Build Core Strength with Yoga — Part 3: The Back Body

Hello and Namaste everyone, I am Sandhya Balakrishnan and welcome to Yoga & You. This is Episode 3 of our series where we talk about building our core strength using yoga. If you haven't checked out the first two episodes, please click on the links mentioned in the video.

Our core, which comprises the muscles of our entire abdomen, hips, pelvic floor, glutes, and back, is crucial to help us execute simple daily movements — from walking, climbing stairs, lifting objects, or reaching overhead. But how do you know if your core is weak? Here are some signs to look out for. Do you experience constant back pain and stiffness? Does your back hurt when you lift heavy objects or when you carry around your child for extended periods of time? Do you feel stiffness when you wake up from bed or when you stand up from a chair? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should definitely consider including core-strengthening movements as part of your regular exercise regimen.

In this episode, we will look at a few yoga asanas which especially target the muscles of the lower back, glutes, and hips, and help you build strength in them.

Let's start with the first posture, which is known as Bhujangasana. For this, we will lie down on our mat on our stomachs. Make sure that your feet are hip-width apart, keep your palms close to your chest, and your elbows close to your ribcage. Deep breath in, and lifting our head up and chest up. Now if you can straighten your arms, you can come all the way up here, but if you are finding this difficult, you can also stay here in a bent-elbow position. Hold this posture for three counts. One, two, and three. Exhale, go down. Let's do this two times. Take a deep breath in. Lift your head up, chest up, come up. Make sure your shoulders are away from your ears. If you shrug your shoulders like this, it will cause a lot of strain and stiffness in the shoulder area. Make sure your shoulders are away from the ears. Hold this posture. Keep breathing deeply. One, two, and three. Slowly exhale, go down. Let's repeat this one last time. Take a deep breath in. Lift your head up, chest up, and come up, and hold the posture for three counts. One, two, and three. Slowly bring your head down and chest down. Place your palms one on top of the other. Relax your head over your palms in Makarasana.

Let's move on to the next posture, which is known as Sarpasana. For this, lie down on your stomach with your feet hip-width apart. Make sure to keep your chin on the mat. Lock your fingers behind your back. Straighten your elbows. Take a deep breath in. Lift your head up, chest up, and pull your arms away from you, and hold for three counts. One, two, and three. Slowly come down. Let's repeat this two more times. Keep your elbows straight. Imagine that you're pulling your arms away from you and behind. Take a deep breath in. Lift your head up, chest up, and hold the posture. Keep breathing normally. One, two, and three. Slowly come back down. One last time. Straighten your elbows. Take a deep breath in. Go up and hold the posture. Breathe normally. One, two, and three. Relax your head over your palms in Makarasana.

Let's move on to the next posture, which is known as Ardha Dhanurasana. Start by placing both your elbows on the mat like this. Now bend your right leg. Get your right hand to grip your right foot like this and look straight ahead. Try to pull your right foot behind you so that your thigh is lifted off the mat. Stay in this posture and hold for five counts. One, two, three, four, and five. Slowly bring the leg down. Change sides, with the right elbow on the mat. Bend your left leg. Get the left hand to grip the left foot like so. Make sure you pull the left foot behind so that your thigh is lifted off the mat, and hold for five counts. One, two, three, four, and five. Slowly release the grip. Bring your hands and legs down. Relax in Makarasana.

Let's move on to the next asana, which is known as Ardha Shalabhasana, or the half locust pose. For this, start by keeping your feet together. Take your arms and place them under your thighs like this. Keep your chin on the mat. Now slowly lift your right leg up as you inhale, without bending your knees, and slowly bring them down. Let's do this four more times. Inhale, lift your right leg up, and exhale, bring the right leg down. Once again, inhale, lift your right leg up. Exhale, bring the right leg down. One last time, inhale, lift the right leg up. Exhale, bring the right leg down. Let's do this on the other leg. Inhale, lift the left leg up. Exhale, bring the leg down. Two, inhale, lift the left leg up. Exhale, bring it down. Three, inhale, lift the left leg up. Exhale, bring it down. Four, inhale up. Exhale, down. One last time, inhale, lift the leg up and exhale, bring it down. Bring your hands out. Rest your forehead on your palms in Makarasana.

Thank you so much for joining me on this series, which was Yoga to build a strong core. I hope you found all the episodes useful, and I do hope you will practice all these asanas at home. Stay healthy, stay happy, and I will see you all soon. Bye-bye.