7 Best Yoga Poses You Can Practice to Strengthen Your Legs

Yoga is a great way to build strength, flexibility and balance. It can also help improve your overall health and well-being and reduce stress.

While there are hundreds of yoga poses out there, some are better than others when it comes to improving your body's strength and flexibility.

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Best Yoga Poses To Strengthen Your Legs

Here are seven of the best yoga poses you can do to strengthen your legs:

1) Chair Pose

The chair pose is a great pose to strengthen your legs, improve balance, increase flexibility and posture, and improve breathing. This pose also helps improve the functioning of the respiratory system.

In addition, it keeps you fit by strengthening abdominal muscles too.

Chair Pose Benefits:

• Strengthens the legs and ankles
• Improves balance and stability
• Improves flexibility in hips, thighs, and ankles.

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2) Warrior I Pose

The Warrior I is a great pose to strengthen the legs and improve balance and focus. The posture strengthens the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. Warrior I is a great pose to strengthen the legs, but it's also a great pose to practice balance and focus.

The poses require you to stand with one foot in front of the other, extending your arms out wide. That can be difficult for those who are new to yoga or are still learning how to balance themselves on their feet.

However, with practice, you'll find that this pose becomes easier and easier—as will all of your other warrior poses. It can improve flexibility in your hamstrings if done correctly: The most common mistake here is bending at the knee instead of keeping it straight throughout this move.

This movement not only works your glutes but also improves flexibility in your hamstrings (which also helps reduce lower back pain), make sure both knees stay completely straight throughout its execution.

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3) Tree Pose

The Tree pose, or Vrksasana, is a great way to strengthen your legs and improve balance.

To do this pose, stand with your feet together and your hands on your hips. Bend your knees into a squat position, and raise one foot off the ground so that you are balancing on one leg.

Hold the position for 30 seconds to a minute—or as long as you can—and switch legs, and repeat the process on the other side.

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4) Reclined Pigeon

The reclined pigeon pose is a challenging pose that strengthens the legs, thighs, hips and ankles. It also helps to improve balance and posture.

This pose is best suited for intermediate yogis who have some experience with yoga poses and can hold a triangle pose for at least 30 seconds without losing their balance.

Inhale deeply, and with an exhale bend both knees into a lunge position by lowering one knee down to the floor in front of you while keeping the other leg bent at 90 degrees at its hip (your upper leg will be parallel to the ground).

Place your hands on either side of this bent knee for support, if needed, till you feel stable enough to hold yourself up entirely from just one hand or foot.

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5) Bridge Pose

The Bridge Pose or Setu Bandha Sarvangasana is a great way to strengthen the muscles of your back, chest and shoulders. It also helps improve balance and flexibility in your hips, thighs and ankles.

To get into a bridge pose, lie on your back, and bend your knees, bringing them towards your chest. Press down through the heels as you lift your hips up, keeping your back flat and straight.

If it helps, place a pillow under your lower back for support. Hold this position for at least five breaths before lowering yourself back down to rest.

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6) Runner's Lunge

To get into the pose, begin in a standing position with your feet hip-width apart. Place your hands on the floor in front of you, shoulder-width apart and parallel to each other. Bend one knee, and lower it back so that your shin is parallel with the floor and come into a lunge position.

Make sure to keep both hands on the floor at all times. Hold here for up to 30 seconds before switching legs. Come out of the pose by bringing both knees together as you stand up straight again.

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7) Dancer's Pose

Lift one leg up behind you till it's straight while simultaneously lifting the opposite arm overhead as far as possible. This is one rep; do not alternate legs and arms; hold for 30 seconds, and switch sides.

Repeat six times total on both sides before resting or moving onto another pose. This exercise can help with lower body mobility and flexibility, and open up any kind of stiffness in your muscles.

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Takeaway

Overall, yoga is a great way to strengthen your legs and encourage balance.

If you are looking for ways to improve your flexibility or just want to feel more energised throughout the day, try some of these poses out.