If you sit for extended periods of time during the day—like during your commute or at a desk—chances are you may have tight hip flexors. That’s because sitting reduces your range of hip motion and extension, and over time, tight hip flexors can lead to decreased range of motion, limited flexibility, and pain in the surrounding joints, says Marlee Dillon PT, DPT physical therapist and YogaFit Level 1 certified instructor at The Restoration Space.
One of the best yoga poses you can add to your daily routine to increase hip mobility and strength and relieve tight hip flexors is the yogi squat—also known as Malasana or a yoga squat. Keep reading to learn about plenty of other benefits the yogi squat offers for your mind and body, and learn how to do it safely and with correct form every time.
How to do the yogi squat perfectly every time
Susan Amato, certified yoga instructor and owner and founder of the Valley Om, suggests beginners hold the yogi squat for 20 to 30 seconds. If you’re more advanced, you can try holding the pose for up to three minutes—it’s a great way to calm your nervous system if your goal is stress relief or relaxation, Amato says. Feel free to come in and out of the pose for a few reps as you gain familiarity and strength with the pose.
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Stand with your feet wider than your hips, angle your toes out slightly, and rest your hands by your sides.
Bend your knees and come down into a full squat with your butt as close to the ground as your mobility allows.
Once you’ve settled into the squat, place your elbows on the insides of your knees to help widen and support them. You can put your hands in prayer position if that’s comfortable.
While maintaining some pressure with your arms into your legs, relax your neck. You can even rest your head on or in your hands, or clasp your hands together.
Hold for desired amount of time.
Benefits of the yogi squat
1. Increased mobility and flexibility
By practicing the yogi squat, you’ll improve your mobility and set yourself up for decreased risk of injury in your lower body. That’s because the yogi squat works the mobility of the entire lower body, and even the spine, Dillon says.
Mobility is an important factor in aging. A 2014 study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology shows that a person’s ability to effectively stand up from sitting on the ground is important for healthy aging—study participants who could do this had a decreased risk of early death. The reason? If you can comfortably get from a sitting position on the floor to a standing one you likely have good strength, balance, and a healthy heart, per the study.
The yogi squat can also increase flexibility in the backs of your ankles, hips, and the tops of your knees, which helps improve overall mobility, Amato says. The bottom line: Muscles and joints that are more flexible move more easily.
2. Preventive pain relief
In order to stave off those pesky injuries that can derail you from your daily goals, it’s important to stay loose and limber. Having healthy hips is an important part of that equation. Limitations in hip mobility can lead to not only hip pain, but also back, knee, and ankle pain, Dillon says. The yogi squat can increase and maintain hip mobility to help prevent these aches and pains, she adds.
In other words, if you’re injury free and want to stay that way, this is the perfect pose to keep you feeling great. A small 2019 study published in The International Journal of Yoga also suggests that a consistent yoga practice reduces pain by increasing flexibility and core strength.
3. Improved balance and strength
Think of the yogi squat as the perfect pose to improve your overall balance and strength—which is an important factor to aging well. In order to prevent falling over in any scenario, we need to keep our center of gravity within our base of support. Getting into and out of the yogi squat challenges balance because you’re moving your center of gravity, while keeping it within your base of support, Dillon says. Holding a deep squat position also requires enough mobility and strength to prevent your center of gravity from shifting too far behind you, resulting in a loss of balance and subsequent fall, she adds.
The feet often do a lot of work in this pose which improves balance and proprioception—the ability to know where you are in space—and the yogi squat also calls for a good amount of lower body engagement, Amato says.
To manage the weight distribution, your core muscles need to engage to assist with holding your body in space, while your back muscles along your spine will activate to pull the weight of your body back to help with balancing the posture, according to Amato. In other words, adding the yogi squat to your daily routine will make your core and back stronger—improving your overall fitness.
4. Better digestion and alleviated constipation
If you’ve ever noticed your stomach is upset when you’re stressed or anxious, there’s a reason for that. “The gut and the brain are intimately connected, and poor digestive function and high stress can become a vicious cycle if not addressed,” Dillon says. Getting into a deep squat can aid in digestion. That’s because the Malasana position compresses your abdomen, which can work as a massage and increase blood flow and digestive enzymes, Dillon says.
The low squat position also allows your pelvic floor to relax, which can help relieve constipation, Amato notes. “The deep flexion in the hip joints and pelvis create pressure in the lower abdomen, which can stimulate your lower GI tract. Additionally, Malasana can help to release contraction in your pelvic floor, which can sometimes cause constipation, Amato says.
5. Boosted stress relief
It’s no secret that a consistent yoga practice can alleviate depressive symptoms and anxiety. In fact, a 2023 article published in The Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine suggests that a regular yoga practice promotes physiological changes in the body like reducing cortisol levels, blood glucose, and blood pressure, and it can improve general wellbeing.
The yogi squat is one pose that does more than stretch out your lower half—it also regulates your nervous system. You’re in a rest-and-digest position when squatting, so in turn, stimulating the vagus nerve responsible for putting your body in a relaxed parasympathetic state.
This pose can help you feel grounded, relaxed, and may even promote introspection Amato says. Think of that time close to the ground as a quiet, meditative moment to practice your breathwork, and release the tension of your mind and body.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Collapsing your arches, ankles, and knees: Meaning, they’re tracking inward and not in line with your feet. Prevent this by using the backs of your arms to press your knees gently outward to keep inline with your feet, Amato says.
Rounding your back and slumping your shoulders forward: You can fix this by actively engaging your core, glutes, and shoulders, and pay attention to lengthening your spine.
Yogi squat modifications
This is a commonly modified pose as it requires a lot of hip and ankle mobility, Dillon says. If your heels lift off of the ground in the yogi squat, or you can’t get into a full squat, consider putting something underneath the heels for support—like a folded mat, blanket, or even use blocks (in the low position). If that doesn’t allow you to settle into the pose, use a block or two under your pelvis as a stool, Amato suggests.
It’s also okay to gently rock from side to side if you have trouble holding the position. “Some gentle movement [in the ankles and hips] can help to bring more circulation into the tissues and encourage them to soften more,” Amato says.
1. Yogi squat with heels elevated
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Stand with your heels on top of a folded up blanket or yoga bolster with your feet wider than your hips, angle your toes out slightly, and rest your hands by your sides.
Bend your knees and come down into a full squat with your butt as close to the ground as your mobility allows.
Once you’ve settled into the squat, place your elbows on the insides of your knees to help widen and support them. You can put your hands in prayer position if that’s comfortable.
While maintaining some pressure with your arms into your legs, relax your neck. You can even rest your head on or in your hands, or clasp your hands together.
Hold for desired amount of time.
2. Yogi squat with block
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Place a yoga block (vertically) on the ground, then stand a few inches in front of it.
Stand with your feet wider than your hips, angle your toes out slightly, and rest your hands by your sides.
Bend your knees and come down into a squat to sit on top of the yoga block.
Once you’ve settled into the squat, place your elbows on the insides of your knees to help widen and support them. You can put your hands in prayer position if that’s comfortable.
While maintaining some pressure with your arms into your legs, relax your neck. You can even rest your head on or in your hands, or clasp your hands together.
Hold for desired amount of time.
3. Yogi squat against a wall
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Stand with your back against a wall with your feet wider than your hips, angle your toes out slightly, and rest your hands by your sides.
Bend your knees and come down into a full squat with your butt as close to the ground as your mobility allows.
Once you’ve settled into the squat, place your elbows on the insides of your knees to help widen and support them. You can put your hands in prayer position if that’s comfortable.
While maintaining some pressure with your arms into your legs, relax your neck. You can even rest your head on or in your hands, or clasp your hands together.
Hold for desired amount of time.
Safety tips for practicing the yogi squat
Before getting into the yogi squat, you’ll want to warm up sufficiently before attempting the pose. Amato recommends yoga poses like chair pose, lunges, and warrior variations before doing a yogi squat.
“Because it’s such a deep hip opener, you want to generate some internal heat to make sure your tissues are ready to be stretched,” Dillon says. “I recommend doing 5 to 10 minutes of cardio and a few shallow squats to warm up before attempting the yogi squat.” If you’ve recently had surgery, or other serious medical conditions, talk with your doctor before attempting this pose.
