Do you think looking good and toning the body requires a lot of hard work?
Good news! There is a more relaxing way to toil for good looks. And that is Yoga! Unlike gyming, Yoga helps one attain mental peace, nurtures holistic health, and has lesser chances of bringing wear and tear to the body. All that and a great-looking body with increased muscle strength and reduced fat.
Best yoga posture to tone the body
Surya Namaskar or Sun Salutation, a sequence of 12 postures is an ideal yoga workout to tone your body. Practicing Surya Namaskar also helps maintain cardiovascular health, improves digestion, stimulates the nervous system, and strengthens immunity.
Guidelines to practice Surya Namaskar for body toning
- For best results for body toning, it is recommended to practice Surya Namaskar every day.
- If you want to lose weight, practice it in cardio style, raising its speed gradually.
- If you don’t want to lose weight and your focus is muscle strengthening, then hold every posture of Surya Namaskar for thirty seconds to one minute.
- If you are a healthy person, you can practice Surya Namaskar 11 to 21 times a day. You may gradually increase this number over a period of time.
- If your body is weak, you should practice Surya Namaskar less than six times a day.
- Avoid practicing if you have high blood pressure or heart issues, are pregnant, have arthritis.
4 easy yoga postures to tone the body
You can try these if you can’t practice Surya Namaskar due to a health condition. Whichever postures suit you, practice them daily for the best results.
- Vajrasana: This is an easy posture that helps tone thigh muscles and can be practiced by most. It is the only yoga posture that you can practice after eating or any time of the day.
How to:
- Sit with legs straight in front of you.
- Fold both legs and sit in a kneeling position.
- Keep hips on heels. Sit comfortably on the pit formed by the parted heels. Keep your head, neck, and spine in a straight line.
- Place your palms on your thighs, facing upwards.
- Dandasana: An essential posture of Surya Namaskar, the Dandasana or plank pose is excellent for toning the abdomen, chest, and arms. It also improves posture.
How to:
- Lie down on your stomach.
- Bring your hands towards your shoulders, keeping your palms on the ground.
- As you breathe in, push up your body, forming a straight line.
- The arms are perpendicular to the ground, and the shoulders are right over your wrists, while the body is parallel to the ground.
- Bhujangasana: Bhujangasana or Cobra Pose tones the abdomen, expands the chest, and reduces fatigue and stress.
How to:
- Lie on your stomach with your toes flat on the floor, soles facing upward.
- Rest your forehead on the ground.
- Keep your legs close together, with your feet and heels lightly touching each other.
- Place both hands in such a way that palms are touching the ground under your shoulders, elbows close to your torso.
- Taking a deep breath in, slowly lift your head, chest, and abdomen, navel on the yoga mat.
- Pull your torso back and off the floor with the support of your hands.
- Make sure that you are putting equal pressure on both palms.
- Keep breathing with awareness as you curve your spine, vertebra by vertebra.
- If possible, straighten your arms by arching your back as much as possible; tilt your head back and look up.
- Maintain the pose while breathing evenly for 4-5 breaths.
- Breathe out, and gently bring your abdomen, chest, and head back to the yoga mat and relax.
- Shalabhasana: Shalabhasana massages and tones abdominal organs and improves digestion.
How to:
- Breathing in, raise the right leg up.
- Keep the leg straight and do not twist the hip.
- Hold and keep breathing.
- Breathing out, bring the right leg down.
- Repeat steps 3-5 with the left leg.
- Take 2-3 deep breaths. Breathing in, and with some momentum, lift both legs up, as high as possible, keeping the knees straight and holding the posture.
- Breathe out, bring the legs down, take the arms out from underneath, and rest.
- Repeat the sequence with hands facing down.
Walking to tone the body
If a health condition does not allow you to practice any Yoga, then the easiest thing to do is to walk. Walking tones the legs and abdomen. It also tones the arms and upper body when you swing your arms while you walk. As with yoga, you must walk every day to see results. Follow expert walking tips to tone your body and lose weight as well.
Written by: Vanditaa Kothari
Based on inputs by Deepti Thapa, Faculty, Sri Sri Yoga
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Toning the body is more about cutting accumulated fat in certain areas of the body and making the muscles in that area firmer and stronger. You can tone your body without losing weight.
Toning your body protects you from chronic diseases linked to excess fat, protects bone health, increases flexibility, and helps you look more in shape.
Cardio workouts, fast-paced Surya Namaskars, cycling, and running are the fastest ways to tone your body. Just make sure whatever you do, do it every day.
In addition to a regular yoga routine, include protein-rich foods like sprouts, lentils, milk, curd, and nuts in your diet.
Yoga can help you look great. It works on every body part: hair, face, and body muscle.
