What Muscle Groups Are Targeted When Doing Yoga? Which Body Parts Benefit the Most?

Yoga for fitness and strength building

What muscles are we training when doing yoga?

Depending on the sport you do, certain areas of the body will be worked harder than others, but what about when you do yoga? Will you tone and refine your figure by doing yoga? Below is a list of the muscles and muscle groups strengthened and sculpted by yoga!

Upper limbs (shoulders, arms and forearms)

• Shoulder muscles: These are the muscles that link the arm to the rest of the body. These include the rotator cuff muscles (subscapularis, infraspinatus, piliatorum, supraspinatus) and the trapezius, deltoid, grand dentle and angular muscles. These muscles provide mobility for the arms and shoulders (rotation, elevation).
• The biceps: These muscles are located on the front of the arm and are surrounded by two joints (scapulohumeral, elbow). The biceps comprise two muscles (long biceps and short biceps) which help flex and rotate the arms.
• The triceps : Located on the inside of the arm, they comprise three muscles (the vastus lateralis, the vastus medialis and the long head of the triceps) which complement the flexor role of the biceps brachii. The triceps allow the forearm to be extended.

Trunk and pelvis (Chest, stomach and back)

• The abdominal muscles: These are made up of several layers of muscle(rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, transverse), whose function is to flex and rotate the trunk.
• The muscles of the back : The back groups together more muscles such as the trapezius, the dorsalis major, the rhomboids, the infraspinatus and the round muscle. These muscles play a variety of roles. From the dorsal to the lumbar muscles, they ensure the mobility of the arms and shoulder, maintain posture and protect the spine.

Lower limbs (buttocks, thighs and calves)

• The quadriceps: These are located at the front of the thigh. The quadriceps are each made up of 4 muscles (the vastus femoris or rectus femoris, the vastus lateralis, the vastus medialis and the vastus intermedius). These muscles facilitate flexion of the thigh on the hip and extension of the leg on the thigh.
• The hamstring muscles: Located on the back of the thigh, there are four of these muscles(biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semitendinosus). They ensure flexion of the leg and extension of the thigh.
• Calf muscles: Also known as the sural triceps, the calf muscles are made up of 3 muscle groups, including the soleus and the gastrocnemius. These muscles help the foot to extend down the leg

Although yoga can be practised in a variety of ways, depending on the abilities of the participants, overall it helps to strengthen the whole body in a harmonious way. In general, the muscles of the legs (thighs, calves), shoulders and trunk (abs, back) are all strengthened.