Know The Facts About Does Yoga Flatten Your Stomach?

Are you struggling with belly fat? Don’t worry; there’s a solution. Yoga can help you lose visceral fat around your stomach, which is harder to get rid of than other types. Exercise and healthy eating are the key solutions to this.

Among exercises, yoga is considered to be one of the most beneficial ones. You might have this question in mind: does yoga flatten your stomach? The answer is yes.

If you add some specific yoga poses to your daily routine, you can tone your stomach and flatten it. Some of the stomach-flattening yoga exercises include plank pose, boat pose, bridge pose, and warrior pose.

Keep reading to learn about how yoga is beneficial in stomach flattening and how to do these poses.

Understanding the Basics of Yoga and Core Strength

Yoga is a practice that combines mental and physical exercises. It engages you in different poses to enhance your flexibility, strength, and balance. It’s a gentle form of exercise that also calms you down and is good for your heart health.

Does yoga flatten your stomach? Yes, it does. But, like any form of exercise, yoga for weight loss doesn’t work overnight. It can aid in weight loss, but it requires consistency in your practice. You can undoubtedly reap the rewards if you stick to a regular schedule!

Health Benefits of Yoga

• It helps lower stress hormones like cortisol to reduce anxiety and improve relaxation.
• Yoga helps in building body flexibility and balance through stretch exercises.
• Yoga promotes better sleep quality by calming the mind and body.
• Boosts physical health by increasing flexibility, muscle strength, endurance, and respiratory and cardiovascular health.
• Reduces blood pressure and heart rate, and lowers heart disease risk factors like high blood pressure and stress.
• Improves brain function through meditation and enhances focus and memory.

Benefits of Core Strength for Stomach Flattening

Exercise alone is not enough to lose fat. If you are doing core exercises and eating a healthy and portion-controlled diet, you will surely lose extra fat from your body.

However, it’s crucial to remember that yoga doesn’t specifically target belly fat. If you want to see a reduction in that area, you must lose weight overall. The main target of yoga is to build abdominal muscle (Abs) strength.

4 Yoga Poses That Can Help Flatten Your Stomach

Below is a list of different flat stomach yoga poses that are beneficial in stomach flattening and building core strength.

1) Plank Pose

Plank is a push-up position that straightens the body from head to heels. It’s a basic exercise but offers many health advantages.

It helps strengthen the core muscles and ultimately leads to the flattening of the stomach.

How to Do It?

• Start by lying on your front with your hands and knees on the floor, making sure your back is straight and your wrists are under your shoulders.
• Lift your right leg back, keeping your toes bent, and then bring your left leg to meet it. Now, your body should be supported by your hands and toes.
• Squeeze your abs hard, and lift your pelvic floor to engage your core muscles.
• Hold this position for 20 to 60 seconds and focus on your breathing.
• Take a break by bringing your knees to the floor, sitting back on your heels, and keeping your toes touching and your knees apart.
• Lower your body so your back rests on your thighs, with your forehead touching the ground. Keep your arms stretched out in front of you in a comfortable position.
• Do this sequence three times.

2) Boat Pose

The boat pose works on your core and is named for its shape. To do this, you have to balance on your tailbone, lift your legs, and form an upside-down or boat shape with your arms straight.

This pose targets your core muscles e.g., abdomen, pelvis, and lower back.

How to Do It?

• Begin the boat pose by lying down or sitting down. Starting from lying down is harder.
• If you start by sitting, keep your legs straight and slightly bent. Breathe in, tighten your back, and lean back.
• Then, lift your legs until they make a 45-degree angle with the floor, balancing on your tailbone. Straighten your legs by lifting your toes towards your forehead, or keep your shins parallel to the floor if it’s hard.
• Stretch your arms to be next to the floor, palms facing each other, and open your chest.
• Hold this pose for 10 to 20 seconds.

3) Warrior III Pose

Warrior III helps you balance and build your core. When you stand on one leg, it stretches your back of the thigh and buttock and strengthens your front thigh and ankle.

Lifting one leg stretches your front hip and strengthens the back of the thigh and buttock.

How to Do It?

• Begin in a High Lunge with your right foot forward, hips facing forward, and arms at your ears. Lift your pelvic and lower belly to activate your core.
• Exhale, bend from the hips and bring your arms and torso down while keeping your eyes on a spot in front of you.
• Inhale, root down with your front foot, lift your back foot, and straighten your standing leg.
• Point your toes and engage your standing leg without locking it.
• Extend your arms and hold for 5 breaths.
• To exit the pose, bend your standing leg, step back into High Lunge, and then step forward into Mountain Pose.

4) Bridge Pose

The bridge pose is a fundamental backbend in yoga. It is one of the best yoga poses for a flat stomach. This pose is done to open the chest and stretch the thighs.

The cherry on top is that it also helps strengthen back muscles.

How to Do It?

• To do this yoga pose, start by lying on your back with your feet flat and your knees bent.
• Place your hands at your sides, palms down.
• Inhale and lift your hips towards the roof. Make sure your head and shoulders stay on the floor.
• You can choose to keep your hands on the floor or place them on your back such that fingers point towards your lower back and thumbs to the side.
• Take deep breaths, hold the position for some time, then slowly lower your arms and hips back to the floor while exhaling.

Conclusion: Is Yoga the Answer for a Flat Stomach?

Yoga is very beneficial for physical and mental health. But does yoga flatten your stomach? Yes, it does. You can opt for specific yoga poses like plank, boat, bridge, and warrior poses to your daily routine. These poses help in building your Abs muscle strength and losing extra fat.

Other than that, yoga has a lot of health benefits like enhancing flexibility, strength, and balance. It helps lower stress hormones, promotes better sleep quality, and boosts physical health by increasing flexibility, muscle strength, endurance, and respiratory and cardiovascular health.

However, it doesn’t specifically target belly fat, and to see a reduction in that area, you must lose weight overall for maximum results.