Open Exercise

Development draft, v0. Formats and IDs may change.

Catalogue

Butterfly Stretch

oec:butterfly-stretch

A seated static stretch that targets the inner thighs and groin by bringing the soles of the feet together and lowering the knees outward.

Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.

Also called: Seated Butterfly Stretch, Seated Groin Stretch, Bound Angle Pose, Baddha Konasana

How to do it

Setup

  1. Sit upright on the floor with your legs bent in front of you.
  2. Bring the soles of your feet together and let your knees fall outward toward the floor.
  3. Grasp your feet or ankles with your hands and draw your heels comfortably toward your pelvis while maintaining a tall, neutral spine.

Movement

  1. Engage your posture by lifting through the chest and gently pulling your shoulders down and back.
  2. Allow gravity to lower your knees toward the floor, optionally using your elbows to apply gentle, even pressure to your inner thighs.
  3. Maintain a steady stretch in the groin without bouncing or forcing your knees down.
  4. Hold the position for the prescribed duration, then gently release and return your legs to center.

Breathing

Breathe deeply and slowly throughout the stretch, using each exhalation to relax deeper into hip abduction.

Cues

  • Sit tall through the crown of your head
  • Let the knees fall naturally
  • Hinge from the hips, do not round the back

Common faults

Rounding the lower back and slouching to bring the chest forward.
Keep the spine upright and pelvis neutral; hinge forward from the hips only as far as mobility allows without lumbar flexion.
Bouncing the knees aggressively.
Hold a smooth, static position and allow the adductors to release gradually.

Safety

  • Avoid aggressive downward force on the knees if you experience hip or knee joint discomfort.
  • Sit on an elevated mat or yoga block if tight hips cause excessive lower back rounding.

Muscles

  • Adductor longus stretched
  • Adductor brevis stretched
  • Adductor magnus stretched
  • Gracilis stretched
  • Pectineus stretched

Joints

  • Hip: Abduction, External rotation
  • Knee: Flexion

Details

Movement
Stretch, Mobility drill
Modality
Flexibility, Mobility
Mechanics
not applicable
Force
static
Laterality
bilateral
Kinetic chain
not applicable
Level
beginner
Equipment
None
Record
Duration
Load
none, not applicable

Sources

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

butterfly-stretch.json