How to Strengthen Abs & Legs Seated in a Chair

Namaste. Let's begin our practice for today with a seated cat-cow stretch with your hands to your thighs. Inhale, gently arch your back, lifting through your chest, looking slightly up. Exhale, round your spine, drawing your chin towards your chest and your navel back. Continue wrapping this movement around your breath, moving your spine like a wave, stretching your spinal muscles along your back, your chest, and front of your shoulders as you open, and the back of your neck and upper back as you round. Release and return to center, moving into a knee tuck variation. Clasp your hands to the seat of your chair. Extend both legs forward, keeping your spine straight and your core engaged. Lean back at a slight angle, using your core to stabilize. On your exhale, draw one knee in towards your chest. Inhale, re-lengthen. Exhale, repeat on the opposite side. Continue flowing from right to left. Keeping your navel back towards your spine, lightly lifting through your lower belly, strengthening through your hip flexors, core, and quadriceps. Pause with both legs extended, moving into a leg lift variation. Begin to alternate lifting your legs from right to left, keeping your legs straight and strong, strengthening through your hip flexors, core, and quadriceps, while toning through your lower abs. Adding on, lift one leg up, out to the side and back to center and repeat on the opposite side. Continue alternating right and left, keeping your legs engaged, your spine long and your navel back towards your spine. Feeling this movement activate your deep core muscles. Pause with both legs extended cross your arms out in front of your chest keeping your core strong lightly drawing your navel in and up while cinching in all the way around your waist slowly and with control lean back slightly and then use your abs to return to upright as you continue with this movement work to keep your back from arching feeling your spine straight and your navel back Strengthening through the front, back, and sides of core while improving your posture. For more of a challenge, reach your arms overhead. Maintaining the position of your spine, cinching in all the way around your waist. Strengthening through your abs, obliques, and low back. Pausing, step your feet back to center and cross your arms out in front of your chest. Inhale, re-lengthen your spine. Exhale, gently twist. Inhale at center, exhale, repeat on the opposite side. Continue gently rotating from right to left, keeping your spine long and your navel back towards your spine, allowing this twisting action to originate from your waist, working through your obliques. Release and return to center, closing our practice for today. Placing your hands in prayer position, allowing a moment to honor yourself. Namaste. Now that was good.