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You already know that core strength is crucial to your on a regular basis life. A powerful core—the muscles of your midsection, including your abdominals, obliques, and lower back—can maintain or improve your posture and will let you proceed to do the stuff you love with ease.

There’s also a psychological advantage to strengthening your core. Scientific research indicates that physical activity, including the kinds that make you are feeling physically strong, can enhance your self-esteem. This in turn alters the best way you perceive the world, which changes the style wherein you show as much as situations. In consequence, your life changes.

This supports what many yoga teachers have experienced and observed, which is that cultivating a way of inner strength can allow you to trust your inner wisdom in every situation, whether related to work or relationships. The arrogance and shift in perspective you gain from feeling in a different way matters.

8 yoga poses for core strength and confidence

Start by practicing these yoga poses for core strength one by one to find the way you respond and adapt to the strain. While you feel confident with the poses and the transitions in between them, you’ll be able to turn it right into a vinyasa practice by linking your movements together with your breath. Try moving through it at a pace of 1 breath per movement.

Start together with your preferred warm-ups and stretches. Chances are you’ll wish to incorporate a number of rounds of Sun Salutation A and Sun Salutation B.

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

1. Paripurna Navasana (Boat Pose)

Come to a seated position on the mat, bend your knees, and produce your feet to the mat. Lean back barely to balance in your seat, place your hands behind your knees or on the backs of your thighs, and lift your heels to knee level together with your lower legs parallel to the mat in Boat Pose. Keep your back straight and your gaze in your feet. Press your inner arches together and spread your toes. Stay here or straighten your arms. Draw your upper arm bones back and broaden across your chest. Engage your low belly and lift your chest toward the ceiling. Breathe.

See also: Boat Pose Made Easy

Photo: Andrew Clark

2. Plank Pose

From Boat Pose, cross your ankles, roll over your feet, and step back to Plank Pose together with your feet hip-distance apart and your shoulders over your wrists. Press the bottom of your fingers into the mat, soften your thoracic spine (upper and middle back), and hug your thumbs toward the middle of your mat. Extend your crown forward and reach your heels back. Lengthen your tailbone toward your heels and interact your low belly. In case you like, you’ll be able to try lifting one leg and hovering it above the mat or crossing at your ankles.) Breathe.

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

3. Vasisthasana (Side Plank Pose)

From Plank Pose, begin to shift your weight into your left hand and slowly roll to the left, coming onto the periphery of your left foot and stacking your heels. Slowly lift your right arm straight toward the ceiling in Side Plank. Press down into your left hand, broaden across your chest, and reach somewhat higher with each your right hand and your hips. Lift your gaze to your right hand. Slowly roll back into Plank and remain here for five breaths. Repeat on the opposite side.

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

4. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)

From Plank Pose, press your hips up and back into Downward-Facing Dog Pose. Push the tops of your thighs back as you bring your heels toward the ground in Downward-Facing Dog. Firm your shoulder blades against your back as you press through the bottom of your index fingers. You may walk it out here if you happen to’d like by bending one knee and straightening the opposite.

(Photo: Andrew Clark)

5. Plank Pose with Knee to Arm

From Downward-Facing Dog, on an inhalation, lift your right leg into Three-Legged Dog. Keep each hip bones squared to the earth and lift out of your inner right thigh. On an exhalation, move from core strength and shift your shoulders forward to the touch your right knee to your right tricep. Engage your low belly and lift your knee high up toward your armpit. Then in your inhalation, press your right leg up and back to return to a Three-Legged Dog. Lengthen out of your right wrist through your right heel. In your exhalation, shift forward and cross your right knee to your left elbow, keeping your navel drawing into your spine and squeezing your obliques. Inhale and lift back to Three-Legged Dog, lifting your right leg high.

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

6. High Lunge

From Three-Legged Dog, on an exhalation, use your core strength and to attract your knee forward toward your nose and curl your upper back as you gracefully step your right foot beside your right thumb. Ground down through all 4 corners of your right foot. Along with your left foot planted, in your inhalation, lift your arms and chest in High Lunge. Lengthen your tailbone toward the ground. Root down through your left foot, pulling your left heel toward the back of your mat and fascinating your inner thighs. Press through your right heel. Set your gaze, or drishti, straight ahead.

Add a twist by drawing your hands to heart center, inhale, and lift your chest to fulfill your hands. Exhale and twist, hooking your left upper arm over your right thigh. Proceed to make use of your breath, lengthening as you inhale, twisting as you exhale. Come back through High Lunge as you inhale and step back to Downward-Facing Dog. Switch sides and repeat, starting with Downward-Facing Dog.

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

7. Bakasana (Crow Pose or Crane Pose)

From Downward-Facing Dog, walk your feet toward your hands and are available right into a squat together with your big toes together and your knees wide. Place your hands on the mat, shoulder-width apart or barely wider, bend your elbows, and lift your seat as you hug your knees against the backs of your arms, as near your armpits as you’ll be able to manage. Keep your gaze forward in front of your fingers as you shift your weight forward and begin to lift your feet in Bakasana. Press the inner arches of your feet together and awaken your toes to interact your core. Step back to Downward-Facing Dog.

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

8. Supta Matsyendrasana (Supine Spinal Twist)

From Downward-Facing Dog, lower your knees to the mat, untuck your toes, and make your approach to your back. Lie down and draw your knees into your chest. Extend your arms straight out out of your shoulders and lower your knees to the left as you switch your head to gaze over your right shoulder. Inhale and breathe into your side body. Exhale and draw your navel back toward your spine. Slowly come through center and repeat on the opposite side.

See also: These 10-Minute Yoga Ab Workouts Will Torch Your Core