Six Yoga Stretches for a Lean & Limber Body

One of the most common benefits of a regular yoga practice is increased flexibility. A majority of yoga poses can help your body become lean and limber, which can also help your body perform better overall. According to Prevention.com, "Aesthetically, well-stretched and limber muscles appear leaner than shortened, constantly contracted muscles." In addition to long, lean and limber muscles, practicing yoga poses and stretches can lead to a calm mind and a relaxed body.

  1. Standing Forward Bend

    • A good starter stretch to lengthen your muscles and increase limberness is Standing Forward Bend, also known as Uttanasana. According to the popular yoga text "Light on Yoga" by B.K.S. Iyengar, Uttansana gives your spine "a deliberate and intense stretch." Begin this stretch by standing at the top of your yoga mat with your feet together and your hands on your hips. Lengthen your spine through the crown of your head and with an exhalation, fold forward with your spine straight, reaching your hands toward your feet. If your hands do not reach your feet or the mat, allow them to hang in front of you, and try to roll some of your weight into the balls of your feet; this will provide you with a deep stretch in your calves and hamstrings, helping you to become more lean and limber. Inhale and slowly rise back up to standing.

    Lunge

    • Lunge, sometimes called Runner's Lunge, is another pose that helps create length in your leg muscles, and increase flexibility within your hips. From your Standing Forward Bend, bring your hands to either side of your feet and step your right foot back, keeping a 90-degree bend in your left knee while pushing down into the ball of your right foot, remaining high on your right toes and keeping your right leg as straight as possible. You will feel a deep stretch on the inside of your right hip and thigh. Hold for three to five breaths and then switch to the left side.

    Downward-Facing Dog

    • This pose resembles how a dog looks when it stretches itself, hence the name, Downward-Facing Dog. Called Adho Mukha Svanasana in Sanskrit, "Down Dog" stretches out your legs, back and shoulders. In "Light on Yoga," Iyengar says that this pose "makes the legs shapely." To practice Downward-Facing Dog, start on your hands and knees, then lift your knees away from your mat with your heels off your mat, coming on to your toes. Slowly straighten into your legs, lift your hips so your seat and tailbone are in the air, and push down into your mat with your hands while straightening into your arms. Contract your navel toward your spine. If you are doing this pose correctly, you will feel an intense stretch in your shoulders and the back of your legs. Stay in this pose for five breaths, then slowly lower back down to your hands and knees.

    Upward-Facing Dog

    • Urdhva Mukha Svanasana is the Sanskrit name for Upward-Facing Dog. This pose will stretch your arms, legs, back and torso. Begin by lying on your mat, face down. Bend your elbows and press your palms on your mat next to your waist. Inhale, lift your torso up, arching your back, and lift your thighs and shins a few inches off your mat, creating an arch in your back while relaxing your shoulders away from your ears. Pushing your torso up will lengthen and strengthen your arms, and lifting your thighs off your mat will help elongate your leg muscles.

    Seated Forward Bend

    • This pose will improve your flexibility and keep your legs limber, especially if you practice it regularly. Sit on your mat with your legs extended in front of you and your spine long and straight. Inhale, and with a straight spine and torso bend forward at your hips. If it's within your practice, wrap your hands around the sides of your feet and pull your feet back so your heels are almost lifted off your mat. Lengthen your spine with an inhalation, and exhale, relaxing a little bit deeper into the pose, allowing a stretch in the back of your legs and in your spine.

    Child's Pose

    • Child's pose, or Balasana, will help your torso and arms become lean, and will also create limberness in your spine and hips. Kneel on your mat, touch your big toes together and open your knees. Walk your hands forward while lowering your rib cage and torso between your knees, until your forehead rests gently on your mat. Walk your fingertips as far forward as they can go without your seat lifting off of your heels, creating a long, lean stretch in your torso and sides. Take three to five breaths and slowly walk your hands back toward your legs, then raise your head and rib cage off your mat.