Excellent Thigh Workout from Yoga
Workout for Thighs
Yoga Exercises for Thighs
A wonderful thing about yoga workouts and poses is that they work on you at many different levels at once. Not only are they great for your physical dimension, but are also often designed to work on your emotional or mental dimensions as well.
Yoga Crow Squats with Arm Raises is a great example of such a workout. It will not just help you tone and strengthen your thighs and buttocks, but it will also help you develop emotional and mental balance. In addition, this exercise is excellent for your cardiovascular and circulatory systems as well.
Yoga Squats for Thighs Details
Later this month I will provide some exercises and poses which are great for female sexual health, and these squats will certainly be a part of that workout. The strengthening, toning and flexibility provided by this exercise to the hips, thighs and pelvic region are excellent for female reproductive and sexual fitness.
This particular exercise also targets the entire thigh and quad region. This includes the difficult to reach inner thigh as well, so if you are interested in having completely toned legs, then I would strongly recommend including this series into your workout. You will note, that being able to squat deeply will give you a great stretch in the groin region, along with targeting the muscles of the inner thighs. Be sure to be careful of your knees though and only go down as far as comfortable.
There are also a number of other excellent yoga exercises for toning and strengthening your thighs and buttocks and I have listed them below for you.
Below are illustrations on how to practice this technique. There are some variations to this exercise as well, which I have also provided. Overall this exercise is quite fun to do, which is always nice :-). This workout will be integrated into our free online Kundalini Yoga Exercises and Hatha Yoga Galleries on the website.
#1: Yoga Crow Squat Down
#2: Crow Squat Right Arm Up
#3: Yoga Crow Squat Down
#4: Crow Squat Left Arm Up
Yoga Workout for Firm Toned Thighs:
To do this exercise follow the steps below:
- The starting position is to have your feet spread a little more than shoulder width apart, have you hands in namaste pose and to come down into a deep squat. Exhale in this position. This is shown in Illustration #1 above.
- Then rise up smoothly, and as you come up extend your right up at a 60 degree angle as shown. Inhale as you come up. Illustration #2. You will feel your thigh muscles starting to work as you rise up.
- Now come back into the deep squat and namaste pose. The deeper you squat the more you will feel the stretch and also, the more you will target the inner thigh muscles. Exhale. Illustration #3.
- Next inhale again and as you come up extend your left arm up at a 60 degree angle as shown. Illustration #4.
- Continue this movement for the duration of the exercise. You can start with 1 minute or less and build up from there. You can also use the level of burn in your legs and thighs to pace yourself. Try to get to a point where it is challenging, but without overdoing it.
- Mantra Variation: This exercise can be done with an accompanying mantra as well. This boosts the mental and emotional benefits of the exercise. You can do “OM Namah Shiva Ya” or “SA TA NA MA” for each of the parts of the exercise. Do the mantra mentally as you do the movements. For example, in position 1 say SA mentally, in position 2 say TA, back in position 3 say NA and then say MA for position 4. And repeat.
- Arm Variation 1: A variation with the hands is to have your arms stretched overhead with the fingers interlaced with palms facing down and keep them there as you squat up and down. This is obviously harder to do, and engages the shoulder muscles more.
- Arm Variation 2: An easier variation with the arms is to have the fingers interlaced again, with the palms facing up and just having the arms simply hang down straight in front of you as you squat. This variation is called Utthan Asana.
Benefits of Yoga Crow Squats:
- Excellent pose for toning and strengthening your thighs and buttocks.
- Works to promote emotional and mental balance, especially when done with a mantra.
- Increases vitality and sexual fitness, especially for women.
- Helps develop your cardiovascular and circulatory system and strengthen the heart.
- Promotes healthy weight loss.
- Improves flexibility in the groin.
- Helps strengthen the lower back and helps relieve lower back pain.
- Strengthens the ankles and feet.
- Works on your shoulders.
- Helps clear your root chakra.
Cautions and Tips for Yoga Crow Squats:
- Be careful of your knees when you do this exercise and only go as far down as comfortable. Same caution should be exercised for the ankle joints as well.
- If you are out of shape, start by taking several breaks between repetitions and build up your strength and stamina slowly over time.
- If you have existing back problems, then again exercise caution and proceed gently.
More Yoga Exercises and Workout for the Thighs and Buttocks:
Here are some more excellent exercises for your lower body and legs.
Anmol Mehta is a world-renowned Yoga and Meditation Master with over 40 years of dedicated practice. Since founding anmolmehta.com in 2007, he has shared ancient wisdom with millions and certified over 3,000 instructors through his Yoga and Meditation Teacher Training programs.
Anmol’s expertise spans Zen, Meditation, Yoga, Kundalini, Mantra, and Pranayama, with a personal practice rooted in the teachings of J. Krishnamurti and the direct perception of thought. Following a period of profound enlightenment in his early twenties, he has dedicated his life to bridging deep spiritual insights with practical living.
He is the author of numerous training manuals and continues to lead the Mastery of Meditation and Yoga community toward greater consciousness and health.
THANK YOU for this exercise, because I REALLY NEED IT!
Great post, i try to do yoga every evening, i even started a class and bought new yoga pants for it http://www.karmicfit.com/Product/ProductList/yoga-women-yoga-pants i am so glad you posted this. Thanks!
DId this 3 days ago…thighs still sore
If you want to deepen yourself in the study and practice in yoga, ayurveda and meditation than this is a golden offer to change the direction of the life with the help of yoga and meditation. Our sessions begin each morning with 90 minutes. We are offering the opportunity to practice the yoga in fullness and expand the internal energy. It’s a combination of mental awareness, philosophy and yoga science with physical behavior and movement. In yoga we are working on how to create a balance in life via breathing and concentration methods.
Great post, I’ll be sure to try that exercise first thing in the morning!