Upper body yoga strength exercises

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Upper body yoga strength exercises

By Christina | April 13, 2009

I was recently reading an article about creating shapely arms and the author referred to Madonna’s arms as “scary.” Are you kidding me? Madonna has amazing arms and it blows my mind that anyone would call her long, lean, well defined arms scary. I suppose that’s why they say there is a rear end for every chair – we all have our own idea of what beauty is and from one woman with “shapely, strong” arms, there is nothing that looks better in my opinion than the toned look of someone who exercises regularly.
Here are a couple of yoga exercises that will help you to strengthen your upper body to create the beautiful look you may be seeking. Now, if I have conjured up images of body builder “guns,” relax, women don’t build that kind of muscle unless they are taking some serious supplements.

Plank and Chataranga

Begin on your hands and knees with your hands shoulder width apart and the shoulders stacking directly over the wrists
Keep your arms where they are as you straighten the legs into plank pose
Curl the toes under so that you are on the balls of the feet and keep your hips in alignment with your spine – neither pikes up nor slumping down
To continue into chataranga begin by exhaling and bend the elbows but keep them tight to your body so that they rub against your ribs
Keep the gaze forward, neck long, chest extending, shoulders back, abs lifting and legs active
Now, you have to reverse it and get back to plank
Begin with 5 reps and work your way up to 10-20

Need an easier exercise to start with? Place the knees on the mat and perform the same movement.