5 Complementary Exercises to Help You Get Better at Yoga

If you’re looking for new ways to complement your yoga practice, you may want to consider some combination exercises. It has received a lot of attention in recent years because of its tremendous health benefits.

However, trying to get better at your yoga routine while maintaining an active lifestyle can seem incredibly difficult and at times. Here're a few great combination exercises that can help take your yoga practice to the next level and build yourself up as a formidable yogi.

---

Complementary Exercises to Get Better at Yoga

Yoga can make you stronger, but there are limits to how much you can improve your flexibility when you rely solely on your bodyweight for resistance. For instance, improving overall strength (particularly in the shoulders and core) can increase your ability to get into poses more easily, safely, and efficiently.

Here are five complementary exercises to help you get better at yoga:

1) Dumbbell Push Press

If you do yoga, you probably know how much your shoulders can take a beating. A good way to build strength in the shoulders is with a dumbbell push press. This exercise can make you stronger and also improve your body mechanics and coordination.

How to do it?

• Perform a dumbbell push press by first standing in an athletic position and holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides.
• Lower yourself into a squat, keeping your back straight.
• Quickly drive up through both heels till you're back to a standing position.
• Press the dumbbells up till your arms are fully extended, and slowly lower them back down to your shoulders.

---

2) Dumbbell Bench Press

The dumbbell bench press is a great exercise to develop the chest muscles. The chest muscles are involved in almost all arm, shoulder, and back movements. These muscles are important to get you into and out of difficult poses.

How to do it?

• Lie on a flat bench with a pair of dumbbells in your hands, keeping your arms extended.
• Keep your feet flat on the floor and shoulder blades together.
• Tighten your grip on the dumbbells, and slowly lower them till they're even with your chest.
• Don't let your elbows flare out too much. Keep them close to your ribs as you lower your elbows.
• From the starting position, lift back up.

---

3) Spiderman Plank

If you’re doing yoga but ignoring your core strength and balance, you might as well be practicing tae bo. The Spiderman plank improves core strength and flexibility, as well as balance.

How to do it?

• Get into the forearm plank position. Tighten your abs, keeping good posture.
• Without raising your hips, lift one knee to the outside of your body, and touch your elbow with it.
• Return to the starting position. Repeat with the other leg.

---

4) Overhead Lunge

When looking for great lower body exercises to complement your yoga practice, don't forget to consider the overhead lunge. This exercise is a great way to strengthen the legs and can be a lot of fun too.

How to do it?

• Grab a barbell with your arms straight above your head.
• Keep your core tight, and maintain good posture.
• Step forward with one foot while lowering the other knee towards the floor.
• Push off the floor through your front heel to return to a standing position.
• Repeat with the opposite leg.

---

5) Cardiovascular Exercise

Yoga is a great way to get fit, but it doesn't directly burn many calories or help you lose weight. If you want to slim down, you should do cardiovascular exercises on a treadmill or elliptical machine — it's that simple.

---

Takeaway

Before getting started with any exercise, it’s important to always consult your doctor or fitness trainer.

Once you have the go-ahead from them, do the aforementioned exercises to complement your yoga practice. That will help build flexibility, strength, and improve your general well-being. However, remember to keep a good balanced approach, which is key.

With the above complementary exercises, you can take your current yoga practice to the next level. For those who want to strengthen their handstand, this is an effective approach that can help you reach your goals with a little bit of extra work.