Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose) can help counteract all of the sitting we tend to do in our daily lives.

Move-It Monday~Yoga Pose: Baddha Konasana

Difficulty level: Easy to Medium

Benefits

  • Stretches and opens the hips and groins
  • Encourages a full range of motion in the hips

Begin in Dandasana (Staff Pose).  Bend your knees and draw the soles of your feet together.  Place your hands behind your hips, then press your hands into the mat, lifting your pelvis.  Place the pelvis as close to the heels as you comfortably can.  Lean slightly forward from the hip joints encouraging a slight curve in your low back, then lift through the crown of your head, lengthening your spine.  Hold this pose for 3 – 5 breaths.

To deepen the pose and find more ease in the position, you can:

  • Sit on the edge of a blanket or block, just under your hips, encouraging the knees to open forward and down.
  • Press down through the pelvis as you press out from the hip joints through the knees.
  • Gently press your elbows down on the same side thigh or calf to encourage the hips to open and release the knees.  Bend from the hip joint with a flat back, rather than curling the spine forward and down.

After 3 – 5 breaths, gently extend the legs back to Dandasana.