Yoga Exercises for Lower Abdomen

Yoga Exercises for Lower Abdomen This is the first series in Better Belly Yoga. In this segment we’ll focus specifically on the front of the belly. Specifically we’re going to be looking at abdominis rectus which is that long sheet of muscle that runs from just under your ribs all the way down to your pelvis to your six packed abs. But what we’ll also be working on is eliminating any lower belly pooch. If you’re a beginner, please watch Megan during this series and notice that she has a chair and a belt from her bathrobe which will assist her with the standing balances in just a few minutes. If you have an advanced practice then you don’t need any props and then please follow along with Bahni. Later on I’ll be using the yoga strap. Let’s begin with our feet completely together. Lift up your toes, feel your feet gently pushing down into the ground and start with the hands and so must they. Breathing deeply through the nose only, that’s really great. Let’s inhale, reach the arms all the way up to the sky, enjoy that big stretch in the front of your body and then exhale full with bold. Bring your hands down to wherever you can. If you touch the floor see if you can get your palms on the floor, if you can’t quite touch the floor then bend your knees a little bit or bring your hands to your chest. Let’s inhale, come up halfway into that spinal extension, add tail with both and just get back to plank. So plank is simply the top of the push up. Draw your belly muscles in and if you needed to be just a little bit more gentle consider coming down on to your knees like legged. Otherwise you’re really, really sure that your hips aren’t sagging. Draw up and in and we’ll move slowly through Chaturanga. Try to hover over your mat for just a moment and then come all the way down onto your belly. On top of your toes make sure your hands are directly under your shoulders and look your chance into cobra. So cobra is a gentle back bend. Be sure to work at your own level wherever you feel good today. It might be a little bit lower like Megan. You might even be looking up to the sky like Bahni. See what feels good for you. Let’s have a toast under and lift the hips down we’re facing using the strings of your belly. In downward facing dog once again feel your heels pushing down and your seat bones lifting up. So lift your hips a little bit higher, draw your belly in. Let’s lift the right leg up to the sky, energize those toes and then start to bring the knees forward to meet the nose rounding with spine like a cat. Inhale up and back, reach, exhale, bring your nose to your knee. You might even want to do this with the other knee on the floor. Lifts all the way up and back and then carry your foot through between your hands and bring the back knee down to the floor untucking your toes. Let’s bring both hands to the front by. It should feel really, really stable here really grounded, releasing the arms, inhale, reach all the way out, big stretch in the front of the body, exhale, forward fold. Two more times, so notice when you come down it’s like a big abdominal punch so really squeezing your belly right there one more time. Stretching here and contracting, they’re hands come all the way down to the floor stepping back to plank on your toes or your knees, Chaturanga all the way down, setting up cobra. So untuck those feet and start to lift your chest. So maybe this time you come up a little bit higher. Now that all those muscles are really warm Tap your toes under, down were facing dog. We’ll be on downward facing dog for three deep breaths from here but when you take a look at the way that Megan is practicing this so if you’re newer to yoga let’s be really, really aware of how she modifies this so it’s right for her body. Notice in downward facing dog she bends her knees a little bit, I’m going to ask her to go ahead and lift her left leg, left leg goes up and bring the knees forward to meet the nose into that cat tilt. Beautiful, that’s all the way up and back again, notice how her other knees are on the floor for support and bring the knees forward to meet the nose. One more time let’s all the way up and back so knee is down or it can be up, bring it all the way through what comes between the hands. Bring your hands to that front side, find that stable base so good. Inhale both arms up, exhale forward folds to wherever you can. Notice the strength in her belly, inhale all the way up and fill the body with breath stretch. Exhale contract at the bottom, notice how strong she is right there. One more time inhale lift, exhale bring the hands all the way down to the floor, step back to the plank, notice that’s making this practicing on her knees, Chaturanga slowly and Bahni has got her knees off on the floor coming down into cobra and then making your way into downward facing dog. In downward facing dog feel the heels push down towards the floor once again. Looking between your hands, bend your knees, you can walk or step your feet to your hands, let’s inhale at half way into its final extensions. Exhale through all those belly muscles in, come all the way up and circle the arms around you. Touch the sky, big stretch and come to an enormous day.