How To Tone Abdominal Muscles: 6 Yoga Poses For Abs

Short answer: to tone your abdominal muscles with yoga, practise poses that make your abdomen work to hold you steady: mountain pose, downward facing dog, chair pose, triangle, plank, leg raises and, later, shoulderstand. Hold each pose with steady breathing, and practise at least twice a week. Yoga makes the abdominal muscles stronger and improves posture, but no exercise burns fat from the tummy alone, so a flatter stomach also depends on your overall activity and food.

• Muscles worked: all four abdominal muscles, not only the “six pack”.
• Best known ab pose: plank. A small 2017 muscle activity study found it worked the front and side abdominal muscles more than the other yoga poses tested.
• No gym needed: the poses use your own body weight, and props make them easier for beginners.

By Christine Lalor, senior Iyengar yoga teacher, Flametree Yoga Studio.

Most people think of yoga as helping to make them fit, flexible and calmer. Yoga poses for abs are not what comes to mind! It often comes as a surprise to find that, while practising the poses, they get a solid yoga ab workout as well.

Many of the poses, like mountain pose, triangle pose, plank pose, downward facing dog, chair pose and shoulderstand, will strengthen your core when done regularly. They tone the abdominal muscles either directly or indirectly.

When you are ready to move on from beginners, you get to practise many more poses that also strengthen your abdominal muscles.

Strong abdominal muscles help your posture and support your lower back. Many students with back pain find that careful core work helps; see yoga for lower back pain.

For me, strengthening my core has also given me confidence. You learn how to stand up straight and face the world.

And no gym is needed to get an ab workout. It is one more reason I love doing yoga.

The four main abdominal muscles

When we talk about toning the abdominal muscles, we mean 4 muscles that wrap around the middle of the trunk. Almost all yoga poses for abs work through these muscles.

The 4 main abdominal muscles that we engage to varying degrees in any yoga practice are:

• Rectus abdominis (the “six pack”), running up the front of the abdomen.
• External obliques, at the sides, which help you twist and bend sideways.
• Internal obliques, under the external obliques.
• Transversus abdominis, the deepest, which wraps around the waist like a corset.

1. Mountain pose (Tadasana)

Mountain pose is the central standing pose that teaches us how to stand correctly. It brings firmness, strength and stability.

You will do it from your first beginner yoga class, and it never stops being useful. You work all of the abdominal muscles shown in the picture above, lifting the front of the body and firming the sides of the waist.

A block placed between the inner thighs tones the inner thighs. It helps the pelvic floor, and starts to connect you to your core abdominal muscles.

Tadasana (mountain pose), with a block between the inner thighs.

2. Downward facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Dog pose is a basic weight bearing pose that strengthens the arms, stretches the hamstrings, and works the abdominal muscles.

1. Come up into it from hands and knees, with your hands shoulder width apart.
2. Press your hands down, exhale, and lift your chest and the sides of your waist up towards your hips.
3. Then stretch back, pressing your heels towards the floor.

In the picture below, notice how the belly is drawn in. The abdominal muscles are working.

Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward facing dog).

3. Chair pose (Utkatasana)

Chair pose is excellent for toning the abdominal muscles and the back of the body.

1. Start in mountain pose, and raise your arms.
2. Exhale, bend your knees and lower your trunk.
3. Keep your weight in your heels and fill out your back.
4. Steady your breath, then inhale to come up.

Chair pose naturally makes you draw in and use your abdominal muscles.

Utkatasana (chair pose).

4. Triangle pose (Utthita Trikonasana)

In triangle pose, you learn to keep both sides of the trunk long, which stretches, turns and tones the side abdominal muscles (the obliques).

In the yoga tradition, triangle is also said to help the abdominal organs and digestion.

Utthita Trikonasana (triangle pose).

5. Plank, and leg raises (Urdhva Prasarita Padasana)

Plank, holding your body in a straight line on your hands and toes, is the best known ab pose. In a 2017 study that measured muscle activity in four yoga poses, plank made the front abdominal muscle and the obliques work harder than chair pose, upward facing dog or warrior 1 (Beazley and colleagues, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 2017, doi 10.1016/j.ctcp.2017.09.009). It was a small laboratory study of healthy adults, so it shows which muscles work, not how much stronger you get. Beginners can do plank with the knees down, or with the hands on a chair.

The leg raise below is the other classic yoga ab workout. There are easy and harder versions of it.

1. The easier version is to lie on your back and place a belt around your feet at the start.
2. Learn to straighten your legs as you raise them.
3. Press the back ribs and pelvis down.
4. As you become more experienced, your arms can go over your head, and you can hold some weight, like a bolster, on your arms.

If you have a sore lower back, bend your knees, or ask your teacher for a supported version.

Urdhva Prasarita Padasana (leg raise). It can be done with bent or straight legs.

6. Shoulderstand (Salamba Sarvangasana), for later

Shoulderstand at Buley Rockhole, Litchfield National Park.

Shoulderstand works the abdominal muscles strongly: without them, the belly would sag towards the floor. In the yoga tradition it is also known for opening the shoulders and calming the mind. See shoulder stand benefits.

Learn shoulderstand with a teacher, using blankets to protect the neck. It is not for everyone: take advice first if you have neck problems, high blood pressure, glaucoma, or are pregnant, and many women skip it during their period. As you become more experienced, you will learn to come into it from plough pose (Halasana).

Can yoga give you a flat stomach?

Yoga makes the abdominal muscles stronger, and better posture helps the belly look flatter. But no exercise burns fat from one spot. In a small 2011 trial, 6 weeks of daily sit-ups and other abdominal exercises made people’s abdominal muscles more enduring, but did not reduce their belly fat (Vispute and colleagues, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2011, doi 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181fb4a46). Fat around the middle depends on your overall activity and food.

For more on yoga and weight, see mindful eating and weight. For how much strength yoga builds, see can yoga build muscle? and yoga for strength.

Build up slowly, with easy introductory poses

There are many more poses in beginner classes that tone and strengthen your abdominal muscles, but these 6 are a good start.

There are versions of all of these poses for every level of yoga. In beginner yoga, you learn easy, preparatory versions, sometimes with props.

Remember, you do not need to be flexible or fit to start yoga. Over time, you will steadily build your skills and move on to fuller versions. Whatever version you are doing, you get the benefit of that version of the pose.

How often? A 2026 American College of Sports Medicine review of strength training found strength improves most with at least two sessions a week (Currier and colleagues, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2026, doi 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003897). Two or three yoga classes a week, with a little practice at home, is a good rhythm.

Start or restart yoga, including yoga poses for abs

Flametree’s beginner classes run at Woolner and Coolalinga in Darwin, and live online. There are also optional gentler classes, like Gentle Yoga, Yoga For Backs and Restorative Yoga. See them all in the beginner timetable.

Try yoga for abs at Flametree

• New to Flametree? Your first class is free. In Darwin, just come along to the studio. Online, click the class time you want and we email you the link to join (get your link to join here). See the beginner timetable.
• Keep going at half price. The beginner deal is 10 classes at half price plus 2 more free, $59.50 in total, in the studio, online or both. No discount code, and a 14-day money-back guarantee. For newcomers and anyone away three months or more.
• Already practising yoga? The non-beginner half price 10 pass with 2 free is $104.50, no code needed. See the non-beginner timetable.

Yoga for abs: common questions

How do you tone your abdominal muscles with yoga?

Hold poses that make the abdominal muscles work to keep you steady: mountain pose, downward facing dog, chair pose, triangle, plank and leg raises. In Iyengar yoga you learn to firm and lift the abdomen in each pose, which trains all four abdominal muscles, not only the six pack.

Can yoga give you a flat stomach?

Yoga can make the abdominal muscles stronger and improve posture, so many people look and feel flatter in the middle. But no exercise burns fat from one spot: a 2011 trial found 6 weeks of daily sit-ups improved abdominal endurance but did not reduce belly fat. Overall activity and food matter for fat.

What are the four abdominal muscles?

The rectus abdominis (the six pack, running up the front), the external and internal obliques (at the sides, which help you twist and bend sideways), and the transversus abdominis (the deepest, which wraps around the waist like a corset).

Is plank pose good for your abs?

Yes. In a 2017 muscle activity study of four yoga poses, plank made the front abdominal muscle and the obliques work harder than chair pose, upward facing dog or warrior 1. Beginners can start with the knees down, or hands on a chair.

Is yoga a good ab workout for beginners?

Yes. Beginner Iyengar classes use easy versions of these poses, with props such as blocks, belts and chairs, so you can build abdominal strength gradually without needing to be fit or flexible first.

How often should I do yoga to strengthen my abs?

Regular practice matters more than long sessions. A 2026 American College of Sports Medicine review found strength training improves most with at least two sessions a week, and many students do two or three yoga classes a week, with short practice at home in between.

Should I do yoga poses for abs if I have lower back pain?

Many people with back pain find that gentle core work helps, but some poses, such as full leg raises, can strain a sore back. Tell your teacher first and start with supported versions. See Flametree’s yoga for lower back pain page.

Where can I do yoga for abs in Darwin or online?

Flametree teaches beginner Iyengar yoga at Woolner and Coolalinga in Darwin, and live online. If you are new, your first class is free. See the beginner timetable.