“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote, a.btn, a.o-button”} }”>
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!
>”,”name”:”in-content-cta”,”type”:”link”}}”>Download the app.
This class is all about practicing yoga for core strength. The poses will obviously work your abdominals but they’ll also work your obliques and muscles along the spine in different and unique ways. Throughout the sequence, you’ll build back strength, core strength, and hip flexor strength in surprising ways that will challenge your focus as well as your core.
The core-strengthening practice will address the obliques and muscles along the spine through Side Planks and Triangle Pose and glutes in Bridge. You’ll also stretch the hip flexors in Cobra and Lunge. And you’ll bring everything together as you build toward a pose that requires you to lift yourself off the mat relying in large part on core strength.
30-Minute Yoga for Core Strength
If you have two blocks at home, definitely grab them, although they’re not necessary.
Forearm Cat and Cow
Begin by warming up the spine with a few rounds of Cat and Cow. But instead of bringing your palms to the mat, you’ll lower onto your forearms. Doing this familiar movement from your forearms helps you isolate and unlock a little more tightness through the mid and upper back.
Your elbows should be roughly underneath or a little in front of your shoulders and your palms will be flat. Then take yourself through the same spinal movement of Cat and Cow as usual. So as you inhale, lower your belly and lift your gaze.
Then as you exhale, round your back and contract your abs. You’ll start to find that connection with your core as well as a connection between your movement and your breath.
Sphinx Pose
Stay on your forearms as you make your way onto your belly and into Sphinx Pose. Roll your shoulders back, squeeze your shoulder blades behind you, and actively push your feet into the mat as you lift your chest. Pull your chest forward rather than let your shoulders round.
If you’d like, you can add a quad stretch by bending your right knee, reaching back with your right hand, and trying to pull your heel in toward the glutes to work your hip flexors. If you feel any pinching or pain in your lower back, please return to regular Sphinx Pose. Otherwise, linger here and then switch sides.
Puppy Pose (Uttana Shishosana)
Release into Puppy Pose for a few breaths by keeping your hips over your knees and walking your hands out in front of you and releasing your chest toward the mat. Rest your forehead on the mat or a block and try to keep your arms active here, which means your elbows are straight and your’re actively working to push your chest and armpits down toward the mat. You’re really focusing on the mid back and trying not to curve your lower back here.
Hovering Tabletop
Lift your chest and walk your hands back a little but not so much that you’re in Tabletop. Your hands will be slightly forward of your shoulders, as if you were going to lift yourself into Downward-Facing Dog. Tuck your toes and tap into your core strength as you hover your shins a couple inches above the mat. Keep a straight spine.
Plank
Straighten your legs in Plank while keeping your hips low. Then shift back into Hovering Tabletop again.
Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Lift your hips up and back into Downward-Facing Dog.
Do that same sequence 5 times. So Hovering Tabletop, straighten your legs to Plank, come back to Hovering Tabletop, and lift up into Downward-Facing Dog. Your last time, hold your Downward-Facing Dog. You might want to kind of wag your tail side to side, bend into your knees, turn your head side to side, or whatever feels good here, breathing in and out through your nose.
Three-Legged Dog to Plank Crunch
Lift and reach your right leg toward the ceiling, bend your right knee, open your hip, and stretch here. Then stoke that fire by exhaling as you bring your knee to your nose and come forward into Plank. Inhale as you lift back to Three-Legged Dog and exhale tap your knee to your nose. Do that once more as you inhale, lift, exhale, squeeze.
Modified Side Plank
From Plank Crunch, lower your right knee and shin to the mat and come into a modified Side Plank. Keep your right hand on the mat underneath or slightly in front of your shoulder as you roll onto the inner edge of your left foot. You may need to adjust the placement of your hand. Reach your left arm toward the ceiling. Take a moment to find your alignment and balance.
Bend your left elbow, bring your left hand behind your head, and lift your left leg off the mat. You’re going to crunch from here. As you inhale, stretch. As you exhale, squeeze your glutes and see if you can bring your elbow and your lifted knee to touch before inhaling back to your Modified Side Plank. Take four more like this, working your obliques on the left side as you try to stay stable.
Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana)
After your last crunch in Modified Side Plank, look down toward the mat and step your left foot forward in between your hands to the top of the mat for Low Lunge. Lift out of your lower back and sink your hips forward and down to stretch through your hip flexors. Stay here for several breaths.
Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana II)
From Low Lunge, make your way into Warrior 2 by tucking your back toes, spinning your back heel parallel to the shorter side of the mat, and lifting yourself while keeping a generous bend in your front knee.
Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)
Straighten your front leg and slide your left hand down your front leg and bring your right bicep alongside your ear. You’re looking to stretch alongside the obliques from your right hip all the way to your right shoulder.
Plank
Bend into your front knee, bring your hands to the mat, and step back to Plank.
Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)
Slowly lower all the way down to the mat. Untuck your toes and press the tops of your feet into the mat as you lengthen through your tailbone, inhale, and lift your upper body and hands off the mat as you squeeze your shoulder blades together in Cobra. Then exhale as you slowly lower. Repeat twice more.
If you want to intensify the pose, reach your arms in front of you, palms facing one another, keeping the back of your neck long. Or you can inhale as you lift your right arm and left leg, exhale as you lower them to the mat, and then switch sides.
Downward-Facing Dog
From Cobra, press yourself back to Down Dog. Pause here and relax your neck.
When you’re ready to stoke the fire, repeat the sequence on the second side, starting by lifting your left leg to the ceiling
Side Plank With Tree Legs
From Down Dog, come forward into Plank Pose and find full Side Plank by rolling onto the outer edge of your right foot. Stay here or find a Tree Pose variation here by bringing your left foot to your inner right thigh. Reach your left arm toward the ceiling. Lift your hips up as high as they’ll go. Maybe extend your left arm overhead like in Triangle.
Plank Pose Variation
Find Plank Pose without changing or shifting your legs. Keep pushing your left foot into your right thigh. I know it’s hard. You’re going to lower your left knee to the mat, stay in that Tree pose, roll to the inner edge of your right foot and extend your right arm up, similar to what you did in the first flow. Maybe this is enough for you. If you’d like to intensify the pose, you’re going to bend your right elbow once again, bring your hand behind your head, and see if you can crunch and bring your left knee and your right elbow to connect and hold here.
Child’s Pose (Balasana)
Sink your hips back into Child’s Pose with your big toes together and your knees as wide as you’d like. Let go of any tension that’s built up in your neck or your shoulders or your jaw. Give yourself 5 breaths here.
Before you repeat that sequence on the other side, source all of that internal strength within you. Come back to Downward-Facing Dog and hang out here or take a vinyasa if you’d like before you come into Side Plank and Plank on the other side.
L Sits
There’s only one last little strengthening sequence before you stretch everything out. From Down Dog, bring your knees to the mat, cross your shins behind you, and lean back so you’re sitting cross-legged. You can do this with or without blocks beneath your hands, but blocks definitely make it easier.
Place the blocks beside your hips and place your palms on top. Squeeze your thigh toward your belly, push your hands into the block, and work at lifting your hips off the mat. Your feet can stay on the mat or you can work at squeezing and lifting everything off the mat. If you don’t have the blocks, it is still possible to pick everything up. It’s just a lot harder to do it.
Change the crossing of your legs and try again. Push into the blocks or the floor, squeeze your thighs, and lift your seat off the mat. Release.
Seated Forward Bend
Stretch your legs straight in front of you and take a passive Seated Forward Bend, meaning let your spine round and releasing all the muscles along the back body. I’m keeping my feet a little flexed to work those back muscles. Take 5 deep breaths. Start to walk your hands in and lift your chest.
Reverse Tabletop or Plank
Place your hands on the mat or blocks. Take your feet hip-width apart, bend your knees, and squeeze through your glutes to lift yourself off the mat into Reverse Tabletop, taking a big stretch through your chest and shoulders.
Stay here or straighten your legs in Reverse Plank. Soften your jaw, your neck, and your shoulders.
Banana Pose
This is a yin yoga pose that feels really wonderful, especially after you’ve been doing a lot of oblique work. Come to lying on your back and move your hips over to the right a little and shift your chest shoulders and legs to the left to make a banana shape. Try to keep your right hip down. Your arms can reach overhead as if you were doing a standing side bend. You can cross your right ankle over your left. You’ll feel a stretch from your right shoulder down the waist into your right hip. Relax fully here. There is no effort required in this pose.
Then uncross your ankles and do the pose on the other side by shifting your hips to the left, and bringing your upper body and your feet to the right. You might notice you feel the stretch more on one side than the other.
Bridge Pose
Come back to center, bend your knees, and place your feet flat on the floor hip-width apart. Come into Bridge Pose by pushing your feet into the mat and lifting your hips but you don’t really need to be lifting super high.
Happy Baby
Bring your knees toward your shoulders or grab hold of the outer edges of your feet and lift them up as you keep your tailbone pressing against the mat or any variation of this pose. You can straighten your legs, maybe one at a time, maybe both at once.
Savasana
Before you completely relax, maybe do a windshield wiper motion with your knees, releasing any tension from your lower back. And then ease yourself into your final relaxation pose, take up some space, and get comfortable and settled. Then slow your breath and recognize the hard work that you’ve done and let yourself have this gift of rest for about two more minutes, feeling the effects of your practice and noticing what has changed.
