Forward Fold in Butterfly (Baddha Konasana)

Instructions

1. 1Sit with the soles of your feet together and let your knees fall open to the sides.
2. 2Draw your heels as close to your pelvis as is comfortable, holding your feet with both hands.
3. 3Inhale to lengthen the spine, lifting the chest and tilting the pelvis slightly forward.
4. 4Exhale and hinge from the hips, walking your hands forward as you lower the torso toward the floor.
5. 5Let the crown of the head reach toward or touch the floor, relaxing the neck and upper back completely.
6. 6Hold for 8 to 15 breaths, allowing gravity to release the inner groins with each exhale.

Contraindications & precautions

• ⚠Groin or inner thigh injury — the sustained opening of the hip adductors can overstretch healing tissue.
• ⚠Knee pain or ligament damage — the externally rotated position places stress on the medial knee structures.
• ⚠Sacroiliac joint dysfunction — forward folding with wide hip opening can destabilize the SI joint and increase pain.