On Tuesday, Malaika Arora took to her Instagram handle and shared her way of achieving toned legs through yoga. Undoubtedly, Malaika is the popular fitness queen of the Bollywood industry. She keeps sharing enthusiastic workout pictures and videos almost every day, keeping the netizens motivated. In the short video clip, the actress taught her followers how to practice 3 different yoga poses, including - Utkatasana, Malasana and Adho Mukha Svanasana, to tone your legs. Moreover, she listed down the benefits of each yoga pose in her caption.
Malaika captioned her Instagram reel as, "Namaste Everyone. Let's begin this week with some beginner friendly yoga poses that will help you get toned legs. These poses are simply my favourites as they are easy and oh so effective. Do include these asanas in your daily practice to get those sculpted legs." Talking about the garland pose, she mentioned that it is an excellent pose to strengthen the thighs and legs. Further, she ended her caption explaining the third pose which is good for both mental and physical health. It read, "It gives a deep stretch to the arms and legs and thereby helps tone the hamstrings, calves, arches and hands."
Check out her post:
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Yogasanas for toned legs
Yoga is a traditional holistic practice that provides several health benefits. It can give you toned and sculpted legs that are perfect to flaunt various outfits. Besides plain squats, there are many other exercises that can help in toning your legs and are beginner friendly. Here are 3 yogasanas suggested by the actress for toned legs:
1. Utkatasana (The chair pose)
Benefits:
- Tones overall body
- Improves posture
- Better balance
- Body develops strength
Also read: Power Yoga: Why To Go For It & How Is It Different From The Other Yoga Types
How to do it:
- Start with a straight standing position with your feet a bit wider than hip-width apart and your arms on the sides
- Inhale and bring your arms next to the ears
- Stretch them straight aligning with the wrists and fingers
- Bring your shoulders down and keep the spine at a neutral position
- Exhale while bending your knees and keep the thighs and knees parallel to each other
- Bend our torso forward to form a right angle with the upper part of your thighs
- And, bring your neck and head in line with the abdomen and arms
- Hold this position for around 30 seconds - 1 minute
2. Malasana (The garland pose)
Benefits:
- Strengthens thighs and legs
- Prevents knee and joint pain
- Aids digestion
- Tones your abdominals
Also read: Fab Exercises for Toned Legs
How to do it:
- Do plain squats with your feet apart as wide as your shoulders
- Also, if your heels are not on the floor, then use a blanket to place under your heels to support the feet for better balance in this yogasana
- You can try to stretch the spine and widen the space in front of your chest and take deep breaths
3. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward facing dog)
Benefits:
- Stretches lower body
- Improves posture
- Strengthens upper body
- Works up the back of your legs
How to do it:
- Start this yoga pose with all the hands and feet on the floor
- Tuck your toes and lift your buttocks high
- Touch the floor with your heels, however, do not let them plank on the ground
- Then, move your head downwards so that your neck is long
- Stay in this pose for 5-6 seconds and make sure that the wrists are placed parallel to the front part of the position
- To avoid the putting stress and pressure on your wrists, you can press on your knuckles
- Take a deep breath while holding the same position and keep doing this for a few seconds till atleast three deep breaths and release
These were some important yoga poses that can help in toning your legs. You can do these yogasanas at home to strengthen your thighs and legs. Actress Malaika Arora keeps sharing workout photos and reels to motivate her fans.
Image credits: Freepik