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7 Killer Yoga Poses For Toned Abs

By Ned Taylor

June 25, 2019

Belly fat is undoubtedly one of the most annoying as well as the most stubborn fat in our body.

Who doesn’t like to boast toned abs, and many of us work hard to get in shape just like the model on the front page of magazines. But it seems like most people seems to miss out somewhere and that too big time!

But there must be a way to get rid of that stubborn belly fat that’s standing in between you and your dream toned abs?

Well, you might get surprised but Yoga can help you lower your fats and get in shape with toned abs.

While not many people associated yoga with toned abs. But the fact of the matter is, it is a highly effective way to tone your abs, provided done correctly.

How Yoga can give you the dreamy abs you always wanted?

Well, do you see those awkward looking poses, yup that’s where the science comes into play. And if you haven’t started yet, you need to perform to see the real magic?

When you perform a certain yoga pose, it puts a heck of pressure and strain on specific muscles. And that strain gets muscles to tear/rip.

And guess what, once the muscle is ripped it will need the energy to heal and restore. And much of this energy will be derived from the fats in your body.

Yes, that’s exactly the same rule that works for weightlifting as well. And that’s the most assured way to transform your fats into muscles.

So, while you perform specific yoga poses for toned abs, it would imply strong strain on the belly fats which in turn would rip and will be replaced by muscles (which in turn would use fats energy) – the double edge sword.

Sound interesting right?

Hey wait, you aren’t ready to jump on to the mat yet and besides you aren’t yet qualified to start yoga on your own.

Remember, while from a distance yoga poses might look easy to achieve (that was the case with me), this is not the case. I was passed-out in fifteen minutes on my first yoga class (I am embarrassed).

That’s the reason why I have come up with some of the basic and effective yoga poses for toned abs. Without any specific order, I have tried to include the poses in terms of their difficulty levels and effectiveness and while most of them are ok for beginners, you might find some difficult to achieve.

So, get ready to get those dreamy toned abs with these simple and effective yoga poses:

Yoga Poses for Toned Abs

And if you are looking for some more yoga poses and further guidance do check out our ultimate yoga assessment guide. As it comes with every thing, a yoga practitioner needs when practicing solo.

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    50+ Yoga Poses
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    The detailed set of steps to get into every pose.
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    Assessment scale for every posture which enables the user to do a perfect workout every time.
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    10+ sequences to gains the benefits in every aspect of a daily routine.

You can check out our YOGA ASSESSMENT GUIDE™ by clicking here!

Best Yoga Poses For Toned Abs

01. Bird Dog Pose.

Benefits: A great back pain reliever while improving your balance. Strengthen the spine and core muscles and increase the range of motion in shoulders and hips. Great exercise for those who want to jump higher and swim faster. This pose is also great to tone your lower abs and gluteal muscles.

bird-dog-yoga-pose

Directions:

  • Start in a tabletop position with your palms and knees on mat.
  • Keep your neck inline with your back and raise your arm straight.
  • Keeping your back straight raise the opposite leg straight.
  • Extend your arm with fingers pointing forward.
  • Engage your core and extend your back leg heel, pointed toward ceiling and toes pointing to the mat.
  • Try to make a straight line from back heel to extended fingertips.
  • Hold the pose for 5 deep breaths (50 seconds).
  • Repeat the pose from other side.

Tips: Keep breathing and focus on your thighs and biceps muscles to keep your limbs lifted. Look forward instead look down to avoid extra tension in lower back.

02. Boat Pose.

Benefits: A great balancing pose that engages all your body muscles. Great to build strength and steadiness in the core. Stimulates the abdominal organs which improve digestion. This pose also encourages healthy regulation of the thyroid and prostate glands, helping you to maintain metabolism and relieves stress.

Directions:

  • Start from a seated position with your legs extended in front.
  • Lean back with an open chest with the shoulder pushed down and back.
  • Lift your heels couple of inches above the ground.
  • Engage your core and keep your back straight.
  • Extend your arms up in air, palms facing each other finger pointing the toes.
  • Squeeze and bring your shoulders closer to your legs.
  • Hold the pose for 5 deep breaths (50 seconds).
  • Hold the pose for five deep breaths.

Tips: Arch your lower back to keep your balance in your hips, extend your legs by pushing your heels and pulling your toes back.

03. High Plank Pose.

Benefits: Strengthen your wrist shoulders and core muscles. Tone your abdomen. Improve your posture and reduce back pains. Improve your balance which results in better movement and coordination. Along with other enormous benefits, this is a foundational pose for beginners to train them for advance hand balancing poses.

Yoga pose High Plank

Directions:

  • Start with lying on your chest with hands beneath your shoulders. Leg straight with toes tucked in.
  • Push your hands down and lift your upper body above the floor.
  • Push your toes down and lift your hips and knees up in the air.
  • Balance yourself on hands and toes with shoulders over hands, forming a straight line with your body from heels to head.
  • Engage your arm muscles with a slight bend to the elbows to prevent locking out.
  • Engage your core and avoid your hips to lean forward.
  • Keep your Shoulders away from the head, neck straight and long, and gaze straight down.
  • Hold for 5 deep breaths

Tips: If you start to feel your core failing and your lower back begins to arch, take your knees down. You risk injury to your lower back by continuing plank with an arched back. If holding a plank for a longer period is difficult, rest your both knees and alternate knees time to time.

04. Side Plank Pose.

Benefits: Strengthen the core stability and concentration. Tone your thighs which result in a significant decrease in your waistline. Develop core endurance along with balance and coordination which results in enhanced performance in endurance sports such as running cycling etc. Want to get rid of your love handles? This single pose is enough.

Directions:

  • Start with going in a high plank pose.
  • While holding plank pose, put your weight in one hand.
  • Turn your shoulder and balance your body on the outer edge of your foot.
  • Stack your other foot on top of your bottom foot, and roll your right hip and shoulder back to stack up with your left hip and shoulder.
  • Extend opposite hand skyward, forming a straight line from planted hand to extended hand.
  • Pull your head away from the shoulders to lengthen the neck, and look up at the extended hand.
  • Hold the pose for 5 deep breaths (50 seconds).
  • Repeat on the other side.

Tips: Keep your toes flexed toward your shin, and make sure to prevent your chest from splaying out and arching your back. If you find this pose too hard to attempt, lower your forearm to the floor, and do side-plank on your elbow.

05. Warrior III Pose.

Benefits: Great for increasing your balance and developing lower body strength. Enhance the range of motion and stability in your shoulders. Develop core endurance for sports such as swimming cycling etc. Awesome for teaching body awareness makes you more productive and enhances concentration.

Directions:

  • Start with standing on both feet with one six inches ahead of other foot.
  • Bent forward from your hips and straight back.
  • Keep your chin away from the chest and raise your arms straight.
  • Lift the back leg off the ground, point your toes backward, and reach the body forward.
  • Strive to bring the body to be parallel to the ground by maintaining a straight line from your toes to your fingertips.
  • Engage your core and back to maintain the posture and square your hips and look forward.
  • Hold the pose for 5 deep breaths (50 seconds).
  • Repeat the pose on the other leg.

Tips: Try to square your hips by lowering the hip of the raised leg and press down harder through the planted foot to raise the hip of the planted leg to even out your hips. For the modification, place a hand on a yoga block under the shoulder to maintain the balance.

06. Half Moon Pose.

Benefits: Strengthens your ankles, legs gluts, and spine muscles. Helps your relive from stress and depression and makes your focus better. Increase balance, core stability while deepening inner hamstring flexibility.

Directions:

  • Start by standing straight and taking a step forward.
  • Shift your weight to your front foot and bend from your hips towards it.
  • Twist your spine and plant your other hand in front of your front foot.
  • Lift your back leg off the mat.
  • Roll your shoulder sideways and raise your other hand pointing towards the ceiling.
  • Engage your core and adjust the planted foot and planted hand distance.
  • Push your shoulders back and slowly gaze to the extended hand.
  • Hold the pose for 5 deep breaths and repeat the pose on the other side.

Tips: Keep your back leg engage and straight not just let it float above the ground. Always start with your hand to increase the balance of the pose. Do not lock your planted knee to allow yourself to do micro adjustments. For modification place a block under your planted hand to help with balance.

07. Bridge Pose.

Benefits: Stretches your spine, thighs and hip flexors to increase range of motion. Strengthen your back to reduce chances of injury. This pose also improves digestion and metabolism by stimulating abdominal organs..

Directions:

  • Start with lying on your back, bend both knees and place your feet 2 to 3 inches beneath your hips.
  • Rest the arms alongside the body.
  • Squeeze the shoulders blades together.
  • Push your feet and arms into the floor, and lift your hips as high as possible.
  • Push your knees forward and your chest toward your chin to lengthen your spine.
  • Lift the chest towards the chin, and reach the chin away from the chest.
  • Hold the pose for 5 deep breaths (50 Seconds).

Tips: The weight of your body in this pose rests on your shoulders, not neck. If there is too much pressure on lower back try placing a yoga block beneath your tailbone. Keep your core engaged by flexing the abdominal muscles.

Thanks for staying till here!

for more exercises (other than yoga) that can boost you sex life life please check out this awesome article

By the way number of researches have confirmed that that yoga is one of the best and most sustainable form of activity to loose weight and here is why

Take good care of yourself,

and C.Ya

Ned Taylor

About the author

Hey there, my name is Ned and I am on a mission to provide you health and fitness advice that are rational (i.e. back by scientific evidence) and sustainable ( means practical enough to be incorporated in normal people's routines with busy lives).

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