Pavan-Muktasan
This is the first of our stomach exercising asanas and to perform this one you will first need to lie on your back. Use something to cushion your spine, preferably a yoga mat but a towel will work in a pinch. Start by bending your knees and bring them up to your chest so that your thighs are touching your stomach. Now take a deep breath and hold the position for thirty seconds before releasing and slowly lower back to the starting position. You can also do this exercise one leg at a time.

Bhujangasan
You need to stay on the floor for this stomach exercise but you will need to rollover onto your belly. Start by putting your hands under your shoulder like you’re getting ready to do a push-up. Without pushing with your hands, carefully raise your upper body off the mat, using only your back muscles, so that your head is up and you’re looking parallel with the ground. Hold this position for thirty seconds and then lower yourself back down. Even though you are primarily using your back muscles, you are also keeping constant tension on your core which in turn will help to reduce belly fat in your stomach area.

The Bow
The Bow is similar to the last asana we did but a little more complicated. You start by lying on your stomach just as before but in this one you curl your legs up while lifting your upper torso. Bend your knees so that the soles of your feet come up toward the back of your head. Now grab your ankles and pull with your hands until only the stomach is touching the mat. In-vision your body as a circle. Keep your knees together and hold this position for thirty seconds before returning to the starting position.

Paad-Pashchimottanasan
Don’t let the name scare you. The name of this asana is more complicated to pronounce than it is to perform. However a fair amount of flexibility is needed here. You want to start this one by lying on your back with your legs straight and your arms extended overhead. With your body straight from head to toe, point your palms to the ceiling and put your hands together. Use your stomach muscles to sit up. Keep your arms overhead and your back straight. Now bend forward and grab your toes. Bring your head down between your arms toward your knees. You want to hold this one for two minutes before releasing.

Crunchless Crunch
Although this exercise is pretty simple to do, it can be difficult for some. Essentially, you are trying to pull your belly button inward toward your spine. You may not be used to activating these muscles and again this may be difficult for some. These crunches can be done either laying down or from a kneeling position. Try both ways and see which feels better, or more effective for you. To begin, try and relax as much as possible. Then by using only the lower ab muscles, try and pull your belly button in toward your spine and hold this position for ten seconds to start.

Alternating Toe Touch
Lie on the floor for this next one using a mat or a towel to cushion your spine. With your feet up in the air, raise your right arm and grab your left foot. Do this by using only the lower abdominal muscles. Then slowly lower back down and repeat with the opposite hand and foot. Be sure to keep your knees straight. Also, you will want to keep some space between your chin and your chest.

Sit-Up Hold
While still on the floor, try this great stomach exercise. Place your feet flat on the ground and put your hands behind your head. Hold your elbows back so you can’t see them. You don’t want them along side your head. Now use the lower abs to lift your shoulders off the ground and hold this position for at least ten seconds. Be sure to use your abs and not your arms or neck to lift you off the floor.

Lower Back Flatten
This exercise makes for a natural progression from the previous exercise. Again, you start by lying down with your feet flat and knees bent. With this exercise you try to flatten your lower back to the floor so there is no space in between. The lower abdominal muscles come into play here as well. Once you’ve got your back flat on the floor, you will need to hold this position for ten seconds.

As you get stronger and develop more endurance you can increase the time held for all of the above exercises. This will greatly benefit the lower stomach region.

Vertical Leg Crunch
This is a version of the traditional crunch that centers more specifically on melting off stomach fat. To start this stomach exercise, first lie on your back on a flat surface, like the floor. Use a mat or towel to cushion your spinal column. Put your hands behind your head, with elbows out far enough that they’re out of view. Now raise your legs directly up into the air, crossing your ankles and bending your knees somewhat. Contract your abdominal muscles and bring up your shoulders, head and upper back up to approximately a thirty degree angle. Be mindful of not lifting with your hands or leading with your head.

Hip Lift
You’ll need to stay on your back for this stomach exercise. Use a mat or towel to cushion your spine. Put your arms at your sides with palms facing up to the ceiling. Put your legs straight up in the air so that the soles of your feet are facing up to the ceiling and your legs make almost a 90 degree angle with your torso. Keep your knees unbent and as straight as possible. Now, contract your abdominal muscles so that it looks like your navel is being forced toward your spine, while at the same time lightly lifting your hips off the floor. Elevate your hips to height of a few inches, keeping your legs extended straight upward. Hold this positioning, then slowly bring down your hips back to the floor. Repeat for an full set.

Long Arm Crunch
For this abdominal exercise, remain on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat. Lie back and extend your arms straight back on the floor like you’re reaching above your head. Contract your abdominal muscles and slowly raise your arms, head and shoulders off the floor to about a 30 degree angle. Hold it, then slowly bring down your shoulders back to the floor. Repeat for an full set. Be heedful not to lead with your arms, keeping them straight and alongside your head.

Plank
For this stomach exercise, you’ll need to lie on a flat surface, like the floor. You’ll be lying on your stomach, so you may want to use a mat or towel to cushion your knees. Prop your upper body up on your forearms so that your elbows make a 90 degree angle and are placed directly below your shoulders. Now lift your body up off the floor so that your lower body is supported by your toes, while your upper body stays supported by your elbows. Your body should essentially be a straight line, with no arch or drooping through your back. Keep this position for 20 seconds, then lower your body back to the floor. One repetition is sufficient.

Side Plank
This abdominal exercise is a variant on the previous one, and begins in the same beginning position. Once you’re posed properly, roll to your right side, keeping your torso supported with your right forearm. You will have to raise your hips and roll your feet so that your left foot gets on top of your right. As in the plank, your body will be a unbowed line, but this time you will be on one side. Place your left hand on your hip and hold the plank position for 5 seconds. Return to start and repeat on the left side.

Ball Roll
If you just rapidly glanced at the title, you may have gone to find a ball before reading on. If you did, you can go put it away, since in this abdominal exercise, you’re the ball! 1st, sit on the floor and hug your knees to your chest. Roll back slightly so you are balancing on your tail bone and your feet are off the floor, toes pointing downward. Pull your abdominals inward while rolling onto your lower back and the upper part of your butt. Contract your abdominals and pull yourself back to the beginning position. Loosening your arms up may help if you find this exercise too difficult at first.

Standing Crossover
As the name implies, you’ll need to stand for this stomach exercise. Put your feet a few inches apart. Put your arms out to the sides and bend your elbows at a 90 degree angle so your fingertips are aiming to the ceiling and your palm are facing forward. Compact your abdominals and lift your right knee toward your left elbow, while at the same time bringing your left elbow down toward your right knee. Touch the 2 joints together, pause, then return to start. Switch sides and repeat for an entire set.

Plank
For this stomach exercise, you’ll need to lie on a flat surface, like the floor. You’ll be lying on your stomach, so you may desire to use a mat or towel to cushion your knees. Prop your upper body on your forearms so that your elbows make a 90 degree slant and are placed immediately below your shoulders. Now raise your body up off the floor so that your lower body is supported by your toes, while your upper body continues to be supported by your elbows. Your body should essentially be a direct line, with no arch or sagging through your back. Hold this position for 20 seconds, then lower your body back to the floor. One repetition is sufficient.

Side Plank
This stomach exercise is a variant on the previous one, and begins in the same beginning position. Once you’re positioned properly, roll to your right side, keeping your torso supported with your right forearm. You’ll have to raise your hips and roll your feet so that your left foot gets on top of your right. As in the plank, your body will be a unbent line, but this time you’ll be on one side. Place your left hand on your hip and hold the plank positioning for five seconds. Return to start and duplicate on the left side.

Ball Roll
If you just speedily glanced at the title, you may have gone to find a ball before reading on. If you did, you can go put it away, because in that stomach exercise, you’re the ball! First, sit on the deck and hug your knees to your chest. Roll back somewhat so you’re balancing on your tail bone and your feet are off the floor, toes pointing down. Pull your abdominal muscles inward while rolling onto your lower back and the upper part of your butt. Compress your abs and pull yourself back to the beginning position. Relaxing your arms up may help if you find this drill too hard at first.

Standing Crossover
As the name implies, you’ll need to stand up for this stomach exercise. Place your feet a few inches apart. Put your arms out to the sides and bend your elbows at a 90 degree angle so your fingertips are aiming to the ceiling and your palm are facing ahead. Contract your abs and lift your right knee towards your left elbow, while at the same time bringing your left elbow down toward your right knee. Touch the two joints jointly, pause, then return to start. Switch sides and replicate for an entire set.

Side Bend
A simple exercise, side bends are also in all probability the best method for losing love handles. Start by standing upright. Locating your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees somewhat. Bring down your whole torso to one side, then back up to the other. Lean only side to side, not rear wards or frontwards.

Torso Twist
This stomach exercise is likewise good at concentrating on the love handles, and is beneficial to do right after the side bends in your program, as it’s also done in a standing position. Again, with feet shoulder width apart, slowly spin the body to one side, then to the other. The key here is to twist from your trunk, not from the hips. As much of the twisting work as conceivable should be done by your oblique muscles, not your hip flexors. Keep your body upright with no stooping.

Side Crunch
The next two stomach exercises call for you to get off your feet and lie down, preferably on the floor or other flat surface. Use a mat or towel as a shock absorber if you have a especially hard floor to work with. Lie on one side. For ease, let us say you’re on your right side to start. Bring in your right arm across your waist so that your right hand comes to rest on your left side. Touch your ear with the fingertips of your left hand, so that your left elbow joint winds up aiming directly up. Lift your shoulders off the floor while at the same time raising your left leg to peak of about twelve inches (30 cm). Contract your abdominal external oblique muscles as you do this. Hold for several seconds, then softly lie back down. Do this for an full set, then change over to the right side.

Seated Knee Drop
1st, position yourself on the floor so that you’re leaning on your hipbones (not sitting on your butt). You can put your hands on the floor behind you to keep yourself unchanging in this location. Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Put your ankle joints together. Now lower your knees to the right. Your feet will roll on to their sides, but needs to remain on the floor. Keep going with this lowering move until your knees are about six inches over the floor. Hold for one second, then go back up and down to the other side. Move slow and under control, using your stomach muscles instead of momentum to raise and lower your legs.

Progressive Crunchless Crunch
This stomach exercise works your abs as well as a crunch does, but without the strain to your neck and back. Start out by sitting in a chair, placing one hand above and below your navel in order to feel the contraction of your abdominals. Take one big deep breath, so your middle expands entirely. Then let the breath out as you pull your stomach in, imagining your belly button being pulled inward toward your backbone. Finally, briefly contract your abdominal muscles five times. Do a full set of repetitions of all three parts. You can also try this exercise lying on your back. Try both to see which one helps you feel the contractions of your ab muscles better.

Contractions
This exercise starts off very much the same way as the last one, but necessitates quicker steps and more repetitions. Begin by sitting in the same position as in the progressive crunchless crunch, and taking the same big breath. This time, rather than bringing your belly all the way back, exhale and bring it just about midway. Then pull your belly button back toward your back. Contract and hold for a count of one. Repeat from the half-exhalation point. Do the whole thing one hundred times.

Crunchless Crunch
As you can tell from the name, this stomach exercise is very similar to the 1st. Instead of making a few stops as you exhale a deep breath, however, this drill consists of just one move. To begin, either lie on your stomach or kneel. You may want to try both ways and check which one helps you feel the exercise better. Relax your body as much as possible, then try to use only the lower abdominal muscle to move your belly button toward your spine. Hold for 10 seconds. If holding for 10 seconds feels easy, hold for a longer period. The goal is to hold the contraction until you either can’t feel it, or you feel other muscles working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the contraction out.

If you begin doing these stomach exercises at home in your spare few (very few) minutes, you’ll be able to lose your baby belly and be fit and trim in just a few months– just in time to start chasing after Junior once he learns to crawl!