One of the best parts of a yoga routine is how it makes tight muscles feel amazing. But yoga can have other benefits too. For instance, this lower-body yoga routine can help you build leg strength and bolster your balance.
In this 40-minute yoga routine, which is the seventh installment of Sweat With SELF’s Yoga for Beginners series, you’ll go through a flow that’ll really hit your lower body. In the video, yoga instructor Rita Murjani—the chief of staff at mindful living brand Aduri who teaches at NYC-based studios SkyTing and Equinox—will take you through a bunch of poses that will not only help loosen up your tight muscles, but will also help you get stronger as you hone your balance. It does this by focusing on unilateral, or single-leg poses, which will challenge your muscles in new ways. Plus, your core will really fire during these moves too in order to help you stay steady.
Take the warrior III pose, which Murjani demonstrates with yoga blocks, making it a supported pose. When you hinge forward on one leg and raise your other leg off the floor, your hamstrings and glutes on your planted leg really fire to support your weight—and your deep core muscles engage as well to keep you from tipping over. This routine will also introduce you to the extended hand-to-big toe pose, another single-leg pose that strengthens your leg muscles and ankles while also stretching the back of your legs. You can also use a yoga prop for this as well—in this case, a yoga strap—to make the move a little easier!
In just 40 minutes, this yoga flow will take you through a whole bunch of poses that will strengthen, stretch, and pretty much just make your body feel amazing. So gather your props, unroll your mat, and get ready to show your muscles some love!
Related:
- A Beginner Yoga Flow to Introduce You to the Most Common Poses
- This Hip-Opening Routine Will Loosen Up Your Lower Body
- This Yoga Flow Will Loosen Up Your Tight Back, Hips, and Shoulders