25-Minute Yoga for Legs and Glutes | How to Build Leg Strength with Yoga

In today's class, we're going to be focusing more on the lower body and your legs. You don't need any pros for today's class. So let's go ahead and get started. If you're in a place where you cannot practice with me right now, save this on your watch later and join me whenever you can. Okay. We're going to go ahead and get started. We will start today in your backs. We're going to start with a butterfly pose, so bringing your feet together, knees apart, hands falling towards the sides of your body, and take a few seconds here just to surrender into this pose. Walk your hands slightly back so that your shoulders are away from your ears, lengthening the neck a tiny bit more. And now take a deep inhale. Deep exhale. Good. Once more, fold it in. And deep breath out. Prepare last inhale here in stillness. As you let go, imagine you're letting go of any worries, any expectations, any distractions from this present moment. As you inhale, bring your full awareness onto the breath and set an intention for today's class. Breathe out, reach for the outer edges of your knees. Take an inhale to bring your knees close to each other. Breathe out, pulse, and present is closer to you. Take an inhale, grab the back of your thighs and kick your feet to the ceiling. And just play a little bit with ankle rotations, pointing back and forward. Can you try and keep your heels right on top of your hips? Flex your toes a lot. Take a deep inhale to stay. Breathe out, open your arms to the ceiling. Inhale to keep flexing your feet a lot. Exhale, bend your knees, send your knees to the right side of your hips. Right hand can press the left knee down, look straight towards the left side. Good. Inhale, bring yourself to center. Exhale, send your knees to the other direction. Right hand, left hand can press the right knee down, looking at the right side. Good. Inhale, bring yourself back to center. As you breathe out, kick your feet up to the sky. Take an exhale to slowly bend your knees, bring your feet back down close to your body. Hands reach for your heels. Keep your navels aligned with your navels, so facing straight up. As you inhale, reach your hips up to the ceiling. Take a few seconds here to keep pressing your hips higher high. Deep inhale there. Breathe out. Send your body weight onto your right foot. Inhale, send the left leg high. Good. As you exhale, start pulsing up and down for five. Trying to keep the heel on top of your head for four. For three, two, and one. Lift higher, take an inhale. Exhale, flex your foot, feel your foot. Breathing to lift here. Breathe out, bring your hips back down on the ground. Pull from your right leg, bring it out a little closer to you. Good. You can stay here or lengthen the right foot up to the ceiling. Maybe grabbing the back of your right thigh or your right toes for a hamstring stretch. Take a deep breath in. Deep breath out. One more full inhale. Keep your left toes very flexed. Good. As you exhale, release your foot back down on the ground. Hands next to your body. Again, inhale, lift your hips with your feet, your forelegs. Exhale, unhook your foot, send it high. Breathing to lift it higher. Breathe out, send it as forward, down as you can. Inhale, lift back up for five, and four, three, two, and one. Bring your hips down. Take an inhale to bring your right leg with you. Keep the left leg extended. Start rock and rolling back and forward, back and forward for three, two, and one. Coming to seated, right foot on the ground, left foot is lifted. Good. We're going to do a challenge here. See if you can reach for your toes. You can bend your knee a tiny bit. Or maybe you don't need to reach for your toes. You're going to lean forward, press the right heel against the mat a lot, and lift your foot. This is low pistol squats. Good. Hold there for five, four, three, two, and one. Bring it down. Good. Bend your knees and rock them a little side. Noticing the fire that you have in one leg and then the difference on the other leg. We're going to go ahead and even up now. Slowly bring yourself into stillness. And with control, lay back down on the ground. Hands right next to your body. Heels close to your glutes. Inhale to lift your hips high. Exhale to press the left heel down. Inhale, send the right foot up. Flex your toes. Try and keep it on top of your head. Good. Now you're going to pose up and down. Five, four, three, two, and one. Flex your foot. Feel your form. Press the right knee down. Hips going high. Take an inhale. Exhale, hips down. Keep the feel your form. Breathe in. Pull the left leg close to you. Breathe out. See if you can bring it even closer to open through your right hip. You can stay there or lengthen the left foot up to the ceiling, grabbing the back of your left calf or your left toes. Try and keep the tailbone on the ground. Notice if your hips are lifting. Maybe you need to grab a little lower so that your tailbone stays on the mat. Take one last inhale. As you exhale, come back down into your four bridge pose. Left foot on the mat. Hands next to your body. Keep gazing straight out. Take an inhale to lift. Breathe out. Kick the foot back up. Pull. Send it all the way down and up. Notice the hips are not moving, just the leg. Four, three, two, and one. Send it high. Take an inhale. Breathe out. Hips down. Inhale. Bring the left leg to you. Squish it in. Keep your right foot very high. And now start rock and rolling back and forward, back and forward. Take three. Take two. Take one more. And come all the way to seated. Same thing here. Baby pistol squats. Your left foot is close to your hips. Right toes are flexed. Right foot is going forward. You're leaning slightly forward. Press the left heel down and lift your leg up. Good. Stay here for five, four, three, two, and one. Slowly bring your body back down to the ground. Bring your legs to the edges of your mat and rock a little bit side to side, eventually bringing yourself back into center. Bring your feet on the ground. Bring yourself into a tiny little ball and start rock and rolling back and forward, back and forward until you find yourself in a toe stand. So your feet are going to go in the ground, hands to the front of your space. Bring your knees on the mat and untuck your toes. Feel the stretch in your feet for just a tiny bit. Take an inhale. Take an exhale. Good. One more breathing. As you breathe out, start lifting your body. Hands up in the position. Good. As you exhale, send your hands to the front of your space. Tuck your toes. You're going to send your hips forward, engage your glutes, and start pressing back and forward for seven. Notice my hips are not going back and forward. It's a straight line from my knees to my shoulders. Six, five, four, three, two, and one. If that felt good, you can keep doing a few more. And whenever you're done keeping your toes tucked, take an inhale. Breathe out. Sit onto your heels. Inhale. Lift your knees. Can you try not to fall? You can always bring your hands on the ground. Good. Deep inhale in your toes. Stand. As you exhale, bring your heels down towards the floor. Hips lift for airplane chair pose. Keep your hips low. Make sure you can still see your toes. Palms are facing down. Pinkies are trying to connect. Good. We'll flow with that. Inhale down. Exhale, airplane chair. Inhale. Exhale back. Inhale, sit. Exhale back. A few more. And back. Last one. And back. Stay there. Take an inhale. Sit deeper as you exhale. Two more rounds of breath. Let it out. Last breath in. Exhale, forward fold. Grab opposite elbows and rock your torso a tiny bit side to side. You can bend one knee, then the other. Pedal your feet. Do whatever feels good for you. Good. Take one more inhale to stay. Exhale, release your hands to the ground. Inhale, halfway lift. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, come all the way up, mountain pose. Exhale, hands onto your heart center. Step towards the front of the mat. Take an inhale. Reach your arms up, heels up. Try to find the balance here in your tippy toes. It's okay if we dance a tiny bit. Try and send your hips slightly forward to bring your hip bones to your rib bones. Tuck in the tailbone in, core is engaged. Take an inhale to stay. Exhale for diver's pose. You're going to hinge from your hips. Send the top of your head to the front of your space. Palms are still facing down. Heels are still left there. You can tiny bend on your knees to give you more support. Imagine you're trying to do a seven shape with your body. Take one more inhale. Exhale, chair pose. Heels down, hands up. Breathe in to hold here. Breathe out back into diver's pose. Inhale, chair. Exhale, diver's. Inhale, chair. Exhale, diver's pose. Last one, chair. Exhale, diver's pose. Take an inhale. Exhale, sit in your chair pose, hands up. Breathe in to lift the left heel slightly forward. Exhale, send the left foot back, airplane crescent. Good. Keep the front knee on top of your front ankle. Breathe in, reach your arms high. Breathe out, bring the back knee to a hover, arms in cactus. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, lower. Breathe in, up. Breathe out, down. Inhale, reach. And lower, last one, coming up. And down, you can stay here. One more challenge, try and lift the front heel off the ground. Good. Hold there for three. Hold there for two. Last inhale. Exhale, heel down. Inhale, arms up. Exhale, twist to the right. Keep both arms as wide as possible. Your wrists as high as your shoulders. As you inhale, exhale, lean back, right arm, left thigh. Good. As you exhale, start leaning forward. Hook your left elbow outside of your right knee, hands into prayer. Holding your twist. For five. You can gaze down or straight up for four. Breathe there. Two more rounds of breath. Good, last breathe in. As you breathe out, you're going to unravel all the way around. Look to the other side of your space. Favor your left toes towards the back left corner of your mat. Bend the left knee and come to skandasana at the back of your space. Your right toes can be on the ground, pinky, trying to connect to the mat. Or you can flex your foot and lift. And now you're going to pulse here. For five, four, three, two, and one. Can you sit lower? Take an inhale. Deeper for your exhale. Last breathe in. Breathe out, project yourself forward, frame the right foot. Take an inhale, send the right leg all the way up and back, three-legged down dog. Breathe out, lean all the way forward, three-legged plank pose. Connect your knees. Keep the right foot on the ground and send it up. Slowly start rotating the foot to the left side and find yourself seated on the ground. Your left toes are flexed and pointing up. Your right toes are on the ground. Your whole right foot is on the ground. You're going to bring your left foot slightly to the side. Press with the right foot and your left hand. Inhale to lift. Squeeze your butt as you do so. Exhale down. A few more left. And lower. Up. And down. Take three more. Two. Last one. We're going to do a big transition here. Inhale to lift. Exhale, right hand down, right foot to the mat. Bend your elbows, chaturanga. Inhale up dog, engage your glutes. Exhale down dog, send your hips up and back. Good. Full inhale. Deep exhale. Breathe in, bend your knees to forward. Breathe out. You can walk or jump to the front of your space. Inhale, halfway lift. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, come all the way up. Exhale, hands onto your heart center. Take a few seconds to reset, hands next to you. Maybe you close your eyes. Notice how the body is feeling. We'll do the other side now. As you're breathing, reach your arms high. Lift your tippy toes. Lift over your tippy toes. Exhale for diver's pose. Hips back, torso forward, palms facing down. Keep your heels high. Take an inhale. Exhale, chair pose. Breathe in for diver's. Exhale, chair pose. Inhale, diver's. Exhale, chair. Last one. Inhale, diver's. Exhale, chair. Stay there. Lift the right foot off the ground. Breathe out, airplane crescent. Right foot going back, left foot going forward. Left knee on top of your left heel. Take an inhale. Reach your arms up. Exhale, back knee to a hover, arms in cactus. Inhale, up. And lower. Up and down. Three more. Two. Last one. Stay low. You can hold or lift the front heel of the mat. See how low you can bend the front knee. Stay for three, two, and one. Heel down. Inhale, lengthen arms. Exhale, twist to the left. Inhale to exhale. Left hand, right thigh. You can bend the back knee and sink a little deeper for more challenge on the balance. Take a deep inhale. Exhale, skandhasana, other side. Cartwheel around. Right toes towards the back, right corner. Bend the right knee, sit low. Again, both of your feet are on an angle in the outer edges of your mat. Try to resist the temptation of bringing the body weight onto the inside of your foot. Don't do that. Press it to the outside or flex your foot and turn your toes to the ceiling. Hands on your heart. And maybe you go up and down for five. Four, three, two. Stay at your lowest. Hold there for three, two, one. Send the body all the way forward. Frame your left foot. Take an inhale. Send the left leg all the way up and back, three-legged down dog. Exhale, lean forward, three-legged plank pose. Bend your left foot. Bring the left foot to the right side. Sit low. Left foot is fully on the ground. Right leg is lengthened. Pevel the right pinky toe to the mat. Take an inhale to lift. Exhale, lower. Feel more lift. Exhale, down. Inhale, up. Exhale, lower. Last one, up. Exhale, down. Inhale, lift. Exhale, close your shoulders, high plank. Lean forward, inhale. Exhale, chaturanga. Inhale, up dog. Exhale, child's pose. Deep inhale. Deep breath out. Two more rounds of breath here. And let it go. Good. We're going to do that once more. Breath to movement. As you inhale, slowly start coming into your downward-facing dog. Send your hips up and back. Exhale to find more length in your spine. Prepare. Inhale, bend your knees, look forward. Exhale, big jump forward. Inhale, halfway lift. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, mountain pose, arms high. Exhale, hands onto your heart center. Breathing, arms up, heels up. Exhale, diver's pose, torso forward, hands back. Inhale, stay here. Exhale, chair pose. Breathing, lift the left heel. Breathe out, airplane crescent. Inhale, arms up. Exhale, back knee to a hover. Inhale, up. Exhale, twist to the right. Inhale, exhale. Exhale, skandhasana, back of your space. Sit low. Breathing to stay. Breathe out. Inhale to look forward. Exhale, travel forward. Inhale, right leg up and back. Exhale, three-legged plank pose. Bend your left foot. Release the right foot behind the left. Sit low. Inhale to lift. Exhale to lower. One more lift. And lower. Inhale, lift. Exhale, flip around. You can take a vinyasa or press all the way up and back to downward facing dog. Forward in. And let it out. Inhale, bend your knees, look forward. Exhale, travel to the front of the mat. Inhale, halfway left. Exhale, forward fold. Inhale, come high. Exhale, hands onto your heart center. Breathing, arms up, heels up. Exhale, diver's pose. Torso forward, hands back. Turn your palms to face the ground. Breathing, stay here. Exhale, chair pose. Inhale, lift the left heel. Exhale, airplane crescent. Inhale, arms up. Exhale, back knee to a hover. Find your diver's pose. Take an inhale. Exhale, chair pose. Sit low. Breathing, arms forward. Breathe out, stay here. Inhale, lift the right heel up. Exhale, right foot back, airplane crescent. Inhale, arms up. Exhale, back knee to a hover. Breathing up. Exhale, twist to the left. Inhale, exhale, lean back. Exhale, skandhasana, back of your space. Sit low. Breathing to look forward. Breathe out, travel forward. Inhale, left leg goes up and back. Exhale, three-legged plank pose. Shoulders over wrists, bend your left knee. Left foot behind the right. Sit low. Inhale to left. Exhale to lower. Breathe in, lift. Breathe out, lower. Inhale, left. Exhale, close your shoulders. Last vinyasa. Inhale, up dog. Exhale, child's pose. Take a few seconds here. Notice your heart. Walk your hands closer to your knees and find yourself in a kneeler position, hero pose. Bring one hand in your heart, one hand in your belly. And just notice your breath here. Maybe closing your eyes. Deep breath in. Let it go. Last inhale. Slowly rock your hips to one side. Swipe the feet to the front of your space. Lengthen your legs. Flex your toes. Inhale to reach your arms up. Exhale, hands right in front of you. Slowly, with control, start lowering all the way down on the ground. Once you're down on the mat, take an inhale and reach your right foot up to the sky. Point your left toes and pull the right leg as close as it can to you. Option to draw circles with your right ankle, one direction, and the other. Slowly start grabbing the outside of your right foot, or your calf. Bend your right knee. Try and bring your right knee to your right armpit for a half heart breathing. Good. You can stay here. You can also bend the other knee to give you more support, or if this feels good and you want more, you can kick the right foot to the right side of your space while keeping your left hip on the ground. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Inhale, bring it to center. Exhale, send the right knee to the left side of your space. Open arms in T, looking at the right side. Deep inhale. Deep breath out. Inhale to center. Release that foot to the front and bring the left leg back to you. Again, you can do rotations with the top foot as your bottom foot is pointed. Slowly grab the outside of your leg. Bend your knee. Bring the left knee to your armpit for half heart breathing. Foot is flexed. If that felt good and you want more, you can kick the foot fully to the left side, keeping your toes flexed and trying to pull your toes towards your shoulder. Take a deep inhale. Deep breath out. Last breath in. Slowly bring your foot back into center. Slowly bring your foot back into center. Grab the outside of your left leg with your right hand. Guide the left leg all the way to the right side of your space. Arms open in a T and looking at the other side. Deep breath in. Let it go. Last inhale. Breathe out to come out of that pose. And start finding your Shavasana, last resting pose. Your legs resting right next to you, falling to the ground. Shoulders resting. Close your eyes. And enjoy this pose. Thank you so much for practicing with me. If you enjoyed this video and you would like to see more, download our app, Yoga Plus. See you in my next video. 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