When you think about the target areas of the body in your workout or yoga routine, how long will it take you to list the side body? This is such an overlooked area.
I’m talking the obliques, the side glutes, the abductors, the IT bands… here are 7 poses to target those areas. Some strength and some stretch.
1. Butterfly Fold – Start seated. Bring the soles of the feet together and drop the knees apart. Bring the heels a bit farther away, to make more of a diamond shape, and get stretching into the sides of the hips. Fold down any amount. Breathing in and out through the nose as you hold.
2. Boat to Low Boat – Lift the knees up. Float feet and shins parallel to ground, staying on sit bones. Lean the hips and legs to the left and arms to the right. Exhale to lower down. Inhale to lift back up, and flip legs and hips to right and hands to left. Exhale to lower down. Repeat back and forth for several rounds.
3. Chair Pose with Twist – Grab the back of the legs and rock up to standing, feet hip width apart. Bend the knees and sink the hips in chair pose. Hands together at heart. As you breathe, twist to the right. Return to center. Then to the left. Repeat through if it feels good.
4. Side Plank – From downward dog, kick the right leg up. Then step it to the center of mat. Roll onto the outer edges of both feet. Extend right arm up overhead. Stay here or transition to full side plank. Right arm straight to sky. Stack right leg over the left one. Push into the floor to lift the hips up. Repeat through on other side.
5. Crescent Lunge – From three legged dog, step the right foot to the top of mat again. Push into the feet to lift up, with feet hip width distance in train tracks. Reach arms overhead. Grab hold of left wrist with right hand. Lengthen up and then lean to the right. Keep anchoring in left hip.
6. Easy Twist – As you are in previous pose, bring left hand down to the mat. Right arm stays lifted. Chest facing to right.
Repeat 5 and 6 through on other side.
7. Pigeon Pose with Thread the Needle Bind – From table top, slide the right foot toward the left wrist. Lowering right knee down behind right wrist. Extend the left leg back. Keep the hips level. Stay up lifted through torso. Or to get into the side body, thread the left arm underneath, lowering shoulder and ear to ground. Option to bring the right hand back and hold onto the foot.
Repeat on other side.
These 7 poses come from a 30 minute side body practice I shared recently on my channel and within the app. Practice alongside me in the video below.
Kassandra
