Side Angle Pose for Beginners and Men | A Step-by-Step Tutorial for 2024
This side stretch and lunge strengthens your core, hips, and back, while making your spine, shoulders, and hips more mobile. It’s useful for improving your posture, increasing power and range of motion for twisting or swinging motions, and helping...
JaneWalter
This side stretch and lunge strengthens your core, hips, and back, while making your spine, shoulders, and hips more mobile. It’s useful for improving your posture, increasing power and range of motion for twisting or swinging motions, and helping prevent back pain and injury by strengthening the entire core.
Side Angle Pose Target Areas
core spine hips shouldersSide Angle Pose Benefits
Stretches chest muscles to improve posture Strengthens middle back, spine, hips, and knees Improves spinal mobilityHow to Do Side Angle
– click images to enlarge –
Side Angle Pose – Step 1
Side Angle Pose – Step 2
Start in Warrior 2 (see p48) with your feet 4 to 5ft (1.25–1.5m) apart, your right foot perpendicular to the left, and front knee bent directly over the ankle. Extend arms outward, parallel to the floor and palms facing down. Square hips to the middle.
Bend at the waist to move the torso over your bent leg. Reach your left arm toward the ceiling, palm facing forward, and extend right arm toward the ground. Tighten the left side of your body, lengthen your torso, and use your core to roll back the top shoulder and open chest. Turn your head to look up at hand. Hold the posture, inhaling as you lengthen the torso, and exhaling as you deepen the twist. Repeat on the other side.
Cues for Side Angle
Lift ribs away from hips Keep knee over ankle Extend arms in opposite directions Engage core and obliques Keep weight in hips Keep both legs engaged Press into right heelWHAT YOU SHOULD FEEL
Stretch in groin, chest, shoulders, biceps, and back Intense engagement of core and thighsWHAT YOU SHOULDN’T FEEL
Lowered arm forcing the rotation; use core to twist Strain in neck; if you do, create more length in spinePRO TIP: To challenge your core and get a deeper stretch, firmly engage the muscles on the exposed side of your body, drawing ribs toward your core to firmly engage obliques and strengthen core.
SIDE ANGLE MODIFICATION
To help maintain balance and stability, rest your hand on a block placed just inside the front foot.
Side Angle Pose – Modification
About Dean Pohlman, Founder & CEO of Man Flow Yoga, Author of Yoga Fitness for Men, Expert on Yoga Fitness for Men.
Dean Pohlman is an E-RYT 200 certified yoga instructor and the founder of Man Flow Yoga. Dean is widely considered to be an authority on Yoga for Men. He has worked with physical therapists to create yoga programs for back health and spinal recovery. His workouts and programs have been used by professional and collegiate athletes, athletic trainers, and personal trainers; and have been recommended by physical therapists, doctors, chiropractors, and other medical professionals.
Dean is a successfully published author through DK Publishing (Yoga Fitness for Men), selling 35,000 copies worldwide in English, French, and German; in addition to being a co-producer of the Body by Yoga DVD Series, which has sold over 40,000 copies on Amazon since its release in 2016.
Man Flow Yoga has been featured in Muscle & Fitness Magazine, Mens’ Health, The Chicago Sun, New York Magazine, and many more major news media outlets.
FAQs
What are the benefits of side angle yoga pose?
Side Angle offers a many physical and mental benefits like:
Strengthening and toning your upper body, legs and core.
Improves flexibility
Helps with balance and stability
Opens chest and shoulders
Increases stamina
Is side angle yoga pose for beginners?
Yes, the Side Angle Pose can be done by beginners, but modifications may be needed to ensure safety,especially if you’re are new to yoga or have limited flexibility and mobility. Here are a few things and modifications beginners you can do to get the most out of side angle:
Use a block to “raise the floor”
Shorten your stance
Focus on alignment
keep your engage
modify the arm position
keep breathing
How long should I hold a side angle yoga pose?
If you’re new to yoga, shoot for 10 to 30 seconds. As for any yoga pose, it’s important to find a balance of challenge and comfort and don’t go beyond what your body is telling you.
As you continue to practice yoga and this pose, you will eventually hold the pose longer, getting maximum benefits of the pose.
