When I try to do boat pose in yoga I cannot straighten my legs because they shake uncontrollably. Why?

I would rate my yoga experience as intermediate. I work out (either cardio or strength) five days per week. I can touch my toes with straight legs, so I don%26#039;t think flexibility is a problem. I think I%26#039;m a very healthy person, so why can%26#039;t I straighten my legs during this exercise without having them shake like crazy?


Thanks!|||My first guess would be you would benefit from more core development.





Especially in Boat pose, your core is the anchor/foundation from which your legs and upper torso extend outwards from.


Without a steady/soild foundation, your extended limbs can literally be shaky.


Although, even with good core, you also still need good quad (front upper thigh muscle) strength for Boat pose.





Don%26#039;t know how much core work you regularly incorporate in your strength training, plus, whether you do leg extensions for quad strength.





I don%26#039;t care much for crunches/sit ups, so instead do the Captains Chair.


If not familiar, Captains Chair is somewhat like a tall high chair missing it%26#039;s seat.





You support yourself off the ground by elbows, then lift/crunch the thighs/legs up towards your abs.


It%26#039;s basically just vertical crunches.


You can do it with knees/legs straight to increase difficulty.





I alternate these with back extensions, so as to maintain balanced front and back core strength.





If not already a regular part of your asana practice, I would also highly recommend Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations) for core development.


Emphasizing slow, smooth transitions from Down dog, Plank, Chaturanga, Up Dog, back to Down dog, is great core work.








Namaste%26#039;,


dwb|||your problem isn%26#039;t that you are unhealthy. It%26#039;s that you have poor balance, which is fine. It takes time and practice to get good balance...just keep working on it and you will be fine soon.