Many simple and easy yoga exercises can help you tone your legs. The Women's Heart Foundation adds that yoga can also improve muscle strength and flexibility. Take yoga exercises to a challenging but not painful place. Breathe deeply through the nose while you practice yoga.
Flowing Chair Pose
You can hold the Chair Pose for five to seven breaths or try moving in and out of it. To get into the Chair Pose, bend your knees, then sink your hips back. Imagine that you're trying to find the seat of a chair. If you peek at the floor, you should at least see your toes. You'll feel a little more weight in your heels, and your outer thigh muscles should feel contracted. Try to keep your knees and feet parallel throughout the pose. Raise your arms straight out in front of you, or for more intensity, as straight toward the ceiling as possible. Inhale as you come back up to standing and swing your arms in a circular motion back to your sides. Exhale as you sink back into the Chair Pose and raise your arms up. Do three sets, with each set lasting about 30 seconds.
Three-Legged Downward Facing Dog
Yoga Journal writer and yoga instructor Jason Crandell says the basic Downward Facing Dog is a complex pose that works the entire body. To get more focus on the legs in the pose, try raising a leg, creating a "three-legged dog." Start on your hands and knees. Lift your hips into the air so you're now on the balls of your feet. Your body should look like an upside-down V shape. Press your left heel toward the floor and raise your right leg to where you feel your right hamstring contract. Try to keep your right hip from rotating out and up; rather, square your hips down as if you were still on your hands and knees. Hold the leg up high for seven breaths, then switch legs. For a variation, try raising each leg up, then tapping the foot to the ground up to 10 times.
Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose
The Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose can strengthen your legs while challenging your balance and flexibility. Avoid locking the knees while in balance poses. Start with raising your knee toward your chest. Wrap your index and middle fingers around your big toe and press your ring and pinkie fingers into the base of it. Your thumb can rest on the top of your toe. Try extending your leg straight in front of you. Hold this for five breaths, then stretch your leg to your right. It's fine to keep a deeper bend in the knee if the leg muscles are very tight. Hold your leg out for five breaths, then bring it back to your starting position. Do your best to maintain a good posture as you practice the pose.
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