💪 🧘 1-Hour Hatha Yoga for Upper Body: Build Strength, Improve Mobility & Flexibility

🔥 💪 Build upper body strength, improve mobility, and increase flexibility with this 1-hour Hatha Yoga practice. This well-rounded session focuses on the shoulders, arms, and chest, balancing effort and ease through breath and mindful movement. Feeling grateful? You could buy me a smoothie 🍓🥤♥️ https://buymeacoffee.com/theplantpowe... 🖐️ Hasta Bandha – The Hand Lock Throughout this practice, we engage Hasta Bandha, the energetic lock of the hands. By spreading the fingers wide and pressing through the fingertips and knuckles, we create a stable, supported foundation — essential for poses like Plank, Dolphin, and Crow. This subtle alignment protects the wrists, activates the arms, and connects the whole upper body to the ground. Hand Alignment Tips: 1. Place your hands shoulder-width apart, creating a strong and balanced foundation. 2. Orient your hands so that your middle fingers point straight forward, parallel to the longer edge of your mat—this helps align your wrists, elbows, and shoulders. 3. Spread your fingers wide, pressing evenly through the fingertips and knuckles to lift the center of the palm (Hasta Bandha). 4. Keep wrists neutral and avoid collapsing inward or outward. Key poses and benefits for the upper body: Shoulder & Chest Openers • Open Wing Pose – releases tension in the chest, shoulders & biceps • Reverse Prayer / Cow Face Arms – improves shoulder mobility & posture • Bridge Pose (fingers interlaced) – opens the chest and strengthens the upper back • Wheel Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana) – deep heart opener that strengthens arms, shoulders & spine Arm & Wrist Strengtheners • Plank & Forearm Plank – builds foundational strength in arms, shoulders & core • Reverse Tabletop – strengthens arms, wrists & upper back • Dolphin Pose – builds shoulder strength and stability • Crow Pose (optional) – enhances upper body strength and balance Spinal Mobility & Twists • Thread the Needle (from Tabletop) – opens upper back and space between shoulder blades • Supine Twist – decompresses the spine and calms the nervous system • Bow Pose – deep backbend that opens the front body and strengthens the back Recovery & Integration • Child’s Pose – softens the spine and grounds the nervous system • Happy Baby – gently releases the hips and lower back • Reclined Butterfly – invites softness and deep rest • Shavasana – integration and full-body relaxation 🔔 Subscribe for more yoga, plant-based recipes, and mindful movement 👍 Like the video if it helped you feel more open and grounded 💬 Let me know how this practice felt for you in the comments! #yoga #hathayoga #upperbody