Keep your legs happy (and healthy)!

Legs help us to get around each day, and we need to show appreciation and take care of them—and it does not have to be difficult. One way to help improve your leg health is through yoga.

Yoga is a relaxing yet effective way to help focus on specific parts of your body and bring more awareness to how they are feeling. If you are not moving your legs enough, now is your chance to give them some love. It is helpful to pay more attention to your body and prevent future issues—and even alleviate current issues.

Increased Leg Strength

Yoga helps with strength by utilizing your body's resistance. Standing yoga poses, in particular, are good for leg strength because your weight is shifting between your feet.

An example of a pose that emphasizes leg strength is the chair pose. You will especially feel this one in your thighs. Stand with your feet together and your arms at your sides. As you inhale, raise your arms to the sky. Exhale and bend your knees so you are in a "seat" position. Your knees should extend a bit, but not too much, in front of your feet. Look up towards your hands.

If you want stronger legs, try yoga. You can start by trying the chair pose, but I recommend following along with a yoga video or taking an in-person class.

Better Balance

Strength plays into balance, and the chair pose mentioned above can also help improve your balance. One of the main focuses of yoga is mindfulness. Use your mind to notice how your body is feeling, and focus on being able to balance yourself.

Yoga has poses that involve standing or putting weight on one leg; however, balance remains a focus in other aspects of yoga such as transitioning through poses. Practicing yoga will help to improve your overall stability, and thus, your leg health.

Reduced Swelling

The waterfall pose is particularly helpful with this. This is considered a recovery pose, which is great for post-workout. After a long hike or hitting the slopes, or if your legs simply need it, try this pose out. This can help to ease the swelling of the legs and feet and can even help if you experience varicose veins.

In the waterfall pose, you begin by lying down, arms outstretched, with your legs planted in front of you. Proceed to lift your hips into the air. (Place a yoga block at your lower back for added support.) Bring each leg to your chest slowly and one at a time. Once you are here, slowly straighten both legs into the air. If you need to keep a bend in them, you should. Remember, a large part of yoga is about listening to your body. Take some deep breaths here. When it is time to come out of it, bend your legs back down to the ground. 

Flexibility

One of the more obvious benefits of yoga is that it helps to improve flexibility. I tend to feel stiff pretty often, especially in my legs, and I am working on becoming a more limber person through yoga. Downward facing dog is a pretty well-known yoga stretch, and it is great for stretching the calves and hamstrings. Aside from discomfort, tight muscles can make it more difficult to use them to their full capacity. If you wish to improve the quality of your legs, flexibility will help you with other aspects of movement. There are many leg stretches you can do through yoga. Give them a try!

If your legs need some love, yoga is a great place to start. I've always said my legs are the weakest part of my body, so I have started taking yoga classes myself. I am excited to see where yoga can take me in terms of overall wellness—specifically, leg health.

So, if you are experiencing trouble with strength, balance, swelling, or flexibility, give yoga a try!