Can Yoga Give You Six-Pack Abs?

Did the yoga industry overpromise you that you’d be destined to have washboard abs in your bikini this summer through just the right combination of yoga poses…this promise itself is cringey. You are not the first and won’t be the last. 

There is good news and bad news about working towards those sculpted rock hard abs on the cover of health magazines in your next vinyasa class. The good news is that, yes, many yoga poses and sequences will help strengthen your abdominal muscles aka your “six-pack”. The hard to hear news is that, no, practicing yoga or any isolated fitness practice will not necessarily make your abdominal muscles visible when you lift up your shirt. 

Core strength is super important and plays a beneficial role in pain relief and athletic pursuits, but having visible six-pack abs is actually not a great indicator of how strong your core is.

First, let’s acknowledge that there are many reasons why some people’s abdominals are visible while others aren't. Factors like diet, body composition, and genetics ultimately play a bigger role than how many sun salutations you can flow through. In reality, some people can tweak their diet, optimize their workout and voila—visible, perfectly chiseled abs, while others can do the same thing with totally different results. With that in mind, focusing on your own strength and progress will be a much more fruitful goal. The only way to break out of the cycle of comparison is to set the right goals and let go of the need to chase the elusive six-pack abs. 

Yoga can help you be happy in the body you have RIGHT NOW, and help you find fulfillment beyond aesthetic goals. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a six-pack. But the questions that yoga asks you are: “Why do you want a six-pack?”, “Will you feel better about yourself when you have visible abs?” and “What contentment can you find in the present?" Upon closer examination, you may find that goals like having a six-pack are keeping you from being happy in the present moment.

Developing core strength is a much more productive goal, and is absolutely something yoga can help you achieve.

Thankfully there are several effective ways to measure your personal abdominal strength without comparing your flexed belly staring back at you in the mirror with the images you see under #yoga on Instagram. 

Try tracking your progress with challenging core poses and corework. How long are you able to hold a balancing pose? Did you typically use the wall for tree pose and now you can grow your arms into branches and hold it until your leaves change colors? How many reps of eagle crunches are you able to do? Maybe you used to feel ready for savasana after one set and now you move through them with ease. How long can you hold plank? Maybe you used to only approach this pose with knees down and can now hold it for two minutes without your knees. Noticing your progress on core challenges is a great way to determine how your abdominals have strengthened with your yoga practice.

You’ll find that many yoga poses feel more effortless as your core strengthens. Since our core helps stabilize us, poses that used to feel grueling to hold may start to feel more accessible with a strong core. Planks and side planks are a great example of poses that may feel more effortless over time as your core strengthens with your yoga practice.

The best part about yoga is that not only will you gain core strength, but also release muscular tension, reduce stress and invite more mindfulness into your life. It can feel like a workout, deep tissue massage and emotional and mental therapeutic work rolled into one 45-minute lunch break.

If you’re interested in strengthening your abdominal muscles and learning more about core strength, check out our Core + Restore and Strong Spine + Core classes or book a private session to work on core strength with one of our instructors!