bend your knees and bring your heels down in front your sitbones and hands rest behind your back for support.
Inhale press the chest forward and open the heart.
Engage the core and focus on your breath.
Inhale lift the legs with shins parallel to the mat. Hold for a few breaths. Inhale add the arms straight out in front of you.
As you gain warmth, begin to straighten the legs engaging the quads and psoas. Create a "V" shape with your body. Still focus on lifting the chest and keeping a straight back.
Hold this for 5 breaths.
Other Variations: 1. Find a twist.
I hope that you these five yoga poses for strength inspire confidence and love within you not only for what your body is capable of, but also by the beauty your mind and the grace your soul possesses. As always, please do not hesitate to ask any questions or post some of your ideas and variations for the poses above. I would love yo hear how you incorporated these poses into your day for strength or some of the poses that you turn to to engage your muscles.
All my light. All my love.
Namaste,
Jordan
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