Reclining Angle Pose

Instructions

1. 1Lie on your back and bring the soles of your feet together, allowing the knees to fall outward toward the floor.
2. 2Place your hands on your inner thighs or rest them alongside the body with palms facing up.
3. 3Lengthen through the lower back by gently pressing the sacrum into the floor without flattening the lumbar curve.
4. 4Allow gravity to open the hips gradually — do not force the knees toward the floor.
5. 5Soften the groin, the inner thighs, and the belly with each exhale, releasing deeper into the stretch.
6. 6Hold for 1-5 minutes with slow, abdominal breathing, then use your hands to draw the knees together before coming up.

Contraindications & precautions

• ⚠Groin or adductor muscle tears — the passive abduction stretch directly loads the recovering tissue and can reopen the injury.
• ⚠Second and third trimester pregnancy — lying flat on the back compresses the vena cava and reduces blood flow to the fetus.
• ⚠Knee ligament injuries — the externally rotated, gravity-loaded position places prolonged stress on the medial collateral ligaments.