
5 Yoga Poses to Show Your Body Love
By Katrina Scott on
Show Your Body Love With These 5 Yoga Poses
During each pose, make sure you’re taking deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. To see how to make ‘em flow together, check out the full routine in your Tone It Up app.
Three-Legged Dog
Downward-facing dog is a signature yoga move — and one every yogi should master. When you lift one leg, it requires added core stability and balance, as you stretch through your back and work on shoulder stability, too. Plus, this pose works great to transition to Warrior II. Form tip: Start in a high plank to set your hands and feet at the proper distance. Lift your hips up from here, and you’ll hit a strong downward-facing dog. Aim to keep your hips square to the ground as you lift one leg.
Warrior II
Reaching from fingertip to fingertip creates space through the chest and a stretch through the upper body. Your legs will get a workout holding your lunge position, while your core keeps you standing tall. Form tip: Keep your spine neutral by slightly tucking your pelvis forward. Make sure to keep a bend in your front knee, aiming for about 90 degrees.
Wide-Legged Forward Fold
You’ll feel an amazing stretch in the hamstrings with this wide-legged stance that offers a little more stability than your typically narrow foot placement. With your hands interlaced behind your back, you should also feel a nice stretch in your chest, which will help to better your posture. Form tip: Keep your feet parallel to each other and your legs as straight as you can. Let your head hang loose at the bottom to feel fully relaxed.
Crescent Lunge with Twist
Stretch and strength your lower half thanks to the staggered stance that requires serious balance. The twist offers rotation through your spine, helping to improve posture and waken up the muscles of your back, chest, shoulders, and neck. Form tip: Push into the elbow that’s against your thigh to help lift your chest and align your hands to the center of your chest. Press through the back heel to activate the back leg as you maintain a bend in your front knee.
Pigeon Pose
This one’s all in the hips! You should feel a nice, soothing stretch through the hip and glute of the bent leg. Hold for as long as you can...or for as long as it feels good. You can walk your hands forward and bend at the waist to deepen the stretch. Form tip: Aim to keep your hips square to the ground, without settling onto one side. You can place a blanket or bolster under the hip of the bent leg if that feels more supported.
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