Today, let’s explore Bound Angle Pose, also known as Baddha Konasana or, if you have kids, Butterfly Pose. It’s a grounding pose that activates Muladhara, or the root chakra. It connects you with the energy of Mother Earth, makes you feel safe and secure, and opens your hips while you’re at it.
Benefits
As mentioned above, this pose is a hip-opener. It strengthens your back and stretches the groin and ankles. This is a wonderful pose to practice during pregnancy, and you can do it at any stage. It’s also said to help with the birth, so all you preggo yoginis, enjoy!
Step by Step
Start in Easy Pose (or Staff Pose) — sit comfortably on your mat with your seat bones flat.
Draw your heels towards your pelvis. Put the soles of your feet together.
Clasp your toes/feet with interlaced fingertips.
Watch as your knees begin to melt toward the mat.
Extend your spine and rotate your pelvis to rest on your Sitz bones.
As you extend your crown, simultaneously ground your feet into the earth and send a long energy line from your sit bones to your crown.
Hold for 3 to 5 minutes.
There are many restrictions, tips, tricks, and other things to consider.
I sit on two or three blankets rolled up to raise my hips, which helps me maintain a straight back.
Elevating your hips will also allow tight groins, which are usually tight and painful, to open up without straining.
Place a block under your knees if you are sensitive to it.
Bring your attention to your external rotators in the bum to open up the inner thighs.
Leaning forward from the hips is another way to elevate this pose. Bend your elbows and place them anywhere except on the knee. Rest your head beyond your feet on the mat and breathe into the intensity. Remind yourself to stop when it no longer feels nourishing. If you find that today’s mat is too hard to rest your head, then use a block. Respect where you are at the moment.
If you want to do this in Yin style, move your feet a few inches away from your pelvis. This will create a diamond shape between your legs. Place a block beneath each knee and a bolster over the legs. Slowly hinge from your hips forward and then round the bolster/feet. Hold for 3 to 5 minutes.
If you’ve recently suffered a major injury to your knee or pulled your groin, avoid this pose. If you’ve recently been injured or have chronic pain, you should try a hip opener that does not put pressure on the area.
This pose can be used almost anywhere during a yoga session. This pose can be used as a warm-up or a cool-down or to transition from a standing series into a floor series. Do what you feel and let your creativity flow.
Try transitioning from Paschimottanasana or Upavistha Konasana to Malasana.
You can continue with the poses above or even a seated twist or Happy Baby.
Please tell us what you think about this beautiful, welcoming, and nondiscriminatory hip opener!
