Poses By Benifits for Aerobics
Standing Forward Fold:
Uttanasana, or Standing Forward Fold, opens the back of the legs, the hips and the back. Making
this pose even more appealing for non-bendy men is that it’s easily modified. If you can’t
reach the floor, keep your hands on your thighs,
calves or ankles or use blocks to shorten the distance.
In addition to stretching muscles, Standing Forward Fold lowers blood pressure,
eases headaches, improves circulation and helps you sleep better. And if you allow
gravity to do its job in this pose and relax your head and neck, you can also
reduce the tension you carry in your upper body.
Warrior One
This iconic posture stretches men where they need it most—the hips and shoulders. On top of opening
these tight areas, Virabhadrasana is a strengthening posture. It builds the
muscle of the thighs along with the areas around the knees, which means more
stability and protection for sensitive joints during high impact sports.
Want more powerful shoulders? Try holding this pose for 10-15 breaths and you’ll never
again question whether yoga is physically challenging.
Upward Facing Dog
The other dog posture, Urdvha Mukha Svansana, can help to open the chest and strengthen
the back and arms. This posture will help anyone who sits behind a desk or a wheel for
far too many hours each day by opening the abdomen and hip flexors.
For men who also enjoy more strenuous forms of exercise, Upward Facing Dog is a great way to warm
up and get the muscles stretched and blood flowing
before expecting the body to go all out.
Up Dog also helps anyone struggling with breathing difficulties
Boat Pose
Another amazing strengthening posture, Boat pose, or Navasana, will give you rock hard abs as
it also strengthens the hips flexors and spine. This posture is particularly beneficial
to men for what it does to stimulate the prostate gland and even just raise awareness and
reduce tension in the pelvic region.
If you’re the type of guy whose key to your heart is through your stomach, you’ll enjoy
boat pose for its ability to stimulate the digestive
system and keep everything moving smoothly.
Butterfly Pose
Baddha Konasana increases blood flow to the pelvis, kidneys, prostate and bladder…and I don’t
need to tell you what other part of your life can be
helped by better blood flow to the pelvic region.
Butterfly pose is also a good way to draw attention to mula bandha, the root lock,
which also brings awareness and more energy to the area around the hips. (wink, wink)
Bridge Pose
It’s not unusual for men to experience tight muscles throughout the torso, but Bridge pose can
help open the upper body and release those tight muscles. Whether you realize it or not,
tightness in this area make for shallow breathing and can even
make other physical activities more challenging.
Over time, practicing bridge pose will create more space in the chest and make for
easier, fuller breathing.
