Yoga Moves That Help to Tone Your Muscles

Yoga poses are generally thought of as ways to help your stress level. You may also think about them as a way to drop unwanted weight. What you may not think about is how beneficial certain yoga moves or poses can be in help you tone your muscles. Here are a few of the poses that are traditionally used for muscle tone and fitness. Though there are more, these are the easiest for many beginners to take on.

Cobra Pose

The cobra pose is the ideal pose to help with toning back muscles and upper thigh muscles. This pose is fairly simple. Lay flat on the floor with your stomach facing down. Move your hands to either side of your body as if you were doing a push-up. Now, slowly push your body up while moving your chest outward and arching your back. Keep your thighs firmly planted on the ground. This is cobra pose. Hold the pose and move it only slightly to arch your back more. This will stretch your muscles even more. 

Forward Bend

The forward bend is an easy enough yoga pose for most people, but doing it completely and getting the most benefit from the pose takes time. This pose is done by standing straight with your feet flat to the floor. Take in a deep breath and exhale slowly as you slowly move down forward and bend at the waist. The full pose is done when the palm of your hands can lay flat on the ground in front of our beside your feet and your face is flat to your legs. Keep in mind, most people will do this pose slowly and start off with your fingers touching your ankles and overtime moving to the flat on the floor position. 

Forearm Standard

The forearm standard pose is one that many people have not heard of and may not hear of. This pose is done by starting off with a headstand. That's right, a headstand. This is a slightly modified headstand though. The pose is done with your forearms pressed flat to the floor and your body in the position of a headstand. You can start off with a headstand, but you will want to move to the forearms bracing your body weight and holding you in the pose. This works your arms, forearms, shoulders, and back. 

These are only a few of the more traditional muscle toning poses. There are several more that can be added to a muscle toning routine as you move on. Keep in mind, most yoga that involves a lot of stretching and holding poses will help for your muscle tone as opposed to traditions that may seek out more intense or fast moving poses. 
