# The Yogi Squat Is the Hip-Opening Yoga Pose You Should Add to Your Practice ASAP

- Link: https://jandjinvestllc.com/the-yogi-squat-is-the-hip-opening-yoga-pose-you-should-add-to-your-practice-asap/
- Published: 2024-11-24T10:19:50-06:00
- Author: J and J Health

It’ll feel oh-so good.

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.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

 1. Stand with your feet wider than your hips, angle your toes out slightly, and rest
    your hands by your sides.
 2. Bend your knees and come down into a full squat with your butt as close to the 
    ground as your mobility allows.
 3. 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.
 4. 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.
 5. 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 pre

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