In today’s world, it can be hard to get up and get moving.
We often live such sedentary lives and aren’t moving enough during the day.
Sure, we move from place to place. Most times in a hurry, but we do it without thinking.
We don’t intentionally move.
Our lack of moving leads to our bodies being in need of so much and leaves us feeling stuck.
Feeling stuck can lead to feeling sad, which often leads to weight gain, which turns us right back to that feeling of sadness.
Yoga is not only an extensive spiritual, emotional and mental experience, but it’s also a physical experience.
Different types of yoga mean different physical experiences through various poses. Yoga has amazing benefits; from emotional to physical, you name it and yoga can do it.
One physical benefit from yoga is the slimming of your thighs, from that comes other physical benefits. Your waist and hips may begin to slim down as well as your whole body altogether.
This knowledge that yoga can slim your thighs opens the door to other questions of what else yoga can do for you.
The best yoga pants for thick thighs: If you’re currently using yoga to slim your thighs, we recommend the following yoga pants for a slimmer appearance: (1) Sodika Yoga Pants (2) Fitness Gear Planet Crisscross Pants and (3) Sister Army Elastic Pants. Note that all links go to Amazon.com. Yoga Poses for Slim Hips and Thighs
There are certain poses that are great for slimming your thighs along with slimming other parts of your body. Let’s explore those poses and why they are good for slimming your thighs, hips, buns, and other parts of your body.
Chair Pose: Utkatasana
The chair pose can be difficult for some people because you are in a seated position but not actually sitting, which in turn makes for a great workout for your thighs, hips, and legs overall.
The chair pose stimulates your leg muscles. It forces them into action to hold you up so that you don’t fall on your bottom.
With all of your body weight resting on your legs, the muscles in your hips and thighs are in for a nice, toning workout.
Warrior II Pose: Virabhadrasana II
Warriors are strong not only in stature but also in the way they carry themselves, literally. Warriors hold their head and chip high and walk with such confidence and pride.
The Warrior II pose allows the yogi to do the same but staying stationary. With this comes the slimming of your thighs because of the way you must carry your body weight to hold the pose properly.
Your inner thighs will receive the best workout in this pose because those muscles are not used or worked on a regular basis; often times they are forgotten.
Since your legs are going in opposite directions from one another, they each receive a different workout. This pose is really good for your legs and every part of your thigh; it may look simple but it’s not!
Dancer Pose: Natarajasana
The amount of exercise that dancers do is incredible. With this pose, you can receive a small glimpse into what it is like just by standing.
In this pose, your hip flexors are worked the most; stimulated and stretched, which triggers the muscles in your inner and outer thighs to begin working.
Being that you’re having to balance one leg requires most, if not all of your leg muscles to be put to work. This is a great pose to slim your thighs and tone your hips.
Camel Pose: Ustrasana
This is another pose that can be difficult for others to do and to grasp but it’s completely possible to master. One may not think that this pose is good for slimming your thighs but it really is!
Your pectoral muscles and hip flexors are opened in this pose and this triggers your front thigh muscles to stimulate and become toned. What a great upright seated pose that is great for slimming your thighs and opening up your hips if they are tight.
Seated Wide-Legged Forward Fold: Upavistha Konaasana
Imagine finding a pose where you are seated on the ground but slimming your thighs at the same time.
Yes, it is true. This pose is just that.
Not only does this pose improve your flexibility and give you a great stretch. It also slims your legs, the tops of your thighs, inner thighs and opens your hips. It does this just by sitting and leaning forward on your hands. That’s incredible!
Head to Knee Pose: Janu Sirsasana
The head to knee is seated pose that also improves flexibility and provides a great stretch. The muscles in your thighs and hips are stretched which allows your blood circulation to increase.
When your blood circulation is increased, this helps your muscles to become nourished and healthy, which helps slim your thighs and increases the opening of your hips.
Cobbler Pose (Butterfly Pose, Bound Angle Pose or Baddha Konasana)
Not only is this pose an excellent hip opener it also stretches your thighs, both inner and outer and your hips, which allows slimming and toning to occur.
This pose can do wonders for your thighs. It also helps to increase the range of motion in your hips, which sometimes can be lost or decreased if we don’t do certain exercises that target that area of our body.
Garland Pose: Malasana
Squats in general work your thighs and legs, but this pose truly slims your whole lower body. You’re almost seated, but stopped right before your bottom touches the ground.
This pose increases the blood flow in your legs along with a great stretch. With the widening of your hips, this pose allows your leg and thigh muscles to work, which in turn helps in slimming them down.
Boat Pose: Paripurna Navasana
The boat pose can bring about frustration to some people because it requires you to balance all of your body weight on your bottom with both legs and arms in the air, all without falling or rocking backwards.
With an instant activation of your core, the energy shoots to your legs and they immediately get to work helping to hold you up.
Your arms and legs are working hard to hold you up and ensure that you don’t fall or rock backwards, which increases stimulation in your muscles and leads to slimming, toning and opening.
Locust Pose (Grasshopper Pose): Salabhasana
Imagine a workout that requires you to be on your stomach that works not only your arms but also your legs and thighs as well.
The locust pose requires you to bring your arms behind you and to lift your legs which stimulates your thigh muscles.
Strong legs and thighs are built from this pose because your legs and thighs are working to hold your body weight while balancing on your stomach.
Bridge Pose: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
Any pose that requires you to hold yourself up with just your legs will give your thighs a slimming and toning experience like no other!
In this pose, the bridge pose, you are holding yourself up with just your legs, while on your back. Your hips are receiving a great stretch all while the muscles in your legs and thighs are being stimulated.
Happy Baby Pose: Ananda Balasana
A pose like this, the happy baby pose, is sure to bring any yogi instant happiness, no matter their current mood!
Imagine a baby figuring out where their feet are and how to grab them when they throw their legs in the air. This pose takes you back to your childlike ways but you are getting quite the workout because your hips are opening up, your back is receiving a workout and your thighs muscles are stimulated.
Is Yoga Better Than Going to the Gym?
There are many people that believe that yoga is better than going to the gym. Is it true?
Could yoga be more effective than gym workouts?
Here are 8 reasons why yoga just be may be more effective than gym workouts:
1. It’s Efficient!
Efficiency is key for any workout and yoga is no exception. You can spend hours at the gym and only workout a certain section of your body. Although, with yoga, you give your body a full body workout.
During yoga, you engage your entire core, all of the time. Not to mention, you are constantly strengthening your arms and legs from having to hold your body weight in certain poses.
Going to the gym will give you a good workout but you can only workout one part of your body at a time. Yoga is by far the most efficient workout because you are always working your whole entire body.
2. It Can Count as Cardio
There are quite a few variations of yoga that can be considered a cardio workout because of how consistently you are flowing through poses.
Any workout where you have to hold your own body weight, at any time, is a cardio workout for sure. Plus, have you ever tried hot yoga?
3. Yoga Is Not a Competitive Sport
Yoga is sans competition, you are only competing with yourself since your last practiced.
When you go to the gym, you may feel as though are constantly having to show off certain skills and physical attributes. Competition is dangerous in any arena but it can be the most dangerous in yoga because yoga is focusing on the self and only the self.
4. It Saves Money
Saving money always seems to be the motivator when people are picking the best workout for themselves. Yoga can be as expensive, inexpensive or free as you want.
You can do yoga in clothes or not in clothes, with a yoga mat, with yoga mat alternatives, not use a yoga mat at all. You can do yoga at a studio or at home in the living room or bedroom.
5. You Can Do It Anywhere
Being able to do yoga anywhere is beyond convenient; funny because this actually saves you money by doing this.
You can do yoga anywhere, literally anywhere. In the comfort of your home, outside, in a studio or anywhere! You actually do not even need a yoga mat either.
6. Yoga Will Help You Lose Weight
The mental transformation that occurs when you do yoga consistently is incredible because it changes your mindset about every single aspect of your life.
A transformed mind leads to better sleeping habits, better-eating habits and just better habits altogether.
Your immense need for self-care increases in a positive way all because of a mindset change. Yoga will lead you to want to do the things that help you on your weight loss journey; if that is your goal.
7. Hello, Variety
If you want different workouts every single day, yoga is the exercise for you because there are many, many different types of yoga and a variety of poses.
You will never be bored with yoga.
Within the different poses, there are modifications and different inversions to try if you want to continue to challenge yourself on your yoga mat.
If you are feeling a certain way on a particular day, there are different yoga poses for each feeling and each mood to give you exactly what you need.
8. No Injuries
In yoga, you are taught to connect your mind, body, and soul, which allows you to listen to your body and hear exactly what it needs every single time.
You are able to stop when you want to before you over-extend yourself to the point of injury and even exhaustion.
Having a united mind, body, and soul is quite possibly the best, most rewarding, yet the most challenging task to accomplish for humans.
What if yoga is better than going to the gym?
What if yoga can help improve every other workout you have on your schedule as well?
What if yoga is the answer to every workout roadblock that you may encounter.
Yoga for athletes, yoga for runners, yoga for lacrosse players, yoga is for every single person that has walked, is walking and will walk this earth.
Is Running or Yoga Better for Weight Loss?
Runners and yogis alike are wondering which is a better workout and why?
Everyone has their own specific workout or workouts for their own particular reasons. Yoga improves every aspect of your life, even if you do have other workouts on your regular schedule, yoga may just be the answer for improving those other workouts.
If you are a runner, especially a long distance runner, yoga can be the most beneficial to you.
1. My Strength and Flexibility Increased Significantly
When you stretch and move your body in the way yoga requires you to, your limbs become stronger.
Your runs become better because you are able to make your strides longer and your posture is drastically improved. Yoga is the answer for better runs because it makes you stronger and more flexible, which helps with other aspects of your life as well.
2. My Energy Level Rose
Can we say increased energy levels?
It’s no secret that moving your body will do wonders for you and increases your energy.
Imagine doing yoga every day for a month or longer, imagine how phenomenal your energy levels will be. Consistently moving your body can lead to remarkable transformations.
3. My Stress Level Decreased
Yoga has mental, physical and emotional benefits because of the connection between your mind, body, and soul.
Yoga is also mediation which allows you to become one with yourself and quiet your mind, which decreases your stress levels. If you have a daily practice of yoga, your stress levels will definitely decreases because you are focusing on yourself for a small period of time; which is often time all is needed.
4. Wanting to Skip Meant Needing To Do It
Resistance is the result of necessity; when you resist something it is because you need to do it.
We often times resist the tasks that we know that we need to be doing whether it’s a workout, a conversation or a project.
Resistance sits side-by-side with necessity. When the thought of yoga brings up feelings of resistance, it’s because you need to be do that practice.
The resistance can come from stress or telling yourself that you don’t have time; resistance is resistance and it’s there to tell us what we need to do.
5. I Found My Perfect Timing
You don’t have to do 2 hours of yoga a day to experience the amazing benefits.
Yoga can be a 30 minute session and you can experience the amazing benefits, walk away feeling like you conquered the world.
Sometimes a short yoga practice is all that you need to accomplish anything.
6. It Just Feels Good
Yoga makes you feel good, all the way around.
You feel stronger mentally, physically and emotionally. Your practice can be daily, weekly or a few things a month; whenever or however often you do yoga you will feel good no matter what.
How Often Should I Do Yoga?
This is a question that is asked by beginner and veteran yogis alike.
How often should you practice yoga?
Should yoga be a daily, weekly or monthly practice?
The answer to that question depends on the individual because everyone finds yoga for different reasons at different times in their lives.
There are many factors to consider when answering this question. Please do not compare what your expectations are to others.
Focus on your own expectations and what you want to yoga to do for you.
The factors to consider are finding out your goals and honing in on them. Be honest with yourself and ask yourself whether you are a planner or not.
Determine what you want the practice to look like and figure out what your current life will allow you to do with respect to yoga.
Whether your goal is to do yoga for physical, stress release or spiritual reasons or for whatever reason, hone in on that goal and then you can understand your motivation for yoga.
Once your goal is figured out, you can then figure out how often you need to do yoga, whether it’s daily, weekly or monthly.
If you are a natural born planner, you will need to plan your yoga practice, whether you do yoga online or go to a class, you need to plan it out so that it doesn’t give you anxiety.
If you crave discipline and habits, planning out your yoga schedule will honestly help you meet that craving, you just have to know if you are a planner or not.
Whether you have 10, 30, 60 or 90 minutes, there are yoga practices and styles for you.
Once you determine what you want your practice to look like, you can then figure out what session length would work best for your personality and schedule.
No matter what you are dealing with in life, yoga can and will meet your needs.
If you have injuries, suffer from anxiety or depression, your yoga practice will meet those needs, you just have to know which yoga style to choose that will meet your needs at whatever point you are in your life.
Can Yoga Slim Your Thighs?
Yes, yoga can slim your thighs. Yoga has amazing benefits; physical, emotional and mental. Yoga can help you slim your thighs, hips and tone your whole body with many different poses. It can also be more effective than gym workouts because it’s efficient and can be done anywhere.
If you are a runner, yoga may be the answer to improving your run. Scan your current life and you can then determine how often you should practice yoga.
Different session lengths, styles, poses with modifications and variations make yoga for each and every person. Knowing exactly where you are in life at the moment will allow you to figure out what type of yoga is best for you.
Yoga is versatile and can meet everyone’s needs.