How I Met My Bum: The Importance Of Glute Strength In Yoga

My bum and I were friends. We'd walked the planet for decades; always together, always knowing each other was there. I admired her often, she always looked so strong and capable. But as it turns out, I never really knew her. At least not in the way I'd like for any of my movement practices.

We've always enjoyed the same things; Netflix on the couch, laying on the beach, yoga, going to the gym. And maybe it was the ease of these common interests that helped me to just cruise along, trusting she'll always get the job done, without ever really knowing her... Maybe I just didn't try hard enough because she was strong and capable, and didn't really need my advice.

But the day I actually met my bum, my yoga practice changed forever!

I'd been getting knee pain, especially when I trained in the gym. A much younger me had surgery on both knees and from time to time the pain felt identical to how I remembered it. I came home from a workout one day crying, feeling super anxious, fearing I might need to have another surgery. So I went to my physio to get advice. He recommended strengthening everything around my knees. Focus on finding a good PT and start from the beginning. And so my journey with Ed from Odyssey began; a journey that would change my gym life, my yoga life and ultimately bring my bum right into my life.

My booty was strong but there were imbalances. We started isolating them, building strength into my legs - especially the glutes. I've always had power, the years of ballet made sure of that. So I always got by with a little extra ootz ootz from the booty. But what I didn't have was any idea where that power should come from. Ed put me on a squat routine; very slowly, very deliberately isolating the deficiencies and building up a better understanding of how my body works. I NEVER expected the impact this training would have on my Yoga practice!

Fast forward to class and every standing and balancing posture felt stronger, steadier. Inversions and arm balances got a complete makeover. The more time I spent working on her, the more awareness I gained. It honestly felt like I'd met my bum for the very first in my life 😂 And I put her to work in every possible moment of my yoga practice.

It kicked off a new appreciation for the importance of glute strength in yoga. While I won't tell you what to do in the gym (that's what the Eds of the world are for), I can most certainly share my top ways to strengthen your glutes, improve your practice and grow a power booty with yoga.

Here are 3 simple things you can do in every practice to build a strong bum and take your yoga to new levels:

• Focus on engaging your bum in every standing posture.
  Whether it's a Warrior variation, a standing balance like Utthita Hasta Padangustasana, or a Runner's Lunge, every time your leg is extended you have the golden opportunity to squeeze your bum. Engaging the glute will not only strengthen it, it will also charge up your hamstrings and all the stabilising muscles around your hips. You'll go from one of those wobbly inflatable tube men, dancing around outside the car dealership, to an ancient tree, anchored to the earth!
• Engage your bum in backbends.
  Some teachers may have told you to keep your glutes soft when going up into a backbend like Bridge or Wheel Pose. I beg to differ. Engaging your glutes in backbends builds strength in your back body, takes pressure off your lower back and encourages the front of your hips to open. This doesn't mean that you have to clench your butt like you've just had a strong black coffee and are holding on for dear life... 😧 But think of at least 70-80% engagement of your glutes.
• Work your glutes when you go upside down.
  Ever tried to kick up into a handstand with floppy legs? Yeah, same. You probably look like the wobbly inflatable man again! Next time you're entering an inversion, do it by extending one leg up to the sky, driving from your glute. You can experiment with this in headstand, forearm stand or handstand. Once you've set your base, bring all of your attention to your lifted leg. Make it as long and strong as possible by lifting your knee cap, engaging your glute and quadriceps. Keep it like this while you take controlled hops to find your balance upside-down. Once you find the sweet spot, lift the other leg up and engage both glutes. Again think energy out through the feet, lengthening both legs upwards. This will help you to keep your balance when upside-down and in doing so keep your core engaged.

There's so much opportunity in your practice to build a strong bum. But with that being said, I'm a huge advocate of complimenting your practice with resistance training at the gym. If lifting weights is a big NO from you, message me and I'll try to convince you otherwise!

Now go practice and say hi to your glutes for me ♡