With the endless images and messages projected onto us about how our body should look, often encouraging us to attain the “ultimate” body through advertising, marketing and social media, we could be forgiven for trying to reach an unrealistic goal.
Our bodies are amazing, functioning and complex systems, and deserve to be recognised for the incredible vessel that they are.
The “perfect” body is not out there, it is the one we have.
We may have deep rooted desires to look a certain way or have aesthetic aspirations but improving strength and muscle tone is not about how we look, it’s about how we feel.
By having a strong body, we feel better, more capable, and operate more effectively and efficiently. We are able to move quicker, with dynamic agility, freedom and expression.
Creating a stronger body is one of the many benefits of yoga, and may in some circumstances be the draw to your practice and your mat. But it is not the destination and it is not the reason why yoga was created - it is a byproduct.
As we practice yoga, we use and suspend our own body weight, conditioning our muscles. Certain poses require strength and endurance, and by entering into a consistent practice we find that these poses become easier over time. Because we have trained our muscles to cope with a certain level of stress, and as it becomes easier, we can gradually increase that stress, or try harder poses.
The postures are an integral part of yoga, and because the postures make up the majority of the practice in the Western world we are well aware of the physical benefits. It is also worth considering that being stronger and more toned helps to improve our self-esteem.
So how does yoga work to improve our muscle tone? First we begin by looking deeper into the layers of the human body and its musculoskeletal system.
The human body consists of three types of muscle: voluntary, involuntary and cardiac. Voluntary muscles are fibres that allow for conscious movement of body parts; when a person walks, voluntary muscles are at work. Involuntary muscles are located within certain internal organs such as the esophagus, the tube that leads to the stomach, in which muscles contract to help move food downward. Cardiac muscles are found within the heart, an organ whose movement is a constant pumping action.
The muscles we tend to be more concerned with in yoga are the voluntary ones; the ones used for movement. There are many different types of postures but the most strengthening ones are standing poses, standing balances, arm balances and inversions - because we are activating (rather than stretching) specific groups of muscles and working against the force of gravity.
Some muscles work in pairs, where the prime mover contracts and the antagonist relaxes, for example the hamstrings and the quadriceps.
Other voluntary muscles included the core stabilising muscles, which strengthening yoga postures also rely on developing as a foundation, this includes the trapezius, deltoids, pecs, biceps, triceps, abdominals, glutes and calves.
Core stability is what helps align our posture, support our spine and allows us to keep control of our body whilst we are in motion. Weakness in the core can lead to weakness in other areas, which is why it is so important to keep the muscles around the torso and pelvis trained.
Regular gym and fitness work outs can be expensive and even home workouts often require an investment in proper equipment. But the great thing about yoga is that all you need is your own body weight and a mat; coupled with our online yoga videos and you have a low cost complete fitness solution whenever and wherever you fancy. With yoga, not only do we increase muscle strength but we improve muscle tone as well. This is because yoga uses an eccentric contraction which gives muscles an elongated, sleek look.
How our bodies change due to regular yoga practice is undeniable and with the majority of yogis looking lean and toned, it may be surprising to some that they only rely on yoga to condition their body. Stephanie Kirkos tells her story of how she built strength and flexibility through a dedicated yoga practice and Charu Chandra says “for those who put on weight easily and are looking to slim down, yoga is one of the best ways to tone your muscles and develop flexibility”.
The key strength based yoga postures are arm balances such as crow and astavakrasana; and inversions such a headstand, handstand and pincha mayurasana. Preparation postures such as plank and Chaturanga Dandasana enable students to build strength in the core area first, becoming aware of these synchronistic muscles and how they work together, before moving safely and mindfully into more testing variations.
If you would like to explore dynamic and energetic styles of yoga to experience the challenge of building and toning muscle through yoga, start slowly and gently. As you become stronger, notice how weight bearing postures become easier - after time and dedication harder poses will most certainly become available to you.