Try this 15 minute yoga workout for a flat tum!

Did you know summer bodies are made in winter? Wait scrap that, they are made in YOGA! But it’s much easier to ‘fight the flab’ or work on any part of your body you want to tone, strengthen, lengthen to make yourself fitter, more flexible, happy and healthier!

One place to start is the abs. Yoga will undoubtedly build core strength and tone your abdominals, helping you to get that summer body do you don’t have to hide behind the baggy t shirts and jumpers.

Warm up before you work out

As always, I recommend you don’t go into any of these poses ‘cold’ but take some time to ‘warm up’ the body – just you would for any exercise you are about to do. Ensuring you take time (about 5-10 minutes) to gently warm up will help to avoid any injury, as you can ease your body into it with gentle and smaller movements.

Once you are ready, this little sequence of yoga will help you not only lose weight, but you should notice your flexibility increases, you will feel tones, light, healthier and ultimately happier!

I am talking from experience – check out my Instagram to see some of my pictures of how I toned up and lost weight, just from yoga! So here are some of my top yoga poses for weight loss, how to do them and the benefits you will start to see!

So, if you want to tone your tum, or if you just want to try some other poses and advance your practise then give these poses a go!

No more sit ups or crunches needed. These poses will get your muscles fired up. You can practice at anytime, anywhere, all you need is room for a mat, and you are all set to go! I would try and hold the poses for about 30 seconds (not forgetting to breathe of course) and increase the amount of time the more you practice (and it will get easier I promise!)

These poses are a great way to build your core, and if you practice on a regular basis you will start to notice a difference.

Plank Pose

Start by lying on your stomach, legs out straight behind you. Keep your hands level with your shoulders, palms facing down.
As you exhale, push up (as if you are doing a push up), with the elbows slightly bent. You can keep your feet together or hip width part.
Engage your core and hold for 30 seconds or more if you can!

Side Plank Pose

Starting off in plank (see above), bring your feet together. Roll onto the right foot, on the outside edge, keeping the feet stacked if you can (or place the left foot in front of the right if not). Take your right hand to the centre of the mat, and take your left either to your waist, or extend up.
Repeat on the other side so you tone and work both sides of the body.

Reverse Plank Pose

From a seated position, extend your legs out in front of you and take your hands behind you, fingers pointing inwards to your glutes.
As you exhale, lift from the hips, and glutes but keep the feet on the floor. If you can, drop your head back if this feels comfortable, raising your hips as much as you can upwards.

Boat Pose

From a seated position, bend the knees so the feet are on the floor, sitting up with a straight spine. Take your hands under the crease of your knees. From here lift your feet up off the floor.
If you can balance, take your hands out from under your knees and stretch out in front of you. Inhale, and as you exhale try and straighten you back, and see if you can stretch your legs out straight to a 45-degree angle (don’t worry if you can’t, this is a tough one on the core).

Cobra Pose

Start by lying on your stomach, hands either side of your shoulders, palms face down. Engage your core, and use your abdominals to lift up your shoulders, head and neck (although keep your gaze forward and don’t over stretch or strain on your neck).
To challenge yourself and to test you are using your abs, see if you can lift your hands slightly up off from the floor.

Superman Pose

From Cobra you can transition to Superman pose. From lying on your stomach, zip your legs and feet together. Stretch your arms out in front of you, palms facing each other or the floor.
Use your core, and as you exhale lift your arms and legs up, squeezing the legs and gluts together as you hold, for an extra workout.

Seated Side Twist

Any pose that’s a twist in your abdominals means you are working your stomach, massaging your internal organs and ultimately working your core.
From a seated position, bend your left knee and take it over your right thigh, then bend your right knee and tuck the right foot under the left glute (or close to it).
As you exhale, turn your body to the left, hooking your right arm over your left knee for support. Take your left hand behind you and place it on the floor for support.
When you are ready, return to the centre and repeat on the other side.

Some of these poses might be feel tough at first, especially if you’re new to yoga, so don’t worry if it takes a bit of time to build up to holding them for longer. If you can though, try and hold each pose for 30 seconds or longer if it feels good for you! Why don’t you time yourself and see how you progress over time.

You can also download these FREE yoga guides for beginners that will walk you through all the poses you need to know about, and my top tips to get you started.