The numerous benefits of practicing yoga on a regular basis have never been withheld or screened for any reason. Besides their inherent ability to help you slacken off and tone your muscles right at the same time, yoga exercises also endow one with a feeling of overall well-being. Although there are several practices that enable amateurs to flatten their tummies down (with crunches being one of them), yoga however has been believed to be much more effective and simpler.
While there is a specific yoga exercise for each part of the tummy, you should carry out those that also zero in on your abdominal muscles, waist and entire torso strengthening poses. And to provide you with some of the assistance, listed below are the best yoga exercises that won’t only rejuvenate you completely, but will also help you translated into stronger and leaner tummy muscles. Take a look!
Cobra pose
One of the most basic yoga exercises that focus on the stomach, the cobra pose is an incredibly effective yet easy way to trim down the abdominal fat. If done along with other yoga practices, the cobra pose can rather be extremely beneficial and result-oriented. However, people who have a stiff or rigid back should avoid this pose unless their personal doctor has recommended or advised them to do so.
Technique
Foremost, lay down on the floor on your tummy and position both your hands on the ground, just next to your pectoral muscles.
Put your hands with palms down beneath the shoulders and inhale. However, make sure your navel is touching the floor, with the chest slightly lifted and head upwards. Here, your back should be arching. Now, stretch the body as much as possible but comfortably.
Exhale while slowly and steadily lowering your upper body to the body. You can loosen up for a couple of minutes and then repeat the pose for two to five times.
Benefits and cautions
The cobra pose helps people strengthen their core abdominal muscles and, most importantly, trim down their tummy fat. In addition to this, the yoga form also relaxes menstrual irregularities, back aches and constipation problems whilst toning the uterus, ovaries and liver. Nevertheless, the pose should not be performed by those who have an overactive thyroid, hernia or peptic ulcer. Women who are pregnant should also avoid the cobra pose.
Cat cow pose
Also known as the cat pose in simple terms, the cat cow pose is another amazing exercise for your tummy’s optimal state. Easy to perform and easy to regulate, the yoga exercise helps people feel stretched and open. Also safe for those who are pregnant, the exercise however requires one to move the body with their breath when performing it in order to derive the optimum results.
Technique
Start on your hands and knees, whereby your wrists should be under the shoulders and knees under the hips. But, ensure to keep your spine and neck absolutely straight.
Breathe in, bend your toes under, drop the tummy and slowly haul up your gaze to the ceiling. To notify, the movement in your spine should commence with the tail bone, leaving your neck as the last part to move.
Breathe out, rest the tops of your feet on the floor, round the spine and finally drop the head. You can now drop your gaze to the navel.
After which, simply repeat the pose with each breathing in and breathing out episode, but keeping in mind that your body is moving along with the breath. You can continue for 5 breaths and return the starting position once the final breath is over.
Benefits and cautions
Revered for enhancing the spine flexibility, the cat cow pose is extremely healthy and beneficial for toning down your tummy. It not only tones and conditions the abdominal walls, but also massages the internal organs. However, the yoga exercise does not reveal any possibility for harming the body. As mentioned before, pregnant women can also practice this yoga form with utmost safety.
Half moon pose
Thoroughly beneficial, the half moon pose helps people stretch and tone their waist muscles and achieve spinal flexibility. The standing pose targets one’s legs, hips and buttocks for an ideal, flattened tummy while enhancing the balance and strength.
Technique
Simply stand straight with arms against your sides, palms facing inward and both feet touching each other from heel to toe.
Bring your arms up over the head and join hands together. Now bend at the waist as far to the left as you can try to go and ensure to hold for about 15 seconds.
Repeat the process with the right side.
Benefits and cautions
Half moon pose is commendably beneficial in strengthening the abdominal muscles and toning down the tummy. In fact, some studies have also suggested that half moon yoga pose can capably minimize the stress in everyday life while flattening the tummy roundness. Nevertheless, those who have severe backache problems are advised to consult medical professionals before starting this practice.
Shoulder stand
Another pose that targets your entire body and adds strength to it in a significant manner is shoulder stand. Though it requires a bit more of concentration and attention, the pose assists in gaining strong ab muscles.
Technique
Lie down absolutely flat on the ground. Support your stomach muscles and slowly and steadily haul up your legs straight into the air.
Let your shoulders stay flat on the floor. However, use your hands to lend support to your lower back, in case if you need some extra help.
Benefits and cautions
The pose, as aforementioned, allows for strengthened ab muscles and leaner tummy muscles. Though slightly complex, the shoulder stand yoga pose is incredible for toning your body and flattening the tummy by wiping out the excess stomach fat. Yet again, if you have back discomfort of any sort, kindly do not practice this yoga form.
Bridge pose
One of the most result-focused, advantageous yoga poses, the bridge pose is enormously remarkable for evening out undesired tummy fat. The exercise not only helps you with trimming down the tummy baggage, but also enables you to achieve peace and tranquility in an extraordinary way.
Technique
Lay down with back and feet straight on the ground, but with knees bent.
Position the arms towards the side and push the hands into the ground as you begin to raise your waist.
Simply, keep your feet and shoulders on the ground and continue to be in the position for about 30 seconds.
Wait for a couple of minutes and then repeat the process.
Benefits and cautions
Not many would be cognizant but the bridge pose also helps one calm the brain and rejuvenates tired legs. The pose, however, mainly focuses on toning your entire torso, thus resulting into leaned stomach muscles. Though the form even contributes towards stimulating the abdominal organs and regulating the thyroid, bridge pose nonetheless should not be performed if you have any problem with your knees. You should also avoid it if you have any neck, shoulder or spinal injury. Women in their last trimester of pregna
ncy are advised not to practice this yoga asana.
Chair pose
You can also consider practicing chair pose that primarily focuses on minimizing excess fat that gets accumulated around the tummy. Believed to be massively effective, the yoga pose also allows people to have well trimmed down waist and toned abs.
Technique
Stand comfortably with your feet slightly apart.
Little by little, haul up your body as you would when standing almost on the tips of your toes.
After this, bend the knees without really straining any body part and stretch your arms towards in front of you.
Continue to be in the position for about 30 to 40 seconds. Slacken off for a minute or so and then repeat the process.
Benefits and cautions
Chair pose is an amazing tummy reduction exercise that also fine tunes the muscles around the waist and your tummy. It tones abs, strengthens the lower body and torso, and provides improved flexibility. But if you have hip or knee problems, then try not to perform this yoga exercise.
Leg lifts
Lastly, yet equally important when it comes to shaping the tummy in the best possible way, leg lifts help tone ab muscles and stretch the entire body.
Technique
Lay down flat on the ground with arms either on your side or behind the head.
Raise the legs straight into the air, however without hauling up the pelvis.
Stay in the pose for about 30 seconds and repeat the process after waiting for a minute or so. To notify, you can either do leg lifts either with one leg at a time or use both legs in one go.
Benefits and cautions
The leg lifts pose certainly provide people with enhanced lower abdominal muscles and increased strength like never felt before. Though not so easy to perform, but the pose is a great way to burn belly fat and helps one get toned tummy muscles. At the same time, people who have lower back problems should avoid indulging in leg lifts.
