Can't Do The Butterfly Stretch? These 3 Moves Will Help You Get There

Everyone should be doing the butterfly stretch. From combatting cranky hips to fostering flexibility, it's stellar for sedentary folks and active athletes alike.

But not everyone can actually do it. While the butterfly stretch is deceptively simple — you sit on the floor, press the soles of your feet together and let your knees fall out to either side — it's far from easy.

And most people who work at a desk for nine hours a day simply don't have these abilities.

But that doesn't mean you can't teach your old muscles and joints new tricks. By dedicating time to improving your flexibility and mobility in these areas through targeted stretches, you can build up to a better butterfly stretch.

4 Benefits of the Butterfly Stretch

1. It Improves Hip Health

Doing this stretch can help you maintain mobile, free-moving hip joints for long-term joint health, Becourtney says. Because your hips are involved in just about every major movement pattern — walking, running, jumping, etc. — when they're limber and loose, your entire body will move more easily and function better.

2. It Offsets Too Much Sitting

If you spend your 9 to 5 hours at a desk, odds are your hip flexors are tight and short. This stretch opens and lengthens these stiff muscles, helping to counteract the negative effect of prolonged sitting throughout the workday, Becourtney says.

3. It Reduces Low Back Pain

The butterfly stretch doesn't just relieve tight hips, it also stretches and alleviates tension in the low back, Becourtney says. Since back pain is one of the most common physical complaints (eight out of 10 people experience a backache in their lifetime, per the U.S. National Library of Medicine), that's a big benefit.

4. It Improves Your Range of Motion

And moving your joints through a full range of motion helps keep them mobile (read: healthy) and less prone to pain and injury now and in the long term.

How to Improve the Butterfly Stretch

If your hips or low back are too tight, don't push yourself into the butterfly position. You should never force your muscles to do something they're not ready to do, as it can cause pain or injury. Instead, work with your body and ease your way into the move by incorporating the following stretches into your daily routine.

These stretches target some of the most common problems that prohibit you from nailing the butterfly posture (like tight hip flexors and adductors) and will help you build the mobility and flexibility you need to take your butterfly stretch to the next level.

Try doing these simple stretches throughout the day to loosen stiff muscles and break up bouts of prolonged sitting.

Be patient — it takes time to get better at the butterfly stretch. The more you do the moves, the closer you'll get to reaping its benefits.

Move 1: Frog Stretch

“This is a great stretch to work on inner thigh (adductor) mobility, which is a requisite component to performing the butterfly stretch,” Becourtney says. By increasing flexibility and mobility in the adductor muscles, you’ll eventually be able to get your knees as wide as necessary to nail the butterfly posture, he explains.

Move 2: Half-Kneeling Quad/Hip Flexor Stretch

This move addresses tightness in the upper/front part of the thighs and hip flexors, which can be a limiting factor when attempting the butterfly stretch, Becourtney says.

When your hip flexors are tight, you might feel a “pinching sensation” in the front of your hip when performing the butterfly stretch, he explains. It also helps decrease this tension by engaging your glutes — the opposing muscle group.

Read more on: livestrong