When there’s something you don’t like about your body, there’s often a simple – if not easy – way to solve it. Weight wellness not what it should be? Change your exercise and eating habits. Stress making your skin sag? Take care of your wellbeing with better relaxation strategies. However, there’s one nasty little beauty problem that’s an absolute nightmare to get rid of; cellulite. One day you look in the mirror and those tiny bumps and lumps are creeping all over your legs and bum, and nothing you do seems to work. However, there is now a somewhat surprising solution to your cellulite problem; yoga. It may not seem like the obvious choice, but the right routine – and a bit of cardio – can target the areas most prone to dimpling, and free your bum and thighs from cellulite.
1. The standing forward bend: With your feet hip-distance apart, stand and hinge forward at your hips, making sure there’s a slight bend in your knees. As you let your head fall towards the ground, lay your chest on your upper thighs, engage your quadriceps muscles and slowly straighten your legs. Be sure that your knees don’t lock and your hips stay over the centre of your feet. Hold this pose for five to eight slow, deep breaths.
2. The chair pose: Standing with your feet together, big toes touching, and ankles slightly apart, bend your knees and set your hips back as if you’re sitting in a chair. At the same time, lift your chest up to the sky, reach your arms up by your ears and lengthen through the fingertips, keeping your shoulders relaxed and ab muscles held in. You should aim to make a 90-degree angle with your legs in the long run, but just sit back as far as you can until your flexibility improves. You back should be straight and your knees shouldn’t go past your toes. Before you stand up, hold this pose for five to eight breaths. Return to the starting position, and repeat another three times.
3. The eagle pose: Standing up, bend your knees slightly. Cross your right leg over your left leg high at the thigh, and then try to double cross it behind your left calf or ankle. Wrapping your right arm under your left and back over top, press your palms together. Then, sink lower while you squeeze your thighs tight and pull your belly to your spine, bending slightly at the knee and a bit forward at the waist. Hold this for five breaths, reverse your arms and legs, and repeat. If you’re finding the eagle pose too tricky, there are easier versions you can try. If the double leg cross is giving you trouble, just cross your legs once at the thigh and rest your top foot’s toes on the ground for balance. If you find double-crossing your arms too challenging, wrap under only and press the backs of your hands together, until your shoulders loosen up enough to do the full pose.
4. The warrior III pose: Stand with your feet together, point your left toe behind you, and tip your weight forward onto your right leg. Keeping your hands at your sides, continue to lift your left leg and drop your head and torso until you are in a straight horizontal line from head to toe. To ensure that your left thigh, hip, and toes (pointed or flexed) stay facing downward, many posers find it helpful to imagine balancing a tea cup on your lower back. Make sure that your right kneecap is lifted, but not locked, and your balance is centred mid-foot. Hold this pose for give breaths, slowly return to the standing position, then switch legs and repeat.
