How yoga helps in shaping and strengthening your legs

yoga-helps-in-shaping-and-strengthening-your-legs

Yoga adopts a holistic approach towards healing the entire body. All yoga postures are beneficial for not only a single part, but the entire body as well.

 

Yoga for Great Legs

There are three standing poses in yoga that you can practice together in a dynamic sequence of movements to strengthen your legs, make them shapely and improve your poise through balance and stability. These are Utkatasana, Alanasana and Virabhadrasana II. It is more beneficial to do them in a sequence rather than as static poses because it will be challenging and you will have to invest more energy in performing them, this will also help in building endurance faster.

  • Utkatasana (Chair Pose) – this is a powerful pose and requires you to assume a posture like you are sitting on a chair and control each body part to maintain the position. This requires a lot of self-control and is very effectual in building stamina. While practicing this posture you will feel pressure around your thighs and glutes. It is highly beneficial for people suffering with arthritis.
  • Alanasana (High Lunge) – this is another power posture which requires complete concentration and can inspire tremendous spiritual power. It strengthens the hip extensors and opens up the hip flexors while helping you develop balance. It is very beneficial for people suffering with feet problems such as sciatica.
  • Virabhadrasana II (Warrior Pose II) – This is the second of the three-series Virabhadrasana and helps you develop strength and stability in your legs while creating lightness in the upper body. It is highly beneficial for people suffering with flat feet, osteoporosis and sciatica.

Performing the postures in Sequence

Bring your feet together, keeping your knees joint and big toes touching. Inhale and bend your knees simultaneously and take your hands to the ground by the sides of your feet. Exhale and inhale while raising your arms up over your head keeping them parallel and the palms facing each other. Keep your knees together and thighs parallel.

Continue inhaling and move your right foot back by 3-3.5feet with the right heel lifted off the floor. Now bend your left knee further to bring your knee and ankle in line with your calves and perpendicular with the ground.

Now, allow your right heel to come down to the floor and turn your right foot out to the right side, placing it so that the arch of the right foot makes a T with the heel of the left foot.

At the end of the practice, assume the savasana pose to relax your muscles and calm the body. This will also help in avoiding cramps.

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