Molly Sims is one of those celebs that always seems to look phenomenal. Whether she’s rocking the cover of a magazine in an itsy-bitsy bikini or just hangin’ in jeans and a loose t-shirt, there’s something about this natural beauty that exudes total confidence, class…and one incredible figure!
While her beauty seems completely effortless, Sims has been known to work hard at looking good. Some of her stay-skinny secrets include sweating (any activity that gets you dripping wet is great for toning muscles and shedding fat), spinning, the elliptical, walking, running, pilates and one of her favorites – yoga.
The supermodel turned media mogul has trained with yoga expert Kathleen Kastner of www.mayayoga.com in the past, who says “Molly loved to be challenged, worked very hard and was always open to trying new poses. She never complained, which made my job interesting and fun!”
Kastner (who has been teaching yoga for 15 years and trained both Deepak Chopra and Emily Deschanel) worked with Sims twice a week for a year, teaching her Ashtanga and Vinyasa Yoga.
"Molly wanted to keep her muscles long and lean and to improve flexibility in her hips and hamstrings," Kastner says. "She used to be a swimmer and told me she could easily build muscle and had bulked up in the past with a personal trainer."
Ashtanga and Vinyasa strengthens and lengthens at the same time while continuously flowing, which adds an element of cardio.
"It was the perfect form of exercise for the look she was trying to achieve and for her body type," Kastner says.
Whether you’re a yoga expert or just beginning your practice, one thing’s for sure: yoga benefits the body, mind and soul. The best part? Be still and know that you don’t have to be a supermodel to look and feel like one with Sims’ yoga workout, which we were lucky enough to have Kastner share with us!
You’ll Need: A yoga mat and water. Before you start, check out this series of videos Kastner filmed with Sims to get the view from Molly’s mat, along with some great tips.
How it Works: Each practice begins with a warm-up of sun salutations. First comes five rounds of surya namaskara A, followed by five rounds of surya namaskara B.
STEP 1:
Ashtanga Yoga Sun Salutation A (5 times)
How it works: These movements start gently, giving you time to focus the mind on breathing.
Tip: Click here for help with poses.
STEP 2:
Ashtanga Yoga Sun Salutation B (5 Times)
How it works: With B, your poses become a little more vigorous. The added movement increases the physical heat in the body, creating an ideal environment for the sequences.
STEP 3:
Crescent Pose
How to do it: Bend your front knee at a 90-degree angle, knee over ankle, while extending the back leg straight, heel off the ground. Squeeze palms together and flex triceps into the arm bones.
Muscles it works: Strengthens quads and buttocks.
STEP 4:
Standing Splits
How to do it: Lift back leg up to the sky pointing toes, while grabbing the bottom ankle with one or both hands, bowing the forehead to the shin.
Muscles it works: Stretches hamstrings and improves balance and leg strength.
STEP 5:
Crow Pose
How to do it: Bend arms for triceps shelves and climb knees up into armpits, while pointing toes up towards buttocks.
Muscles it works: Strengthens arms and abs.
STEP 6:
Boat Pose
How to do it: Begin with bent knees and lift the heart; then breath the legs straight and extend arms straight out and engage triceps muscles.
Muscles it works: Strengthens lower back, abs, legs and arms.
STEP 7:
Extended Wide Leg Stretch
How to do it: Clasp hands behind back and forward bend with toes slightly turned in, while breathing the chest and shoulders muscles open, stretching them away from the body with each exhale.
Muscles it works: Stretches chest, shoulders and hamstrings.
STEP 8:
One-Legged Pigeon Pose
How to do it: Front leg angles slightly to the right, with the back knee facing straight down, so hips are squared to the ground. Inhale lift the heart, exhale, forward fold over front leg and rest on forearms or head to floor.
Muscles it works: Stretches buttocks and hips.
STEP 9:
Bound Angle Pose
How to do it: Draw heels toward the groins and inhale. Sit up tall and exhale, lean forward with a flat back while separating the arches of the feet with the thumbs.
Muscles it works: Stretches, groins and hips.
Namaste'! Catch the gorgeous Molly Sims as host of Lifetime's new reality competition series, Project Accessory, which premiers Thursday at 10:30pm et/pt.
Kristen Aldridge lends her pop culture expertise to Yahoo! as host of “omg! NOW.” Receiving millions of hits per day, the hugely popular daily entertainment news program is one of the most-watched on the web. As a seasoned entertainment journalist, pop culture expert, fashion addict and lover of all things creative, she is founder of positivelycelebrity.com and recently launched her own celeb-inspired fashion line and smartphone app. Connect with Kristen to talk all things celebrity via Twitter and Facebook, or visit her official website.
