There have been several concerns regarding whether yoga could help to maintain overall fitness.
Indeed, yoga for fitness stretches and poses often work the entire body to help tone muscles and burn fat, leaving you with the physique you’ve always desired.
You should include some poses and stretches into your daily exercise routine to achieve improvements in both muscle strength and overall fitness.
Yogis are convinced the practice provides a complete exercise regime.
While some argue that it could be good for relaxation and flexibility, others agree that you could become fit without including other forms of more intensive physical activity such as weightlifting, running, cycling, and swimming.
Below is a list of some yoga for fitness poses to help you attain the level of fitness you desire.
Boat Pose (Paripurna Navasana)
It helps to strengthen the hip flexor and ab muscles. To perform this pose, the yogi needs to balance on the sitting bones and the tailbone.
Sit on a mat on the floor with the legs straight in front.
Straighten your arms with fingers touching the floor behind you for support.
Leaning back slightly, lift your legs without ounding’ your back. Ensure your torso is pointing forward.
Sitting on the tripod (2 sitting bones and 1 tailbone), bend the knees and exhale, maintaining 45 degrees between the floor and thighs.
With your arms perpendicular to the floor and fingertips touching the floor for support, begin to lift your legs slowly while maintaining a 45-degree angle between your thighs and the floor.
Pose for a minute when your shin is parallel to the floor before proceeding to lift them higher up. In the final position, your body should form a V shape.
Lift your arms forward so that they are parallel to the floor.
Return your legs to the floor and repeat three times.
Dolphin Plank Pose
This is a slightly modified version of Plank Pose thats similar to the famous downward facing dog and helps to strengthen the core and tone the arms.
Beginning in Dolphin Pose, bend your knees and walk your feet toward the shoulders so that they are directly over your elbows while maintaining the torso in a position parallel to the floor.
Your elbows and inner forearms should be pressing against the floor as you firm the shoulder blades toward the back.
Your front thighs should be pressed toward the ceiling whilst resisting the tailbone toward the floor.
Lengthen it toward your heel.
Lastly, keep the base of the skull and the back of your neck away from each other and you look at the floor. Your eyes and throat should remain soft.
Hold for 30-60 minutes before releasing the knees to the floor while exhaling.
There are several other poses you could perform to attain your desired level of fitness, including four-limbed staff pose, locust pose, dolphin pose, and more. However, fitness means different things to different people.
While some define it as being able to live without feelings of fatigue, others require the endurance of a professional athlete in order to feel fit.
Regardless, you can put yoga for fitness poses to the test to determine whether they could help to keep you fit.
How I Use Yoga Poses – Master 1 Pose Only
– By Kardy LagudaKardy Laguda
First of all don’t be scared of them.
Make sure you warm up first.
Find one pose like the ‘Dolphin Pose’
Practice the pose daily a little at a time.
Make it your goal to complete the pose so it’s effortless.
Do not move onto another pose until you are an ‘expert’.
Keep doing it again and again.
Soon you will notice the additional life benefits the posture can give you.
Bonus Tip
Practice pose in a pattern 3 days off and 1 day off for the first week.
Then progress to 6 days a week- Move the rest days to different days each week
Don’t give up. Don’t give up . . . I did it! So can you!