Transform your core without leaving the comforts of home with ab poses straight from Evolve Yoga and Fitness instructor Ginger Diaz-Serrano
Dolphin Plank Pose (Makara Adho Mukha Svanasana)
This posture strengthens the arms, legs, and core muscles, including the chest, abdomen, and lower back. This improves your posture too by strengthening the muscles around the spine. It also helps stretch shoulders, hamstrings, calves, and the feet.
1. Start on all fours and bring your elbows down to the floor, directly underneath your shoulders. Keep your forearms parallel to the sides of your mat.
2. Step your feet back and bring your body and head in one straight line. Stack your heels and toes.
3. Keep your thighs lifted and your hips from sinking too low.
4. Contract your abdominals and draw your pelvic muscles toward your spine.
5. Broaden your shoulder blades and collarbone, fixing your gaze between your hands or towards the front of your mat.
6. Hold for five breaths or 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat up to 10 times.
Boat Pose (Navasana)
This posture creates structural integration and balance while strengthening and toning the abdominal wall and hip flexor muscles. The pose stabilizes the back and torso by strengthening the abdominal obliques bilaterally, giving lower back support internally.
1. Sit up straight and lift your legs off the floor with your toes pointing towards the ceiling. Straighten your legs and maintain a straight back.
2. Engage your center by pulling your belly button towards your spine.
3. Lift your arms alongside your body, parallel with the floor and palms facing each other.
4. Lift your collarbones through the crown of your head.
5. Hold for five breaths. Release and hug your knees to your chest. Repeat.
Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana)
By using your body weight as resistance in the side plank, it tones and strengthens the arms and the front and back of the torso. Side planks integrate the upper and lower body, and further trains all the muscles in the body to work as one coordinated force. This tones and strengthens the core, with a focus on the oblique muscles.
1. Press your lower hand down into the mat and slightly bend your elbow.
2. Reach your opposite hand up towards the ceiling.
3. Stack your shoulders over your wrists and point your tailbone down towards your heels.
4. Engage your quadriceps by lifting them towards your hip flexors.
5. Press the outer edge of your lower foot onto the floor and stack your upper foot on top of your lower foot.
6. Flex your toes towards your face for more stability.
Evolve Yoga & Fitness is located at G/F One Parkade, 28th St., corner 7th Ave., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City and 2/F The Commercenter, Commerce Ave., Filinvest, Muntinlupa City
