5 Postures to Burn Thanksgiving Calories

We hope your Thanksgiving was full of family, friends, good memories and delicious food! If you’re like us and had an extra helping (or two!) of your aunt’s famous pumpkin pie and are feeling a little weighed down, this blog post is for you. Here are five of our favorite asanas that target your body’s core to burn those extra calories — fast! 

Knee-to-Nose

This posture will fire up the muscles of your core, which includes the abs, obliques, spine and back. Working all of these muscles at the same time is extremely effective in burning calories. As an added bonus, this posture will also prepare your core for more advanced yoga postures and inversions! 

Instructions

• Start in Downward Facing Dog

• Lift your right leg in the air and level your hips

• Bend your leg and bring it as close to your head as possible

• Extend your leg back into the air

• Return to Downward Facing Dog

• Repeat with your left leg

Four-Limed Staff Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)

In addition to firing muscles of the core, Chaturanga will also help you tone your arm muscles and wrists. 

Instructions

• Begin in Forward Fold

• Place hands on the ground and step back into a High Plank

• Shift your weight forward, pinning your elbows to your side body

• Make sure that wrists are stacked directly below elbows

• Lower your body until arms and wrists form a 90-degree angle, making sure to keep shoulders above elbows

Bicycle Crunches

Bicycle crunches are all about the abs, obliques and hip flexors. These are the muscles that allow your body to bend, twist and tilt. 

Instructions

• Lie on your back with feet on the floor and hands behind your head

• Raise your knees above your body, creating a 90-degree angle

• Lift your head and touch your right elbow to left knee, while simultaneously straightening right leg

• Repeat on opposite side, touching left elbow to right knee while simultaneously straightening left leg

• Repeat for 60 seconds

Chair Pose

Talk about a full body workout… Chair Pose targets muscles in the legs, thighs, shoulders, chest, abs, back and shoulders— all at once!  

Instructions

• Begin in Mountain Pose

• Raise arms above head

• Fold your body forward, bringing your chest toward your thighs and keeping your arms in a straight line with your back

• Bend your knees and bring your hips back as if sitting in a chair

• Lift chest and extend through fingertips

• Hold for several breaths

Side Plank

This challenging pose works the core muscles in your abdominal and back. It also will help you train your core to help stabilize you in other advanced yoga postures. 

Instructions

• Lie on your right side, resting on your forearm

• Lift your hips off of the floor, maintaining a straight line through your body

• Hold for several breaths

• Repeat three times, alternating sides