5 YOGA POSES FOR A PERKY BOOTY

Looking fo a great butt workout? Yoga can quickly lead you to the booty you’ve always wanted. Without further ado, here’s a complete guide to getting a yoga booty!

The traditional butt workout using squats, lunges, and gym equipment can get old. Adding these yoga poses to your workouts will not only help shape, round, and lift your booty in all the right ways, it will make you more flexible, centered, and ready to take on the day.

There are 3 primary muscles to target when working on shaping the booty: the (gluteus) maximus, medius, and minimus. We will walk through 9 poses to maximize muscle use and stimulate growth in each area. Repeat each move for 5 breaths.

Let’s shape that assana!

Want more explanation? Check out the yoga pose breakdown bellow:

Target: Gluteus Maximus

The maximus is the primary gluteal muscle. Extending the thigh backward into any hip extension will activate the maximus. Poses that will strengthen the gluteus maximus are Crescent Lunge, Warrior 3, and Standing Splits.

Here’s how to do it: 

Crescent Lunge (Anjaneyasana) works the gluteus maximus. Find your edge by dipping the knee to the mat on your exhales, coming up to full Crescent Lunge through your inhale. After 5 breaths in a moving or steady Crescent, lift the back foot off the mat and reach strong through the arms to fly into Warrior 3 (Virabhadrasana 3), also called Airplane pose. Hold the arms, mid-section, and top leg parallel to the mat for 5 breaths. Close in on the maximus burn by kicking the leg even higher into the sky to Standing Splits. Try to keep the front pelvis parallel to the floor by internally rotating the left thigh. Work on walking the hands towards the standing foot.

Target: Gluteus Medius

The medius is situated on the outer surface of the pelvis and works to abduct (pull the thigh away from the midline). Working the medius will tone the upper hips and create a strong and well-rounded side butt. Work the medius by practicing Half-Moon (Ardha Chandrasana), Goddess pose (Utkata Konasana) and Reverse Plank.

Here’s how to do it:

Find Half-Moon pose from Warrior 3 (Airplane pose) by reaching one arm downward and the other skyward, stacking one shoulder on the top of the other as you work to stack your lifted leg’s hip on top of the standing leg’s hip. Extend through the upper heel and hold for 5 breaths.

To prepare for Goddess, step back from Half-Moon to a wide stance with your feet parallel to the long side of your mat. Point the toes outward at a 45-degree angle and sink the hips to knee-level. Draw your tailbone down and keep the core stable. For an added challenge, bring the heels up to hold Goddess on the balls of your feet, working the calf muscles.

Reverse Plank produces high levels of gluteus medius activation. Sit in Staff pose (Dandasana) with your hands 6-8 inches behind you and your fingertips pointed toward your hips. As you inhale, lift your hips and straighten your arms. Tighten the core, squeeze the glutes, and hold for 5 breaths. Lower down slowly with control.

Target: Gluteus Minimus

The minimus is the part of the butt that is responsible for “THE LIFT”. The best butt workout yoga pose for targeting this muscle is Bridge pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana), Bow pose (Dhanurasana), and Locust pose (Salabhasana) will target this portion of the glutes.

Here’s how to do it:

Beginning with Bridge pose, begin by lying on your back with knees bent and heels close to the hips. Press firmly through the feet to lift the hips upward. Keep the knees directly above the ankles. For an added burn, bring one leg up to the sky and hold for 5 breaths on each side. Lower down slowly and give yourself a pat on the butt.

Flip onto your stomach and bring your heels close to your yoga booty. Reach back with the hands and grab the ankles, keeping the knees parallel. Gently pull on the ankles, open up the chest and broaden the collarbones, kick into your hands to bring the fronts of your thighs off the mat. Breathe deeply through the core for 5 breaths. Lower down, bringing your hands to each side of your body and chin to the mat to prepare for Locust. Using the strength of your entire back body, lift the head, arms, and legs as high as you can. Breathe deeply for 5 breaths and then slowly lower.

To maximize the effects, we recommend performing each pose consecutively for a high-intensity burn. It is the cumulative effect of performing the whole series that will give you the results you’re looking for, so give it your all and go all out! You have nothing to loose, and a yoga booty to gain!!

Sources: yogiapproved.com