How Do We Map Strength Onto Yoga Poses?

As we often write about, strength training and yoga are a movement modality match made in heaven! Each practice complements the other perfectly.

And when we build strength through strength training exercises, we directly improve our yoga asana practice.

Let's look at an example of a unique yoga asana through our Strength for Yoga lens and identify some specific strength exercises to support it.

Twisting big toe pose: How could we support this yoga asana through strength training?

Twisting big toe is a standing, single-leg balance pose in which we rotate our torso toward our lifted leg as we reach our arms wide:

Here are two relatively uncommon strength exercises we'd choose to support twisting big toe pose.

(These exercises – and 400+ more! – are included in our Strength for Yoga exercise database, which our Remote Group Training members have access to, by the way!)

Exercise #1: Hockey Deadlift

This is an under-the-radar version of a deadlift that we're big fans of!

In the hockey deadlift, we start with the weight on the floor by our side (instead of in front of us, like a normal deadlift).

Then we rotate our torso toward the weight and hip hinge down, pick up the weight, rotate toward the other side, and place the weight down.

This deadlift variation complements twisting big toe pose in two ways:

It involves a similar trunk rotation to twisting big toe pose
When we pick up the weight on one side like this, the lower body load is biased toward that single leg and its lateral hip muscles. This supports the same lateral hip work that happens in the standing leg of twisting big toe!

Exercise # 2: Supine Windshield Wiper

This exercise targets rotational core strength.

We start by lying on our back with our arms wide and our legs reaching up toward the sky.

Then, keeping our opposite shoulder on the floor, we lower our legs down toward one side, return to center, and repeat on the other side.

Because we move through a full range of trunk rotation in this exercise, we target spinal rotation flexibility as much as we target strength here! This directly carries over into the rotation we perform in twisting big toe pose.

Additionally, the straight legs in this exercise mimic the straight leg we reach for in twisting big toe pose!

(Just FYI: The version of supine windshield wiper we've featured here is an advanced one; to make it more accessible, we can perform the same exercise with the knees bent 90°. 👍)

Want to learn more about mapping strength exercises onto yoga poses?

We cover the biomechanics of 18 foundational yoga asanas in our book, Strength Training for Yoga!

In this book, we analyze...

Which muscles do the main work in the yoga pose?
Which muscles support that main work?
Which muscles oppose the main work in the pose?

We then use this information to choose 48(!) strength exercises that support these 18 foundational yoga asanas.

These 48 exercises are divided up into two 4-week phases to create the strength training section of our book.

Learn about the biomechanics of yoga poses 🤓 AND build strength with us 💪 in our book, Strength Training for Yoga!

Order now!