7 Best Yoga Poses for Strong Abs to Quickly Strengthen your Core

These 7 best yoga poses for strong abs are amazing strong core exercises that you can do quickly from your home with no equipment!

As a mom of two, I’ve learned that core strength is incredibly important for my overall strength and my day-to-day life. Lifting a 35 pound toddler multiple times a day is no easy feat! And, when your core strength is lacking, you can easily feel it in other places—it can lead to lower back pain, poor posture and make it easier for you to get injured. All which we’d like to avoid!

The good news is that building strong abs and a strong core doesn’t mean you have to sit around and do 100 crunches a day or hit the gym for hours at a time. Because honestly, who has time for that anyway?

These yoga poses for strong abs can help you build your core strength, and build it fast. They are great for anyone who is a beginner in yoga, or for someone who has a regular practice. Best of all, you can do them from the comfort of your own home—with or without a yoga equipment.

You can practice these yoga poses on their own by holding them for 30 seconds each (I’d recommend moving through the sequence 2-3 times), or work them into your regular yoga practice. With regular practice, you’ll notice that your core and ab strength improves greatly.

A strong core will help protect your back and make daily movements, even sitting at a desk for hours more comfortable. Try these 7 best yoga poses for abs for a week and watch your core strength transform!

7 Best Yoga Poses for Strong Abs to Quickly Strengthen your Core

1. Plank

Planking might look simple, but it’s a challenging move that ignites your core strength and helps to build it fast. That’s because this exercise doesn’t just target one area, but all areas of your core. That makes it one of the best strong core exercises you can do for building all-over strength. Just a minute of planking a day can go a long way in building incredible strong abs and core.

For new moms, this is a quick easy workout that can help to reduce back pain and discomfort from holding your baby all day long. Always check with you doctor to make sure you’re cleared for postpartum exercise before starting any new routine.

2. Side Plank

The perfect follow up to a plank is a round of side planks on both your left and right side. Side plank strengthens 3 different muscle groups at once and builds the strength around your spine to keep it strong and protected.

If you struggle with balance, these exercises for strong abs will help with your balance.

3. Dancer

Dancer is a great strong core exercise for toning your abs, arms, ankles and legs. It also helps to open up your hip flexors and chest.

Keep your core tight and breathe throughout the pose. Focus on keeping your hips even and square to the ground—avoid opening them to the side as this can overstretch your body. This is another great yoga pose for building overall core strength that aids in balance.

4. Boat Pose

Make sure to keep your abs tight and don’t crunch your neck or lower back. There’s several variations, so feel free to adjust as you get stronger! If this is too hard, try keeping your legs bent so that they’re parallel to the ground, or gently support them by reaching behind your knees until you feel strong enough to let go.

5. Warrior III

There’s warrior I & II, but warrior III is definitely the most challenging of them all and gives you a great ab and butt workout. Remember to breathe through this strong core exercise and not hold your breathe.

This yoga pose will strengthen your core, your booty, your legs and ankles. It’s a great one for building core strength and good balance.

6. Wheel Pose

Wheel pose is a great one for strengthening your abs and your whole body. Start by laying on your back with your feet about a fist-distance from your bum. Place your hands next to your ears and inhale. On your exhale, push up into wheel pose.

Once you’re in the position you can challenge yourself by pushing up onto your toes, or even taking each leg and pointing it to the sky for a few breathes.

When you’re down, lower yourself down gently to avoid hurting your back.

7. Headstand

This headstand pose is definitely a more challenging pose, but is so good for toning and strengthening your abs. Having a strong core is key to getting your legs above your head and keeping them there.

Start by doing this against a wall so you don’t fall over and hurt yourself. This is a pose that you will likely need to work up to. Make sure to keep your arms and shoulders tight and close to your head to avoid putting too much pressure on your neck.

Start by pulling your knees into a ball and resting them over your head. You can try putting one leg up at a time. Just do what feels good and focus on your core while you’re doing this practice.

I love that you can do yoga at home, so it fits into your busy routine. Often times, I only have a few minutes to get in some movement and I love that this yoga at home workout is really targeted and effective in a short period of time.

Practice these ab exercises at home for 30 seconds a piece, and do 2-3 rounds of them a day to see a major difference in your core strength, abs and balance. Pair yoga and meditation for a combination that not only strengthens your body, but your mind as well.

BTW, 4-step energy-shifting morning routine, and 9 early postpartum exercises every mom needs to try.