Flatter Abs Faster with Yoga to Slim and Flatten Your Stomach

If you can dedicate 15 minutes a day, yoga offers some simple yet effective exercises to flatten your abs and make you feel great about your body. Either you can ask your yoga instructor to add these to her (or his!) classes, or do them yourself at home.

As always, my recommendation is that you warm up thoroughly first. It's preferable to do several warms up, including a simple yoga pose such as cat/cow will loosen up the back, warm up the abdomen, and generally give you a good all over feeling. This one is particularly nice to do in the morning.

Marjaryasana/Bitilasana (Cat/Cow):

Begin on all fours with cow pose: kneel with the knees directly under the hips and the wrists directly under the shoulders with the palms flat on the floor and the fingers spread wide. Fingers face forward, toward the front of the mat. As you inhale, tuck the toes under and lift the tailbone towards the sky, while reaching the sternum (center of the collarbone) forward between the shoulders. Draw the navel in to the spine, and feel even length throughout the back. Try to really stretch through the thoracic spine ( in my class we call it the bikini top area of the back). It is generally very tight so you may only get a slight movement. The head looks gently forward without straining the neck.

On the exhale, flatten the feet with all 10 toes pressing into the mat. Tailbone tucks under as the back arches up towards the sky (like a Halloween cat). Lastly, the head relaxes toward the ground. Really press the spine towards the sky without moving the hands or feet. Inhale and repeat the cow pose on the inhale, and the cat on the exhale. Repeat 5 times or until the back feels nice and loose.

Salambhasana (Locust): This is a great back strengthener. It really works the Erector spinea, as well as the Triceps, Gluteus maximus, Hamtrings and Soleus muscles. You need this because the back muscles support the abdomen, so you need to strengthen both groups of muscles to get flatter abs. Begin by laying face down on the mat, with the arms extended down the sides, with the palms facing up. First, lift the right leg about 2 inches off the mat, and extend the leg back as far as it will go. Come on, make it really feel longer than the left leg, the release it to the ground. Now you have one leg longer than the other! So lift the left leg, and extend it down. Now the left may feel longer than the right! It's ok, just move on, or you will just keep trying to make them even!. Next take a full inhale and a full exhale with the forehead to the floor. Then on the next inhale, lift it all up! Lift the shoulders, lift the arms while reaching the hand s back toward the feet (just a bit higher than the torso) and also lift the legs. It is as if you are flying like Superman! Inhale and exhale with everything lifted for 3 full inhales and exhales, then lower everything slowly and with control, to the floor. Repeat 2 more times. If you can do it 5 times, go for it!

Navasana (Boat): Next, we get to the abs, but this next one works the abs (rectus abdominis) and the back (Spinal extensors, PLUS the hamstrings and the quadriceps muscle in the middle front of the thigh (Rectus femoris). Dazzle your friends by telling them the actual muscles they are working. I bet they thought the quadriceps was only one muscle, but indeed there are actually 4. (See future articles specifically on quads for more details!)

Start seated with the knees bent and the feet on the floor. Lengthen throughout the spine, straightening the spine as you get long. Now hold the backs of the knees with the hands, and lean back slightly, keeping the length in the spine, drawing the chest up towards the sky. Keep the neck relaxed and in line with the body. Now lift the feet parallel to the knees for modified Boat, or straighten the legs for full boat. Release the hands and extend the arms out parallel to the floor. You will be balancing on the bottom, forming a "V" with the body. No tension in the neck. Draw the navel to the spine and keep extending to lengthen the back. If you roll backwards (balancing on the bottom can be tricky) have a little laugh with yourself, and try it again. The more you draw the navel to the spine, and lengthen through the back, the easier it is to stay up. And wait, there is an added bonus! You are also working the Sternocleidomastoid muscles! Those are the hefty muscles that hold your head up! A quick Google search has everyone saying the brain weighs an average of 3 pounds, but a head weighs between 6-21 pounds. Hmm, that is a pretty big range, so I guess we'll just be satisfied to have muscles strong enough to hold it up!

So once you get the legs up in the air and hold it for 5 breaths, repeat 5 times- more if you can, less if you decide to quit before you get to 5. If you can't hold the legs up alone, keep the hands behind the knees for support.

After Navasana, place the feel back on the floor, and roll yourself down til the back is flat on the floor. Then bring the knees in toward the chest and hug them in. Then, holding in- below the knees really so you don't put stress directly on the knees- rock gently from side to side. You will be surprised what a nice back massage this gives you. Except if you are on a carpet, you miss out on the massage, but a yoga mat flat on the floor, mmm, hmm, what a nice feeling on the back!

Then just lie flat for a few moments and relax. Feel your abs? If not, try holding longer in each pose.

That's it for these simple ab flatteners. Stay tuned for more articles on quick solutions for improving your body. Sometimes you've only got 15 minutes. Love, Doreen. 200YRT