“Frog pose can help with stretching the inner thighs and hips, as well as improving overall flexibility and range of motion — particularly around the hips, as those are major areas at play in the posture,” Bhanote explains. It also stretches the muscles of the back, so it can help relieve lower back tension, too.
Bhanote says Frog pose releases tension in the hips and pelvis. This improves flexibility and mobility which reduces strain on the lower back and eases pain. Research shows that mindfulness practices like yoga, including Frog pose, improve chronic low back pain.
“The frog stretch is a hip opener and mobility stretch that's great for those who use a lot of hip flexion in their daily lives,” she says. “If you're a runner, that constant range of motion in your leg is shortening the hip flexor. The same is true when you cycle.
Unlock your hips, release stored tension, and let go of emotional trauma with the frog pose stretch. Just one minute daily can help you feel freer, more balanced, and ready to step into a life of ease and abundance.
Massage and bodywork can also be effective in releasing trauma from the hips. Deep tissue massage can help release tension and emotions stored in the muscles and connective tissues of the hips. Bodywork techniques, such as myofascial release, can also be effective in releasing tension and improving mobility.
The Frog Pose 🐸 is an amazing hip opener, but it can be quite challenging due to the lack of flexibility in our hips—something many of us struggle with because of a sedentary lifestyle. When we sit for long hours, our hip muscles become tight and restricted, making it harder to achieve this pose.
Hip osteoarthritis may make it particularly difficult to spread the legs apart, extend the leg straight back, or to point toes inward and move the entire leg in that direction (internal rotation). Called crepitus, joint crunching and popping can be a sign of bone-on-bone friction caused by hip osteoarthritis.
The Role of Hormones in Hip Changes
One hormone, in particular, called relaxin, is responsible for loosening the ligaments in the pelvis and hips. Relaxin is produced in higher amounts during pregnancy, allowing the hip joints to become more flexible and the pelvis to widen in preparation for childbirth.
Frog pose is generally safe for most fitness levels. However, if you have any knee, groin, or hip injuries or discomfort, you may want to avoid this posture. After the first trimester, pregnant women should avoid this pose and take a seated hip opener like the cobbler's pose (Baddha Konasana) instead.
In much seriousness, for anyone who has trouble with frog pose because it irritates your knees - try it on a soft surface like a bed. It feels pretty great.
Frog Yoga Pose, or Mandukasana, impacts the chakra system, primarily the Muladhara (Root Chakra) and Svadhisthana (Sacral Chakra).
Frog movements help restore internal rotation to tight hips. The trick to frog pose is to have adequate padding for your knees, so grab a blanket or an extra yoga mat. From an all-fours position, spread your knees as wide as you can, shins and feet in line with your knees.
Frogs eat untold billions of insects each year, making them economically valuable to agriculture. They also provide a critical food source for birds, fish, snakes, and other wildlife. But the most important contribution frogs make may be their role as environmental indicators.
Using CT scans, they determined that the width of people's pelvises continued to grow after skeletal maturity was reached at age 20. Specifically, the pelvic inlet widened–evidence of actual pelvic growth.
Men find wider hips more attractive because once again, they signal fertility and good genes for mating. Psychologist Devendra Singh conducted a study of people's waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and found that men were most attracted to women with a WHR of 0.7.
Side leg raises, hip raises, and squat kicks are also good options. The mac-daddy of hip-widening exercises may be the side lunge with dumbbells. This is a beefed-up version of a traditional lunge that allows for more resistance, and therefore, more potential muscle growth and hip width.
Spending a lot of time sitting—whether it's at a desk, in a car or even on the couch—puts your hip flexors in a compressed position, causing them to shorten and tighten up.
Increased Risk of Injury
Tight muscles are less pliable and more prone to strains and tears. For athletes and active individuals, tight calves can lead to a higher risk of injuries such as Achilles tendonitis, shin splints, and calf strains.
Practicing Frog Pose regularly can help you improve your range of motion. It is important to note that you should hold this pose for several breaths and allow your body to gradually deepen and soften into the stretch to reduce the risk of injury and avoid overstretching the groin muscles.
Vrschikasana is considered to be one of the hardest yoga poses in the world by many experts and yoga students. In case it's too challenging for you right now, you may start with the plank or headstand and then slowly move on toward this asana. This is one of the most difficult yoga asanas.
The butterfly exercise loosens up your inner thighs and hips and works your pelvic floor. Bonus: You can make it as gentle or intense as you'd like by adding some pressure to your knees or just letting gravity do its work. Suggestion: Try doing this stretch in bed when you wake up in the morning.