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Celebrities like Ashley Judd, Jenifer Aniston, Adam Levine, Madonna, and LeBron James have long known that an intense yoga class increases arm strength, endurance, and improves focus. But as a modified yoga instructor for twenty-two years, I know the truth. It’s not just a strenuous yoga class, which will build muscle. Modified yoga will steadily build your arm strength and participants will feel refreshed, in almost every way possible. Modified yoga, like a strenuous mat class, uses isometric strength, which means; will use the force of the body against itself, to develop strength, vigor and endurance. In a simple example. A modified push up uses your body weight against your triceps and shoulders. There are many exercises to strengthen the arms in modified yoga. Participants who consistently practice these exercises will see and feel an improvement in the overall tone of their arms.
We can also use straps to cause resistance and build strength. So to start with the strap options. Here are items you can use. A strong fabric karate belt. Generally, it’s best if you’re at least three or four feet tall. A regular leather belt, but make sure it’s durable. You can use a long towel that you roll lengthwise to make a makeshift strap, or roll a pillowcase lengthwise. Use only one option.
I’m going to describe a wall pushup, a diamond pushup that you can do while kneeling on the mat, and an exercise where you use the strap for a resistance exercise. Use all or one of these techniques in your daily practice.
To do a wall push, stand facing a wall, a little more than an arm’s length from the wall. First, to find the correct location for his hands, place them on the sternum of his chest. If you take your arms straight off that bone and place your hands on the wall, your hands will be chest level on the wall. Since you’re standing at a little more than arms’ length, you’ll have a slight incline, which will cause more resistance and isometric strength in your arms. Rest your palms on the wall or your fists on the wall if you have carpal tunnel in your wrists. When you place your palms on the wall, if you want easier pressure, the distance between your palms could be six to eight inches. For a more challenging press, place your hands in the center and angle your fingertips and your wrists and elbows pointing out to the sides.
To start, keep your knees slightly bent when you do the wall press. The tailbone and lower back will be flat against the wall. When you move towards the wall, bend your arms and bend down, your body will move as a unit, like a plank of wood. As you approach the wall, keep your body straight and bring your nose within an inch of the wall. To do this pose well, don’t push your neck forward. You must move your body as a unit. Hold the pose for five seconds to fifteen seconds. Then relax for another five to fifteen seconds. As you progress, adjust how long you hold the pose, or adjust the number of reps you do, as you gain strength. When you’re starting out, you can do three to eight reps with a five to fifteen second hold time.
To work on a leash. This can be done sitting or standing. If you’re standing, keep your knees bent and stand with your feet hip-width apart for balance. Take the strap in your hands and leave a space between your hands of ten to twelve inches. Start with your hands, holding the strap at chest height. First try slowly pulling the strap and arms apart. Of course, you will not be able to break the strap or the belt. This pull causes an isometric force against the triceps and shoulders. Then, continue to spread it apart as you extend your arms forward. Keep them extended for five to fifteen seconds. Bring the strap back to your chest for another five seconds, and then push them forward once more. Relax. You can do three to eight reps.
Next, hold the ten to twelve inch strap once more. Lower the strap close to your hips or legs and in front of you. Try to separate the strap and slowly lift the strap, keep your arms straight. If you are worried about your shoulders, you can leave the strap and arms at chest height. Hold the pose and lower to the starting point with your legs. Keep trying to separate the strap and lift it up again. If you don’t have shoulder problems, you can pull the strap over your head and keep your arms straight. Hold for five to fifteen seconds. Again, pose repetitions can be anywhere from three to eight rounds. Relax and breathe. You can do any or all of the variations I suggest here.
Last, we’re going to start with the strap over your head. When you hold the strap over your head, the width of your arms will open more. The space between your hands can be fifteen to twenty inches wide. We open our arms more above the head, to accommodate the natural way in which the body is built. Without the strap, if you were to put your arms straight above your head, they don’t go straight, they open more like a “V”. We want to have minimal stress on the shoulders, so it’s easier to open the arms wider to accommodate the body.
When you hold the strap, you don’t need to spread it apart, because the movement itself will cause isometric resistance. It is relatively simple. Let’s imagine a channel, which sways from side to side above our head. When holding the strap fifteen to twenty inches apart, bring your arms all the way to the right (in the groove or slot above your head) and hold for five to fifteen seconds, then move them all the way to the left and hold. Do three to five reps. Lower your arms and rest.
The last pose is the most challenging. The diamond press. This requires you to kneel for a few moments on the mat. If you have knee problems, you can place a thick towel under your knees to support and cushion your knees. Kneel down on all fours. Your hands and your knees. Place your hands directly under your sternum, as close to that sternum point as possible, place your hands flat on the mat.
To position your hands correctly on the diamond press, you’ll start with the index fingers of each hand touching. Open your hands to the sides and bring the tips of your thumbs together. The empty space between your hands will now form a triangle. Place your palms, triangle side down, in the center of the mat. Put your body on your hands and your elbows point to the sides. Tuck your tailbone and hips down, and bend your arms, lowering them halfway toward your hands. Hold the diamond press for five to fifteen seconds. If you have stamina, you can do three to five and move on. Four, five or six repetitions.
Modified yoga will make a difference in your arm strength, your endurance, and your focus. Many of you will find these poses to be an exercise. But I can assure you that they will be much easier than a grueling mat class. As you get stronger, you can always work your way up through reps or classes. Focus on what you can do. But for me, my modified yoga gives me and my clients everything we need.