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If you want to stay flexible as you age, a yoga instructor says you should make sure you’re practicing these three poses
From standing and seated poses to backbends and inversions—there are many different types of yoga poses to bring into your practice.
But according to yoga instructor Sommer Sobin, co-founder of Thousand Petals Yoga, if you’re struggling with tightness and tension in your spine, hips, and shoulders, there’s one particular type of posture worth rolling out your mat for—and that’s lateral side bends.
“Lateral side bends are yoga postures where the spine curves gently to one side, creating length and space through the whole side body, from the outer hips and waist, up through the rib cage and intercostal muscles, and into the armpits and arms,” Sobin explains.
She says this simple type of yoga pose can ease tightness built up from sitting and slouching in front of a screen.
“By lengthening the intercostal muscles—the muscles between the ribs—these poses make room for a fuller inhale and a more easeful exhale, which leads to increased energy and mental vibrancy. More spacious breathing calms the nervous system and supports focus.”
To help shift your energy and bring some ease, Sobin has shared three of her favourite lateral side bends.
The three lateral side bends beginners should master
1. Standing crescent pose / standing side bend
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“This one wakes you up from the inside out in just a few short rounds of breath,” Sobin says.
“Reaching up and over, the whole side body stretches and brightens. You can feel yourself growing taller from the ground up.”
How to do it:
3–5 breaths per side. Repeat 2 times.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Feel the inner and outer edges of each foot pressing down into the floor.
- Engage the legs by imagining that you’re hugging the muscles inward and upward.
- Inhale, reaching both arms overhead. Clasp your left wrist with your right hand, lifting and lengthening your torso. Continue pressing down through the feet, imagining that you’re growing taller with each breath.
- As you exhale, gently lift up and over to the left side. Keep the chest open and the side body elongated, and avoid collapsing forward.
2. Seated cross-leg side bend
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“Sitting cross-legged, the hips can anchor down while a simple side bend immediately brings a big opening through the low back, waist area, ribs, and even through the arms,” Sobin says.
How to do it:
3 to 5 breaths per side. Repeat 2 times.
- Sit cross-legged on the floor or on a folded blanket, so your knees are below the hips.
- Ground down evenly through both sit bones while lifting the spine upward from the pelvis.
- Inhale, bringing one hand to the ground next to you and walk the fingertips to the side, while reaching the other arm up overhead so it is alongside the top ear with the palm facing down.
- With each exhale, continue to lift and lengthen to the side, keeping both sit bones anchored.
- Keep the chest and gaze open, draw in the sides of your waist, and keep reaching out and away from the pelvis.
3. Seated side bend with one leg straight
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“This one feels like a lullaby for the nervous system and gets sweeter the longer you linger,” Sobin says.
“This pose brings in both side body length and a forward fold’s quiet energy. There’s also a dual stretch of the hamstrings and a spinal twist—so you get a lot out of this delicious posture.”
How to do it:
5–10 breaths per side. Repeat 2 times.
- Sit on the floor or on a blanket, one leg long and straight, the other leg bent with the foot pointed toward the inner thigh.
- Ground through both sit bones, especially the one on the bent-knee side.
- Inhale to lengthen the spine upward.
- Exhale, folding the long side of the torso toward the leg with one hand down to the ground on the inside of the straight leg, while the other arm sweeps up and over alongside the top ear with the palm facing down.
