How Yoga Helps in Building Muscles; 5 Best Yoga Exercises to Try

Yoga exercises have always been popular for improving flexibility, but they provide numerous other benefits such as building muscles, enhancing stability, getting rid of excess fat, enhancing cardiorespiratory fitness, and more.

You don't need to get yourself expensive gym memberships or use complex weight equipment, which carry the additional risk of injury. To effectively perform yoga poses, all you need is a little space, patience, and dedication.

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How Yoga Helps in Building Muscles

To build muscles without using weights or going to the gym, you can regularly practice many yoga exercises. As these exercises use your body weight to act against resistance, your muscles respond to relaxation and contraction effectively.

Building muscles with yoga poses has several other outcomes, such as improving bone density, enhancing sleep quality, and boosting metabolism.

Here, we have designed a list of the five best and most effective yoga poses that can be incorporated into your workout routine to build muscle and increase strength.

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Best Yoga Exercises to Build Muscles

1. Sun Salutation or Surya Namaskara

Sun salutation poses are one of the best yoga exercises for building muscles as they involve a variety of yoga exercises in a proper sequence.

How should you do it?

Following is the sequence of yoga exercises that you should follow for the sun salutation:

• Mountain pose
• Standing prayer position
• Raised hand pose
• Standing forward bend
• Downward facing dog pose
• Four limbed staff pose
• Upward facing dog pose
• Downward facing dog pose
• Standing forward bend
• Raised hand pose
• Standing prayer position
• Mountain pose

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2. Handstand Pose

Handstand pose can be one of the most challenging and advanced yoga exercises, however, it helps in building significant upper body and core strength along with enhancing the overall balance of the body.

How should you do it?

Start off in a tabletop position in front of the wall at about one hand length away and your face towards the wall. Position your hands apart at shoulder distance with your finger spread evenly on the ground. Make sure that your hands are firm and straight before tucking your toes under and raising your hips upward. Kick both your legs toward the ceiling with your heels close together.

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3. Horse Pose

The horse pose helps in strengthening the muscles along with building endurance and helping you to get strong bones.

How should you do it?

• Start off in an upright standing position before pulling your feet apart in a wide stance of 3–4 ft.
• Open both your feet to an angle of 45 degrees before bending your knees. Your knees should be pointing in the same direction as your toes.
• Position your knees just above your heels with your upper torso completely perpendicular and upright.
• Clasp your hands in the prayer position at the center of your chest.

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4. Crow Pose

The crow pose is also a decent yoga exercise for building muscles by targeting your arms, wrists, back, and abdomen.

How should you do it?

• Start off in the mountain pose with your hands on the respective sides.
• Place your palms flat on the ground apart at shoulder distance and knees slightly bent.
• Bend your elbows to the back and balance on your toes.
• Open your knees wide so that they are in alignment to your upper arms.
• Slowly shift your bodyweight to your hands while lifting your head simultaneously.
• Bring both your feet closer to the butt with your body slowly lifting.

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5. High Lunge

High lunges can be considered among the easier yoga poses that will stretch and strengthen your muscles effectively.

How should you do it?

• Start off in an elongated standing position with your back erect before taking one wide step with your right foot to the front.
• Next, stack your right knee over your ankle so that it is angled at 90 degrees to the ground while your left leg is efficiently stretched at the back.
• Next, make sure to keep your torso perpendicular to the floor.
• Bring both hands over your head parallel to one another. Hold.

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Takeaway

The aforementioned yoga exercises are some of the best and most effective ones if you want to build muscles.

Yoga is considered to be a safer option for building muscles as you do not need to carry heavy equipment such as dumbbells and barbells, which can increase the risk of injury if not practiced in safe conditions.

Considering the advantages that you will gain with the aforementioned yoga poses, you should consider incorporating them into your daily routine.