“You should never be in pain during the sequence. You will feel your abs tighten or contract at some point, but pain should never be your measure of a successful practice.” in fact, if something hurts during the flow, you should be mindful of the pain level and either reset or discontinue until your alignment is good enough to support you,” advises Stephens. “One myth is that if your core doesn't hurt as you're working it, then you didn't do correctly. Lastly, while the poses here should be safe for everyone, if you are pregnant, have back pain, or are injured, you should get clearance from your doctor before trying any poses. In a sense, it keeps things fresh so that you're more aware of the poses as you carefully move in and out of them.” In other words, pick a couple of poses that target the abs, pair them with a couple that target your back, and then work them together into a sequence to keep your body balanced and healthy. “Having a combination of three to four poses in a sequence can help someone who tends to be bored with one simple pose. “The flow should allow you to ease into the sequence, which will help both the spine and abs, as both support the other,” she explains. Stephens says it's important to pay attention to the flow of movements and poses when you engage in any core exercises. Pauline Stephens is a certified personal trainer, yoga instructor, meditation coach, and Ayurvedic treatment therapist.

Check out these 12 yoga poses that target your abs and strengthen and tone your core. So if you're looking to give your core a workout, look no further.

Having a strong core may not only help improve your posture and spinal health but also allow you to be able to move on to more challenging balancing poses like crow pose, warrior II, and tree pose. Whether you're just getting started on your yoga journey or you're a Vinyasa class devotee, incorporating yoga poses that target and strengthen the abs and core will be beneficial to your yoga practice and general fitness. Though total-body strengthening is important for overall health and fitness, area-focused workouts allow you to reap more specific strengthening benefits and might correct muscle imbalances in your weaker areas. One way to approach yoga-based workouts is to curate a sequence that targets a certain body region, such as the legs, arms, or core. In fact, one of the benefits of yoga is that it is so diverse as a practice, and between all the different styles and poses, you can truly find a workout to suit nearly every mood and goal. And while some forms of yoga take less physical exertion-like facial yoga poses or laughter yoga-others, like Vinyasa or Ashtanga-style classes, are more rigorous and engage muscles you never knew existed. Among those who don't regularly practice yoga, there seems to be a common preconceived notion that yoga is just an easy workout done solely to promote relaxation, but never to break a sweat.

Core yoga exercises