In yoga, we can benefit from arm and core strength beyond the aesthetic appeal of a slimmer waistline or toned arms. Here’s a sequence by international yoga teacher Laura Burkhart that will give you a strong core and great posture.
By Laura Burkhart
Photos by Samuel Henderson
We need arm stability and strength for daily activities like carrying groceries, picking up children and moving furniture. Increased strength can lead to better bone health. Lifting, twisting, standing, bathing, dressing, housework, gardening, sitting in a chair, putting on our shoes all require using our core. A stable and strong core gives us better balance and good posture, which can help us prevent back injuries.
In the following sequence, we’ll focus on yoga poses to help strengthen and stabilize the arms and the core. We’ll start by coming to simple cross-legged position. Rest your hands on your thighs, sink your sit bones into your mat, and lift your chest to elongate both sides of your waist. Relax your shoulders away from your ears. Take a deep inhale all the way down toward your pelvis, pause for a couple of seconds at the end of your inhale, then slowly exhale from your chest all the way down toward your lower belly. Take a few more cycles of breath like this, then open your eyes and make your way onto your hands and knees.
Cat/Cow pose
Warm up the Core
Place your hands under your shoulders and knees underneath your hips. On an inhale, lift your sit bones, lift your chest toward the ceiling, head coming up last; keep your neck long. On your exhale, tuck your tailbone, lift your lower belly up, and let go of your head and neck.Repeat for 5 breaths, then come to a neutral spine.
Cobra Pose Variation (Bhujangasana)
From cat/cow, make your way to your stomach on the mat, extend your legs and bring them together. Place your fingertips in line with your chest and hug your elbows in so they make contact with your rib cage. Anchor the top of the feet, legs and pubic bone into the floor. Roll your shoulder blades down your back. As you inhale, raise your chest off the mat. As you exhale, lift your abdominals toward the ceiling, and lift your hands off the mat while keeping the back of your neck long rather than looking toward the ceiling. Hold for 3 cycles of breath and come back down to the mat. Repeat 3 more times.
Plank Pose
Move from Cobra to Downward Facing Dog, rock forward,bringing your shoulders directly over your wrists; be sure not to move your shoulders beyond your wrists. Rotate your elbow creases so they point forward toward the top of your mat to spread your shoulder blades. At the same time press crown of your head forward and heels back so both are moving away from one another. Engage your belly and thighs and tuck your tailbone toward your heels. If you need more support, bring your knees to the floor while keeping your tailbone tucked, keep the arms engaged and crown of your head moving forward. Hold for 3 breaths.
Push Up Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)
Work your Arms and Core!
From the Plank, keep your elbow creases pointing forward, and as you exhale, slowly start to lower down, keep the crown of the head moving forward and your heels moving back and hug your elbows in toward either side of your rib cage. When the biceps are horizontal to the floor forming a 90 degree (right) angle, pause and hold for 3 breaths. After the third exhale, inhale into Upward Facing Dog (see below), and then back to Downward Facing Dog.
Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)
Lengthen your Abdominal Wall, Strengthen your Arms!
From Chaturanga, bring the top of your feet to the floor. Keep your pelvis at the same level as it was in Chaturanga, straighten your arms as you lift your chest and inner thighs. Roll your shoulder blades down your back as you press your chest forward. The only body parts touching the floor should be your hands and the top of your feet. Hold for 2 breaths, and make your way into Downward Facing Dog.
Boat Pose(Navasana)
Fire Up Your Core!
Come to a seated position with you knees bent. Bring your feet together on the floor. Flex your feet and lift your toes off the floor, then with your hands catch hold of the back of your thighs, engage your core and lift your chest up, finding a tiny backbend in your upper back. Keep your torso elevated as you pull your thighs in toward your chest, and lift your shins so they are parallel with the floor. If you would like to go deeper, reach your fingertips forward toward your feet, palms facing in, arms shoulder distance apart. Lift your pinkies to keep your chest lifted and shoulder rolling down your back. Hold here for 3 breaths. Repeat three times alternating with Reverse Table Top (see below).
Reverse Table Top(Purvottanasana Variation)
Work your Triceps, Release your Abs!
From a seated position, bend your knees, take your feet about a foot away from your sit bones and bring your hands behind you underneath the shoulders, fingers pointing toward your pelvis. Press your hands and feet down and lift your pelvis up toward the ceiling. Roll your shoulders away from your ears. Avoid collapsing your chest as you keep your shoulder blades wide. Either relax your head, gazing at the ceiling or wall behind you, or if that is too much on the neck, take your gaze toward your knees. Hold for two breaths and bring your pelvis back down. Repeat two more times.
Side Crow Core (Parsva Bakasana)
Work Your Obliques!
Make your way onto your back. Pull your knees in toward your nose, legs together. Lift your arms up toward the ceiling, lift your upper back off the mat and twist to the right until your arms are
outside of your legs, shoulder distance apart. Flex your hands, press your palms forward, and squeeze the right side of your body as if you’re doing side crow, but on your back. Press the outside of your left arm into your right outer thigh. When you inhale take the arms overhead toward the top of your mat and extend your legs out in front of you toward the bottom of your mat, hovering your arms and legs a few inches over your mat. When you exhale, pull your knees back into your chest and take your arms to the outside of your left leg like side crow. Repeat 5 times on each side, then place you feet on the floor hip distance apart.
Side Plank (Vashisthasana)
Strong Arms and Core!
Rock forward to plank position. Place the right hand a couple of inches toward the center of your mat, slightly out in front of your right shoulder, keep your right leg straight as you roll onto the outside of your right foot. Keep your right elbow crease pointed toward to top of your mat, while drawing your right shoulder blade down, press the heel of your right hand into your mat. Stack your left foot directly on top of your right foot and flex your feet, reaching your toes toward your chest. Take the left arm up toward the ceiling, reach through the fingertips, relax your shoulders away from your ears and take your gaze up toward your left thumb. Engage your core to lift your right hip away from the mat, tuck your tailbone and draw your lower ribs in. Hold here for 3 breaths and change to the opposite side.
Shoulder Opener
Lower all the way down onto your stomach. Take your arms out to a “t” position and hug your legs in toward one another. Bend your left elbow and come up onto your left fingertips. Press your left fingertips into the floor and begin to roll into your right arm, stacking your left hip on top of your right hip. Stay as is, or bring the ball of your left foot onto floor behind your right calf muscle. Hold for 3 breaths and change to the opposite side.
Locust (Salabhasana)
Ignite your Back!
Stay on your belly. Bring arms to your sides, palms facing your hips. Hug your legs in toward one another, rotating your thighs inward. Press the tops of you feet and pubic bone into the mat.
When you inhale, lift your chest up off the mat and on an exhale, engage your core, lift your arms, tips of the pinkies reaching up. Press your upper arms toward the ceiling while keeping the back of your neck long. Stay as is or lift your thighs away from the mat and keep your legs hugging inward. Hold for 3 breaths and release.
Forearm Plank
Fire Up your Arms and Abdominals!
From locust pose, bring your elbows under your shoulders, press your forearms down and lift your chest. Keep your heart reaching forward as you tuck your toes under, press through your heels and lift your pelvis and inner thighs up. Press the crown of your head forward as you reach back with your heels, trying to get as much distance as you can from your head to your feet. Engage your abdominal wall and tuck your tailbone toward your heels. Hold for 3 breaths and repeat 3 times.
Bridge Pose(Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)
Open your Chest, Shoulders and Abdominal Wall!
Lay down on your back. Bend your knees and bring your heels toward your sit bones. If you feel any pressure in your lower back, slide your heels away from the sit bones, until the pressure
subsides. Press your feet into the mat and lift your pelvis towards the ceiling. Tuck your shoulders underneath themselves, and
rotate your palms so they face up toward the ceiling or interlace your fingers underneath your pelvis. Press the upper arms and feet into the mat, squeeze your thighs, tuck your tailbone toward
your knees while keeping your chin away from your chest. Hold here for 5 breaths, then lower down from shoulders to hips. Rest for 2 breaths then repeat 2 more times. If you prefer more of a restorative version of this pose, place a block under your sacrum, perpendicular with your vertebrae.
Supine Twist (Jathara Parivartanasana)
Stay on your back, hug your knees into your chest, and take your arms out to a “T” position. Keep your left shoulder grounded as you drop your knees to the right towards the floor. If you want a more dynamic twist, bring your knees closer to your belly. You can keep both arms out to a “T” or place your right hand on the outside of your left thigh and take your gaze over toward your left hand. Hold for 5 breaths and change to the opposite side.
Reclined Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose (Supta Padangusthasana)
Cool down & balance the Practice by opening your hamstrings!
Stay on your back. Keep you left leg bent, left foot to the floor. Draw you right knee into your chest. Take a belt below the ball of your right foot, one side of the belt in each hand, keep arms long and your shoulders connected with the floor as you extend the right heel toward the ceiling. On your exhales, gently lead the right leg toward the wall behind you. Hold for 5 breaths.
Corpse pose (Savasana) Relaxation
Extend your legs out in front of you. Reach your
arms over your head and bring as much length as you can from your fingertips all the way down to your toe tips. Release your arms to either side of your body, palms facing up, shoulders away from your ears. Close your eyes and scan your body from the crown of your head all the way down toward your toe tips. If you find tension in any area of your body, breathe into that area and let that tension go. Stay here for 5 – 10 minutes.
Enjoy the peace!
This article was first published in the print edition of Yoga Journal Singapore, which has been rebranded to Yogahood Online. Laura Burkhart was the cover model for Yoga Journal Singapore in the Feb/March 2017 edition.
To learn from Laura, click here.
