Pose, Hip Opener, Sidebend

Seated Side Bend: Benefits, How To & Modification

Full Screen

Seated Side Bend, also known as Seated Side Stretch, is a beginner pose in yoga that improves spinal mobility, stretches the obliques, lats and shoulders and opens up the hips. It’s crucial that you practise this pose with a straight back. The key is to make sure that your hips are higher than or in line with your knees, which allows your pelvis to rotate forward.

SEATED SIDE BEND BENEFITS

  • Stretches the obliques and intercostals on one side of the torso, as it lengthens away from the bend.
  • Stretches the quadratus lumborum in the lower back, as the spine laterally flexes.
  • Stretches the lats and shoulder of the reaching arm, as it sweeps up and over into the bend.
  • Engages the serratus anterior to stabilise the shoulder blade as the arm reaches overhead.
  • Opens up the hips and stretches the groin, in the cross-legged seated position.
  • Creates space in the ribcage and can improve breathing capacity.
  • Improves posture.
  • Relieves tension through the waist and lower back.

CATEGORY

SKILL LEVEL

  • Beginner

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Set-Up

    Sit cross-legged with one leg folded in front of the other and your back straight. Let your hands rest by your sides.

  • Action

    Keeping your left fingertips on the mat. Inhale, sweep your right hand up. Exhale, bend to the left.

  • Refinements

    Be careful not to twist your spine—draw your top shoulder back.

  • Duration

    Hold the pose for 3-5 breaths.

  • To Release

    Release the pose, switch the cross of your legs and repeat on the other side.

SEATED SIDE BEND MODIFICATION: On a Block

Abi Carver demonstrating Seated Side Bend on a yoga block
  • Sitting on a block raises your hips up higher than your knees and allows your pelvis to tilt forward so that you can sit with a straight spine.

CONTRAINDICATIONS 

  • Avoid Seated Side Bend if you have a foot, ankle or knee injury.

MASTER SEATED SIDE BEND

If you’d like to practise Seated Side Bend as part of a sequence, watch Lats And Shoulder Mobility—a 15-minute guided practice designed to ease stiffness in the upper body. This video can be accessed along with my full library of 360+ videos as part of the 14-Day Free Trial. 

Try it for free →

Add comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

AUTHOR BIO

Abi Carver

Abi Carver is the founder of Yoga 15. She has been designing yoga programs for athletes since 2014. A twice-certified Yoga Alliance instructor and NASM-certified personal trainer, she created the exclusive yoga content for the Wahoo training app, was the official yoga for mountain bikers teacher at Crankworx 2017 and her work has been featured in Cyclist magazine.

Abi has personally coached elite athletes including Patrice Evra, former captain of France and Manchester United. Her programs have been followed by over 135,000 athletes worldwide, and her instructional videos have been viewed more than 2.5 million times.