Side-to-Side Garland Pose
What Is the Side-to-Side Garland Pose?
Side-to-Side Garland Pose is a compound exercise that primarily targets the hips and groin and also engages the glutes, the obliques and the quads. It is a beginner-level mobility drill that turns the held Garland Pose deep squat into a slow rotation, with the chest and pelvis turning toward one side and then the other while both feet stay planted.
The drill moves each hip through inward and outward rotation while it is deeply bent, which is the range the hips work through at the bottom of a deep squat. As you turn to one side, the opposite knee sweeps forward and in toward the floor while the other knee stays wide. It fits well in a warm-up before squatting or lower-body training, in a yoga or mobility flow, or as a short break for anyone who spends most of the day sitting in a chair.
The inner-thigh adductors of the wide leg lengthen, and on the side where the knee drops, the glutes and the deep outer hip muscles stretch as the thigh turns in. The front fibers of the gluteus medius and minimus and the tensor fasciae latae, the muscles that turn the hip inward, control that lowering, and the obliques turn the torso. The quads and calves work lightly to hold the bottom of the squat. Pausing for a breath at each side increases the time spent at end range, while moving continuously makes it more of a warm-up.
The drill suits anyone who can already sit in a deep squat with the heels on the floor. If that position is not available yet, practice the static Garland Pose first, hold on to a door frame or post, or rotate the hips on the floor with the 90/90 Hip Switch. It is not the same movement as the Cossack Squat, where the weight shifts onto one bent leg and the other leg straightens out to the side. Here both knees stay bent and the work is rotation, not a lateral lunge.
Muscles Worked
- Adductor Longus
- Primary
- Adductor Magnus
- Primary
- Gluteus Maximus
- High
- External Oblique
- Medium
- Gluteus Medius
- Medium
- Gluteus Minimus
- Medium
- Tensor Fasciae Latae
- Medium
- Soleus
- Low
Instructions
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes turned out.
- Bend your knees and lower your hips into a deep squat, below knee height, keeping both heels flat on the floor.
- Clasp your hands in front of your chest with your elbows near the inside of your knees and your chest lifted.
- Turn your chest and pelvis toward the right, letting your head follow.
- As you turn, let your left knee sweep forward and in toward the floor while your right knee stays wide. Both feet stay planted.
- Pause for a moment at the end of the turn without forcing the knee lower.
- Turn back to the center with both knees wide.
- Turn toward the left, letting your right knee drop in, then return to the center.
- Keep your hips low and your heels down throughout, and alternate sides until you complete the planned reps on each side.
Common Mistakes
Heels lifting
Letting the heels come off the floor shifts the weight onto the toes and knees and costs balance, so widen the stance or put a folded mat under the heels instead.
Rising out of the squat
Standing up partway on each turn swaps the hip rotation for a knee bend and removes the point of the drill, so keep the hips low from side to side.
Forcing the knee down
Pushing the dropping knee toward the floor with a hand or elbow, or bouncing it, strains the front of the hip, so let it lower only as far as it goes under control.
Turning only the shoulders
Twisting the upper back while the pelvis stays square turns the drill into a spinal twist and leaves the hips mostly still, so turn the chest and pelvis together.
Swinging from side to side
Rocking quickly uses momentum and skips the end range where the drill does its work, so move slowly and pause briefly at each side.
Slumping forward
Letting the chest drop and the lower back round loads the spine and limits how far the hips can turn, so keep the chest lifted with the hands at the breastbone.
Injuries
Side-to-Side Garland Pose is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. It uses no load and moves slowly, so the main strain points are the front of the hip on the side where the knee drops, the knees at their deepest bend, and the ankles.
On the dropping side, the hip is deeply bent and turned inward at the same time. That combination is the position that tends to pinch in people with hip impingement or a labral tear, so turn only as far as the hip stays comfortable, or sit on a yoga block to reduce how far the hip bends. Anyone with a hip replacement, particularly through the back of the hip, should get clearance from their surgeon or physical therapist first, because deep bending with the thigh turned inward is a common restriction after that surgery. The deep knee bend also compresses the back of the meniscus and the kneecap joint, so people with a meniscus tear or kneecap pain should work above the depth that provokes symptoms.
To make it easier, hold on to a door frame or post, place a folded mat under your heels, or sit on a block. For a version with no squat at all, try Lying Windshield Wipers or the 90/90 Hip Switch. To progress, slow the turn down and pause longer at each side, then build lateral strength through the same range with the Cossack Squat.
Stop if you feel a sharp or pinching pain in the front of the hip or the groin, pain inside the knee, a catching or locking sensation, or tingling or numbness in the lower legs or feet. A stretching sensation in the hips and inner thighs is normal.
- Primary Focus
- Hips & groin
- Equipment
- Body weight
- Modality
- Yoga
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How is Side-to-Side Garland Pose different from a Cossack Squat?
In Side-to-Side Garland Pose both feet stay planted, both knees stay bent and the hips rotate while you stay low in the middle. In the Cossack Squat you shift your weight onto one leg and straighten the other out to the side, which makes it a lateral strength movement rather than a rotation drill.
- Q: What if my heels lift when I squat this low?
That usually points to limited ankle range. A study of 101 healthy young adults found that ankle dorsiflexion range was the measure most closely tied to how low they could squat, in both men and women. Until your ankles loosen up, put a folded mat or small wedge under your heels or hold on to a support.
- Q: How many reps should I do?
In a warm-up, 6 to 10 slow turns to each side for 1 or 2 sets is plenty. Pause for a second or two at each side rather than rushing through the reps.
- Q: Is it okay for my knee to move inward during this drill?
Yes, here the inward knee movement is the point of the drill: it is the hip turning inward while deeply bent, done slowly and without load. That is different from the knees collapsing inward under a loaded squat, where you still want them to track over your toes.
- Q: Where should I feel the stretch?
Most people feel it in the outer hip and buttock on the side where the knee drops, and in the inner thigh of the leg that stays wide. A pinch at the front of the hip is not the target, so turn less or sit on a block to raise your hips.