How long should you hold bound side angle pose when you are new to the exercise?

Hold for 3 to 5 breaths per side, doing one or two rounds, and treat any given day's bind depth as separate from your goal, since shoulder and hip openness vary session to session. Progress by holding a little longer or walking the hands closer together on a strap, not by yanking the bind tighter.

How do you make bound side angle pose easier or harder?

Make it easier by holding a strap between the hands instead of clasping, or by skipping the bind entirely and resting the top hand on the hip. Make it harder by clasping the hands fully, or by straightening the front leg partway to add a hamstring stretch to the opening.

What is bound side angle pose good for?

It pairs a demanding isometric leg hold with a deep chest and shoulder opener, making it a good peak pose for practitioners who already move comfortably through extended and revolved side angle. It is a poor choice on a day your shoulders feel tight or sore, since forcing the bind is the most common way this pose causes strain.

Advanced

Bound Side Angle Pose

This shape marries a demanding standing leg workout with a deep chest and shoulder opener. The bent front leg fires the quads and glutes isometrically while the bind rotates the chest skyward and stretches the shoulders. It asks for open hips and shoulders, so treat it as a peak pose after thorough warm-up.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Quads, Thighs
Type: Balance, Stretching, Yoga
Browse by muscle: Vastus Lateralis, Rectus Femoris, Gluteus Maximus

How to do it

1
From a wide stance, turn the front foot out and bend that knee to stack over the ankle.
2
Lower the torso toward the front thigh and drop the same-side shoulder inside the knee.
3
Sweep the lower arm under and around the front thigh.
4
Reach the top arm behind the back and clasp the hands, or hold a strap between them.
5
Roll the top shoulder and chest open toward the ceiling and lengthen from the back heel to the crown.
6
Hold for several breaths, release the bind, and repeat on the other side.

Tips

Keep the front knee tracking over the second toe and never let it collapse inward under the bind.
Press firmly through the outer edge of the back foot to keep the pose stable and long.
If the hands do not meet, hold a strap so the chest can still rotate open without straining.

Variations

Common mistakes

The chest collapses down toward the front thigh instead of rotating open toward the ceiling, so the bind becomes the goal instead of the twist.
Once the shoulder wedges too far past the knee reaching for the bind, the front knee loses its stacked alignment and drifts inward.
Forcing the hands to clasp before the shoulder and chest have actually opened turns a shoulder stretch into a shoulder wrench.
The back foot rolls onto its inner edge as the bind tightens, taking away the stable base the whole pose depends on.

Frequently asked

How long should you hold bound side angle pose when you are new to the exercise?: Hold for 3 to 5 breaths per side, doing one or two rounds, and treat any given day's bind depth as separate from your goal, since shoulder and hip openness vary session to session. Progress by holding a little longer or walking the hands closer together on a strap, not by yanking the bind tighter.
How do you make bound side angle pose easier or harder?: Make it easier by holding a strap between the hands instead of clasping, or by skipping the bind entirely and resting the top hand on the hip. Make it harder by clasping the hands fully, or by straightening the front leg partway to add a hamstring stretch to the opening.
What is bound side angle pose good for?: It pairs a demanding isometric leg hold with a deep chest and shoulder opener, making it a good peak pose for practitioners who already move comfortably through extended and revolved side angle. It is a poor choice on a day your shoulders feel tight or sore, since forcing the bind is the most common way this pose causes strain.

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