This groin stretch is beneficial for most men— especially office workers and athletes—because it releases tight hips and improves mobility. Do this stretch both before and after a workout to mobilize your hips and relieve lower-back pressure, or anytime you’re feeling tight and want a quick stretch.
Butterfly Stretch Target Areas
- Groin
- Core
Butterfly Stretch Benefits
- Stretches groin and increases flexibility
- Relieves lower-back pain
- Improves mobility for squats, lunges, and other lower-body movements
– click images to enlarge –
How to Do Butterfly Stretch
- Sit on the floor, place the soles of your feet together, and squeeze your glutes to point the knees out to the sides. Grip both ankles or feet for stability.
- Sit upright. Engage the glutes to squeeze knees closer toward the floor. Hold the posture, inhaling as you sit taller, and exhaling as you deepen the stretch in your groin.
Cues for Butterfly Stretch
- Engage glutes
- Roll shoulders up, back, and down to retract shoulder blades
- Engage core
- Pull tailbone into floor
WHAT YOU SHOULD FEEL
- Active engagement of glutes
- Stretch through groin
WHAT YOU SHOULDN’T FEEL
- Shoulder pain; if you do, roll shoulders back and adjust grip on feet
- Knee pain; if you do, move feet farther from hips and squeeze glutes
Butterfly Stretch Pro Tip
If this stretch is too easy, pull heels in closer to your groin. Just be careful not to strain your knees.
Butterfly Stretch Modification
To help you sit more upright and reduce the required core strength, sit on a block, or place your hands just behind your hips.
About Dean Pohlman, Founder & CEO of Man Flow Yoga, Author of Yoga Fitness for Men, Expert on Yoga Fitness for Men.
Dean Pohlman is an E-RYT 200 certified yoga instructor and the founder of Man Flow Yoga. Dean is widely considered to be an authority on Yoga for Men. He has worked with physical therapists to create yoga programs for back health and spinal recovery. His workouts and programs have been used by professional and collegiate athletes, athletic trainers, and personal trainers; and have been recommended by physical therapists, doctors, chiropractors, and other medical professionals.
Dean is a successfully published author through DK Publishing (Yoga Fitness for Men), selling 35,000 copies worldwide in English, French, and German; in addition to being a co-producer of the Body by Yoga DVD Series, which has sold over 40,000 copies on Amazon since its release in 2016.
Man Flow Yoga has been featured in Muscle & Fitness Magazine, Mens’ Health, The Chicago Sun, New York Magazine, and many more major news media outlets.
