Specifically, side angle. It’s a pose I’ve been loving lately, and not in a “love to hate” kind of way. Conveniently enough, it is also a pose that works the external hip rotators — particularly for folks whose front knee tends to want to cave in.
In utthita parsvokonasana, it’s the front leg that’s rotating externally. In this case, it means the piriformis, both obturator muscles, and the gemelli are working — along with the gluteus maxiums, which also acts as a rotator muscle here.
[Chelsey Korus instructing for Howcast. Video via YouTube.]
Observations about this pose from the perspective of lateral hip rotation:
First, the front leg hip rotation is of the same variety as the front leg experiences in warrior two. However, lengthening the torso over the front leg shifts the pose’s center of gravity forward, which can increase the intensity of the hip and other front leg work. So I’m guessing that if there are folks out there for whom any variation of the side bend is just not a viable option, warrior two might be a good alternate pose, particularly as hips and thighs maybe become happier about extended side angle.
Of variations, there are a number:
- With the bottom arm pressing off of the top leg. This is generally the option I take during my first side angle of the day. The hip flexion is less, which means — at least for me — the amount of force on the rotator group is also less.
- With the bottom hand on the inner side of the front leg, either on a block (any height) or on the ground. This is the version I take most option, largely because I like the practice of using my bottom arm to help press my thigh outward.
- With the bottom hand outside the front shin, either on a block (any height) or on the floor. This is actually the version that brings the most work to my rotator muscles. In the previous version, with my arm pressing my thigh out, a good portion of the work is in my arm. In this version, the movement is one hundred percent hips.
If the variation of the front leg decides the intensity of hip rotation, the anchoring of the back foot is what “locks it in” for me. Now, I’m not entirely sure why this is because I’m not entirely sure what the muscles are doing. To the best of my discernment, I think that if my back foot does not ground completely, my tendency is to support my weight more with my bottom arm, which then allows my front thigh to adduct and rotate inward. Keeping a lot of strength in my back leg makes it more difficult for my front knee to just flop anywhere.
Finally, while the arms are maybe not as crucial to my pose as are the legs, that doesn’t mean the arms have no impact at all. As mentioned, I can use my bottom arm either to guide my leg out or as a way to inform myself that I’m moving the leg out on my own. I can lift my bottom arm from the floor so that my torso and legs, including my lateral hip rotators, are supporting more of my body. Even — fun challenge — I can lift my bottom arm so it is parallel with my spine and my top arm.
But you know, that last one… it’s a lot of work.