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Sometimes you should practice yoga in a way that’s more creatively difficult than usual. Other times you wish a yoga practice that stretches your body in ways which might be tricky to focus on. The next 20-minute yoga practice blissfully addresses each your wants and desires through a combination of core strengthening and bending that targets a side stretch your oft-neglected obliques and IT bands.
Side stretches goal many things, including your external obliques (left) and internal obliques. (Illustrations: Sebastian Kaulitzki Science Photo Library | Getty)
By incorporating some unexpected side bending, or lateral flexion, into common poses that don’t typically move in that plane, you’re in a position to strengthen and stretch the body in unexpected and difficult ways.
20-Minute Yoga Practice for a Side Stretch
The next practice incorporates side stretches in some unusual ways to maximise your time on the mat and make sure you’re prepared for the poses that follow. Expect to try Tree Pose in Side Plank and practice hand-to-foot grabs early in your 20-minute yoga practice prior to attempting a difficult expression of Half Moon Pose.
Yes, Savasana at the beginning of your practice. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Opening Savasana
Begin lying in your back together with your legs straight and relaxed. Place your palms on the lower a part of your abdomen to create a connection together with your breath. Slow your inhalations and your exhalations.
A well-recognized shape, Constructive Rest or Fallen Bridge will be incorporated anywhere in your practice. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Constructive Rest
From Savasana, bend your knees and produce your feet barely wider than your hips, letting your knees fall toward each other if that’s comfortable for you. Allow your gaze to melt or close your eyes and aim for a count of 4 or 5 with each inhalation and exhalation. Give attention to lifting the space underneath your hands as you inhale and permit it to softly lower as you exhale. Ensure your lower back presses into the mat and your shoulders draw away out of your ears.
Reclined twists can take many shapes and will be sequenced before and after more difficult twists. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Reclined Twist
Extend your left leg straight and draw your right knee toward your chest. Take a straightforward twist by guiding your right knee across your body. Rest your left hand in your right thigh and extend your right arm straight out out of your shoulder, relaxing your right shoulder. Should you like, bend your right elbow to make a cactus shape. Feel the stretch across your right rib cage, outer hip, and lower back. Breathe here.
Return to center and switch sides, bringing your left knee toward your chest and repeating the twist.
Practicing different muscle engagement at the identical time prepares you for more difficult poses that ask you to coordinate your efforts. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Straight-Leg Twisted Crunch
Out of your reclined twist, straighten your legs and lift them toward the sky. Interlace your fingers behind your head. As you inhale, lift your shoulders off the mat. As you exhale, lower your left leg while twisting your chest toward the fitting. Should you want, you’ll be able to reach your left arm outside your right thigh. Inhale as you lift your left leg again and are available back to center. Exhale as you repeat on the opposite side. Give attention to maintaining a gradual breath throughout the movement. Repeat 5 times on all sides.
(Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Twisted Crunch
While still lying in your back, proceed with the core engagement by bending your right knee and drawing it toward your chest as you point your toes forward. Together with your fingers still interlaced behind your head, inhale as you lift your shoulders off the mat. As you exhale, twist your torso and produce your left elbow toward your right knee. Inhale as you come back to the middle and repeat on the opposite side. Repeat for five rounds on all sides, keeping a controlled and rhythmic pace, emphasizing the engagement of your core.
Some moves never exit of favor for a reason. They work. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Seated Side Stretch
Come to a seated position. Straighten through your spine and reach your arms alongside your head. Release your right hand to the mat a foot or so away from you right hip and extend your left arm up and overhead, feeling a stretch along your left side. Stay here and breathe. Repeat on the opposite side.
Take heed to your body during twists and initiate the movement out of your mid to upper back. Don’t force it.(Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Seated Twist
Sitting tall, twist toward the fitting, place your left hand on the skin of the fitting knee, and reach your right arm behind you. Engage your core, ensuring your spine stays long. Switch sides and repeat, maintaining a smooth and deliberate twist.
Yes, side bending in Cat Cow (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Cat and Cow With a Side Stretch
Make your technique to hands and knees and move into Cat and Cow, adding a side variation by bringing your left shoulder and left knee toward one another on the inhale, after which the fitting shoulder toward the fitting hip on the exhale. Take your time as you repeat. Proceed with the classic cat and cow sequence, specializing in the flow of your breath and ensuring a fluid movement through the spine.
Almost any pose can change into a side stretch. Simply bring elements of more difficult balancing poses into more supported poses. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Tabletop With a Reach
From Tabletop, shift your weight into your right hand and lift your right leg as you reach on your right ankle together with your left hand. Lift your leg higher, pressing the foot away from you into your hand. Feel a mild arch in your back. Release and switch sides, maintaining a gradual breath throughout.
Next time you bend your knee and drop your foot behind you in Down Dog, reach on your heel together with your opposite hand. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Down Dog With a Side Stretch
From hands and knees, tuck your toes and lift your hips into Downward-Facing Dog. Pause here as you breathe and lengthen along your back body. Then lift your right leg toward the sky. Bend your right knee and reach your toes toward the left side of your mat. Choice to shift your weight into your right hand and reach your left hand back to grab your right ankle, adding an additional stretch to the side body. Give attention to a stable and aligned pose together with your hips in step with each other. Release back to Downward-Facing Dog.
Any pose can change into a side stretch whenever you think creatively. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Low Lunge With Reaching Back
From Down Dog, step your right foot a number of inches behind your right palm in a Low Lunge together with your back knee lifted. Twist your entire body toward the fitting as you roll onto the periphery of each feet to face the long side of the mat. Reach your right arm overhead and toward the back of the mat. Inhale as you lift your hips away from the mat and exhale as you lower them toward the mat, feeling the stretch along your left hip. Repeat a number of times, engaging your core to assist with stability.
Including the identical shape as Tree Pose brings a hip-opening element to the side stretch and core strengthener. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Side Plank Tree Pose Variation
Out of your twisting lunge, straighten your bottom leg and make your technique to Side Plank. Bring your right foot to your inner left thigh in a Tree Pose variation and produce your right arm overhead.
Whenever you step back from Side Plank into Wild Thing, as soon as your foot finds the ground you should press into it and lift your hips. This intensifies the side stretch. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Wild Thing
From Side Plank, lift your hips higher as you lower your right foot behind you and transition into Wild Thing. Lift your hips and chest toward the sky and permit your neck to loosen up. Feel a deep stretch through the side body as you breathe here. Return to Side Plank with control before transitioning into Plank Pose after which Downward-Facing Dog.
Repeat the sequence in your other side, starting with Scorpion Dog and ending with Downward-Facing Dog.
Ah, the familiar and soothing sway in a standing forward fold. Don’t forget to loosen up your neck and unclench your jaw. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Standing Forward Bend With a Sway
From Downward-Facing Dog, walk yourself to the highest of the mat and are available right into a Standing Forward Bend together with your knees barely bent. Hold opposite elbows, loosen up your neck, and gently sway backward and forward. Come back to center and slowly bring yourself to a standing position in Mountain Pose, hands at your side. Pause here for a free breaths.
From Mountain, take yourself through a vinyasa by exhaling as you progress into Plank Pose and lower yourself to Chaturanga, then inhaling as you come into Upward-Facing Dog, and exhaling as you shift your hips up and back into Downward-Facing Dog.
The challenge is to maintain the front knee static as you lean back into the side stretch. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Reverse or Peaceful Warrior
From Down Dog, lift your right leg and step it forward. Spin your back heel down and inhale into Warrior 2. Transition right into a Reverse or Peaceful Warrior by releasing your left hand along your left leg and reaching your right arm overhead. Feel the stretch along the left side of your body. Return to Warrior 2.
The transition from Reverse Warrior to Triangle fluidly shifts the stretch from one side to the opposite. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Triangle Pose
From Warrior 2, straighten your right leg and hinge at your hips as you reach your right hand to the bottom or a block. Bring your right arm overhead, fingertips reaching toward the highest of the mat and lengthen through the left side of your body in Triangle Pose. Keep your tailbone reaching downward and maintain a slight bend in your right leg.
It’s easy to collapse into your lower side as you regular your balance, but try to elongate through your bottom side boy in addition to your top. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Half Moon Pose
From Triangle Pose, transition into Half Moon Pose by shifting your weight into your front foot and lifting your left leg. Engage your glutes and hamstrings and reach your left arm upward.
This is identical side stretch as whenever you reached behind you in Tabletop. Just different relationship to gravity. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Half Moon Pose With a Bind or Sugarcane Pose
Move into Sugarcane Pose by bending your lifted knee and reaching your left arm behind your back and grabbing the ankle. Lift your chest as you stay here and breathe.
Release with control and are available back to Half Moon Pose, then step back into Warrior 2 followed by Reverse Warrior, after which exhale as you come back to Downward-Facing Dog.
Lift your top leg just a little or quite a bit for added challenge when steadying yourself and strengthening your core. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Side Plank Variation
From Downward-Facing Dog, shift your shoulders forward over your wrists and stack your right leg over your left as you come back into Side Plank Pose. Should you like, float your right leg for an additional challenge. As you probably did earlier when releasing Wild Thing, transition into Plank and take a flow before you come to Downward-Facing Dog.
Repeat your flow on the second side, starting with Reverse or Peaceful Warrior.
As you stretch your back body, lift and lengthen through your back as you inhale, then release as you exhale. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Half Splits
From Downward-Facing Dog, step your right foot forward, lower your left knee, and begin to straighten your right leg as you come into Half Splits. Flex your right foot and square your hips toward the front of the mat. Breathe here. Then release into Plank Pose.
Stack one hip on top of the opposite and press down through your grounded forearm to assist regular yourself. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Forearm Side Plank Dips
From Plank, transition into Forearm Plank in your left side, engaging your core for stability. As you exhale, dip your hips toward the mat. As you inhale, lift them. Then transition between these movements. Return to Plank and lift your hips into Downward-Facing Dog.
Your stretch has greater effect whenever you breathe into it slightly than force your body into it. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Reclined Spinal Twist
From Down Dog, lower your knees to the mat and sit back into Child’s Pose. Breathe here. Then transition onto your back and draw your knees into your chest. Bring your arms straight out to the perimeters and gently guide each knees over to the fitting in a twist, releasing your left shoulder toward the mat. Take your time as you breathe here. Switch sides.
Attempt to let your shoulders release and settle onto the mat. Don’t forget to slow your breath. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Crescent Moon Stretch
Out of your twist, proceed to lie in your back and straighten your legs. Shift your hips barely to the left. Cross your left ankle over the fitting and extend your arms overhead, grabbing opposite elbows. Create a crescent or banana shape together with your body by shimmying your upper body after which your lower boy toward the fitting, lengthening along your left side. Gently hold onto opposite elbows. To accentuate the stretch, cross your left ankle over your right. Stay here for 10 to 12 breaths. Return to center and switch sides.
Release an audible exhalation as you release your have to do anything. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)
Savasana
Come into Savasana and permit your feet to fall outward and your arms to rest at your sides. Close your eyes and produce your awareness to your breath and to any bodily sensations. Savasana is a final leisure pose, offering a moment of stillness and integration, allowing the advantages of the practice to settle in.
About Our Contributor
Kassandra Reinhardt is an Ottawa-based Yin Yoga and vinyasa yoga instructor whose YouTube channel, Yoga With Kassandra, has grown to 2.2 million subscribers and has greater than 230 million views. Kassandra recently released her guided yoga journal, My Yoga Journey: A Guided Journal, her each day affirmation card deck, I Radiate Joy,and her book, Yr of Yoga.