Hips and lower back

Butterfly

A gentle, grounding pose that opens your inner thighs and deep hip rotators with minimal joint loading, allowing long passive holds that gradually release fascial tension.

How to do it

1. 1

   Sit with the soles of your feet together

   Let the knees fall out to the sides. Sliding the feet further away from you makes the shape shallower, which suits a long hold.

2. 2

   Sit up on a folded blanket if you roll back

   Lifting the pelvis a little lets you sit upright instead of collapsing backwards, which matters over several minutes.

3. 3

   Give the knees somewhere to land

   Put blocks or cushions under the knees so the legs rest on something rather than hanging. In a hold this long the legs need support, not effort.

4. 4

   Let the upper body drift forward, not pull

   Fold only as far as gravity takes you. A bolster under your torso is ideal, so you can rest your weight on it rather than hold yourself there.

5. 5

   Stay 2 to 4 minutes, then come out slowly

   Breathe slowly throughout. Use your hands to press the floor and lift the knees together on the way out.

What to watch for

Pressing the knees down or pulling yourself forward to feel more, when anything you have to hold is something you will not keep for four minutes. If the front of a hip pinches, raise the blocks under the knees and take the fold shallower.

Ways to adjust it

• Bolster under torso
• Blocks under knees
• Blanket under pelvis

If this one is too much today

Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.

• Reclined Figure-4: Seated Chair

Setting butterfly up for a long hold

Butterfly is the library's seated, passive hip opener. It is filed as restorative, with a gravity-led load rather than a muscular one, and the hold runs two to four minutes. At that length the setup matters more than the shape. The stretch lands in the hips first and the lower back second.

Three supports turn it from something you endure into something you can stay in. A folded blanket under the pelvis helps if you roll backwards, blocks or cushions under the knees let the legs rest instead of hang, and a bolster under the torso lets you fold without holding yourself up. The library lists all three as adjustments for the hips, and the bolster and blanket for the lower back.

Half Butterfly is the nearest neighbour. It keeps one leg straight and folds over it, so the sensation moves to the back of that leg. If sitting on the floor is the problem, Reclined Figure-4 on a chair is the gentler choice.

• Half Butterfly: One leg straight, folding over it, with the stretch along the back of that leg.
• Legs Up The Wall: Another position that takes the load off the lower back and asks nothing back.
• Pigeon Pose: The library's strongest position for the outside and deep back of the hip.

Before you try it

Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.