ARMS WORKOUT - Get Toned Arms with Yoga

Get Toned Arms with Yoga

Check out these yoga exercises to tone and toughen your arms

PUBLISHED: MARCH 18, 2009  |  BY KRISTEN DOLLARD

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Long ago a wise old yogi defined yoga as "the calming of the fluctuations of the mind." What he didn't add is that it can also stop the fluctuating (read: jiggling) of that underarm flab every time you wave. Goodbye, noodle arms. Hello, chaturanga.

This classic yoga arm-strengthening move requires you to "move and lift your own body weight with grace,'' says Michael Lechonczak, cofounder of Intelligent Yoga in New York City. That's tougher than you might think. There's no flopping to the floor and grunting from the ground up like you may have done in junior high gym class. Yoga pushups are meant to be done slowly, in a controlled manner, in sync with your breath. You'll challenge your muscles and get ripped as a result.

Warm-up:Downward-facing dog pose (adho mukha svanasana), variation
Start in downward-facing dog, then create an air pocket under your palms by cupping your hands on the mat instead of placing them flat. Lift the palms so that only your fingertips touch the mat. You'll have to fire up the forearms by pressing the muscles from the elbow to the wrist into the mat to support your body weight. (In a class use this variation in everydown dog after you are warmed up.) Hold for 5 to 10 breaths, then return your palms to the mat.

Low pushup (chaturanga)
Starting in plank pose, with your wrists below your shoulders, smoothly lower your body to just 2 to 3 inches above the floor and hold it there, palms flat, elbows squeezing tightly toward one another. The goal here is to look like an alligator, with your whole body in one lean line. Important: "Your belly isn't hanging down like a broken mule,'' Lechonczak says, choosing another unattractive animal analogy. "Every muscle in the body is engaged and working in concert. You're one solid, integrated slab, with the legs, back muscles, and abdominals all firing like crazy." Don't try to do 50 of these biceps builders. Do 5 or 10 high-quality reps, each one better than the previous one.

Extra Credit:
Reverse chaturanga
Lie facedown. Curl your toes under and place the palms of your hands flat on the mat beside your shoulders. Squeeze your elbows into the body. As you inhale, push your body up into chaturanga. Exhale. On the next inhale, lift your body in one piece (hips in line with shoulders) to plank pose. Starting from that suspended position of chaturanga, rather than the floor, to go into plank makes this move muy difícil. "Try one or two of these at first and try to work up to 7 to 10 over time. These tough puppies will kick your ass," Lechonczak says. 

Source: http://www.womenshealthmag.com