Yoga is an accessible, low-impact exercise that requires very little equipment. It's best-known as being a practice that can boost your flexibility and help you unwind—but these aren't the only benefits of yoga. It can also help you build strength and stretch out tight areas of your body.
This short, beginner-friendly routine targets your hamstrings, easing any stiffness in the area. It comes from The Body Coach instructor Lucy Sesto and only takes 15 minutes to complete.
Watch Lucy Sesto's yoga workout
This routine is a 'yoga flow,' which means that you will do a series of poses in a sequence, co-ordinating your movements with your breath. Watch the video above to see demonstrations of each move and follow along in real-time.
Benefits of this workout
Sesto says you may feel tightness in your hamstrings when doing the routine, but that's totally normal. A lot of people struggle with stiffness in this area, as hamstrings can become tight with our sedentary lifestyles.
Stretching regularly with routines like this one will help prevent muscle tightness and pain. It will also improve your mobility—the range of motion you have in your joints. The purposeful, deep breathing element of yoga can also help you feel calmer.
As well as stretching out your hamstrings, some of these poses will boost your balance and strengthen your legs. Single-leg yoga poses are particularly good for this, as they force you to bear weight in one limb.
If you're specifically trying to build strength in this area, we'd recommend that you try doing our yoga for leg strength routine. This will encourage you to work exclusively on one leg, tiring out your glutes, quads, calves and more.
Need some help picking out a new mat? Our guide to the best yoga mats can help
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