5 Yoga Poses For a Strong Core

Boat

• Begin sitting on your mat. Lift your knees up to your chest and balance on your sits bones (the bottom of your pelvis). The most important thing here is to keep your spine as long and straight as possible.
• Work on slowly straightening your legs up. If your back starts to hunch, keep your knees bent. Your legs don't need to be straight — the action of keeping your spine long and drawing your belly in is what works your abs here.
• Hold for five complete breaths.
• Now you're ready to take the lift. Cross your legs just below your knees, point through your toes and pull them in as close to your body as possible, without letting them touch the ground. Plant your palms firmly beside your hips, spreading your fingers wide. On an inhale, hold yourself together like a little ball, press your palms into the ground, engage your core, and lift your body off the ground. If your body won't cooperate, then touch your toes to the mat and just lift your hips off the ground. Exhale, and slowly release your body back to the ground.
• Come back into Boat pose for another five breaths, then take the lift again. Do this three more times for a total of five reps.