Tone Your Legs With This Yoga Sequence
Try these yoga poses for stronger legs.
Autumn is here, and that means the temperatures are dropping and jeans and leggings are coming out from the back of your closet! If you’re finding that your jeans are fitting a bit snugger in the legs than they did last year, it’s time to tone them up. Use yoga to strengthen and tone your legs so you feel incredible in all your fall clothes. Try the yoga sequence below for your sexiest legs ever.
By Jenny Sugar
Wide Squat
Stand with your feet slightly wider than your hips. Bend your knees and lower your hips toward the ground. Bring your palms together at your heart center, and firmly press your elbows against the inside of your knees, helping to open the hips even further. Shift weight into the heels, lengthening the crown of the head up toward the ceiling, holding for five deep breaths.
Extended Wide Squat
Release your hands to the floor, walking them away from you as you press your belly toward the floor. Relax your head, staying here for five breaths.
Half Bound Wide Squat
Walk your hands back to the feet, and lower your right shoulder in front of your right knee. Wrap your armpit around the knee as you reach your right forearm around your lower back with your palm facing away. Reach your left arm toward the ceiling, bend your elbow, and bring the back of your left hand to your lower back. Touch your fingers together if you can and if they’re close enough, hold your left wrist with your right hand, with the left palm facing behind you. Hold for five deep breaths, gazing over the left shoulder.
Balancing Bound Wide Squat
Bring your gaze forward, and rock your weight from side to side to gain enough momentum to rise up while holding your knee in the bound position. Rock right, left, right, and as you rock left, push into the left foot to straighten the leg and rise to stand. If you lose hold of your right leg, wrap your right arm around it again once you feel stable. If this is too difficult, just clasp both hands around your right knee. Gaze over the left shoulder for five breaths.
Flamingo
WIth your arms holding the bind around your right knee, slowly hinge at the hips, folding forward as far as you can. If this is too difficult, release your hands to the floor, keeping the knee bent. Hold still, breathing for five breaths.
Extended Hand to Big Toe
Pressing into the left foot, rise up with your bent right knee, and release your arms. Hold the right big toe with the first two fingers and thumb of your right hand, and bring the left hand to your left hip. With the left leg straight and the torso stacked over the pelvis, straighten the right leg out in front of you as much as you can. Enjoy this stretch for five breaths.
All images courtesy of POPSUGAR Photography / Louisa Larson.
