yoga poses for arms: 7 Best Strengthening Yoga Poses For Arms

Yoga poses for arms is an excellent way to develop upper body strength and tone the muscles in your arms.

The good news is that you don’t require any equipment to do yoga asanas to strengthen your arms; all you need is a yoga mat, enough space, and you are good to go.

So, if you wish to have sculpted arms, look no further, as we’ve compiled a list of some of the best yoga poses you can do to achieve strong and well-built arms. However, before you start, be sure to do a quick upper body warm-up to heat your body and activate your muscles.

Best yoga poses for arms

Here are the seven best yoga poses to help you get stronger arms.

1) Plank pose (Phalakasana)

Plank yoga pose. (Image credits: Pexels/ Ketut Subinyato)

Instructions:

Get on all fours, and move your body forward till your shoulders are above your wrists. This position will activate your shoulder and bicep muscles.
Keep your back upright, and engage your torso.
Keep your legs straight behind you.
Hold the pose on your forearms for a few seconds.
Push your hands towards the floor while straightening your arms and spreading your fingers apart.
Look straight ahead, and relax your jaw and neck.
Hold the plank pose for a few breaths, and relax.

2) Downward-facing dog (Adho Mukha Savanasana)

Adho mukha savasana. (Image credits: Pexels/ Elina Fairytale)

Instructions for Adho Mukha Savanasana:

Take a position on your knees and hands, with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
Keep your toes pointed inwards.
Push your body back through your hands; straighten your legs, and lift your hips. Rotate your upper arms outwardly, and broaden your collar bones.
Engage your quads to take your body weight off your arms.
Keep your tailbone high; rotate your thighs, and draw in your heels towards the mat.
As you exhale, bend your knees; release, and come back again to your knees and hands.

3) Dolphin pose (Ardha Pincha Mayurasana)

Dolphin yoga pose. (Image credits: Pexels/ Elina Fairytale)

Instructions:

Come on all fours, with your arms parallel to each other.
Lower one forearm to the mat at a time, and press your arms gently into the mat.
As you exhale, curl your toes, and lift your hips upward. Slightly bend your knees, and straighten your spine. Extend your legs, and tighten your core.
Make sure you don’t bend your shoulders too forward.

4) Crow pose (Bakasana)

Crow yoga pose. (Image credits: Pexels/ Miriam Alonso)

Instructions for crow pose:

Put your hands on the floor at a shoulder distance, and keep your elbows in a straight line with your wrists.
Bring your knees on top of your triceps, and make sure to keep them as close to your armpit as you can.
Raise your hips to bring your weight forward. Keep your elbows on your wrists, and press all your fingers into the floor to counteract the movement.
Squeeze your feet and elbows towards each other, and press down with your arms to lift your body higher.

5) Four-limbed staff pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)

Staff yoga pose. (Image credits: Pexels/ Miriam Alonso)

Instructions for Chaturanga Dandasana:

Take a plank pose, and tighten your core.
Look ahead, and lean a bit forward to lower your body to make it parallel to the floor.
Bend your elbows so that your arms are at a 90-degree angle. Do not bring your shoulders lower than your elbows.
Keep your spine lengthened, and do not drop your hips or lift them too high.
Push your hands into the ground, and make sure to keep your core, wrists and legs tightened.

6) Side plank pose (Vasisthasana)

Side plank yoga pose. (Image credits: Pexels/ Elina Fairytale)

Instructions:

Take a downward-facing dog position.
Come forward into a high plank pose by lowering your hips and aligning your shoulders to your wrists and hands.
From the plank pose, draw your body weight to one arm by pressing onto your fingers.
Roll onto the edge of your left foot, and stack your right foot on top of your left.
Gently press the edge of your foot into the floor for better balance.
Press through your hands, and lift your hips and ribs upward.
Extend your right arm upward, and keep your gaze straight.

7) Superman pose (Viparita Shalabhasana)

Instructions:

Lie down on your stomach, with your ankles straight and chin resting softly on the yoga mat.
Keep your feet close to each other, and put your toes together.
Stretch both your hands forward simultaneously as far you can.
During inhalation, lift your legs, arms, chest and thighs off the floor. Keep maintaining the pull in your legs and arms in the opposite direction.
Make sure your ankles and elbows do not bend while stretching forward.
As you exhale, lower your arms, legs and chest back to the initial position.

Now that you have learnt a few effective yoga poses for arms, try them out and see the difference.

However, make sure to attempt the above-mentioned yoga poses for arms slowly and give due attention to alignment, range of motion and form. Be very mindful of your wrist movements, as they can easily get strained.

Give yourself time to gradually work your way up with yoga, and don’t push your body beyond its limits.

Edited by Bhargav