The butterfly pose is a seated yoga posture where you bring the soles of your feet together and let your knees fall open to the sides, creating a shape that resembles butterfly wings. Known in Sanskrit as Baddha Konasana (meaning “bound angle pose”), it’s one of the most accessible hip-opening stretches in yoga and a staple in flexibility routines, prenatal classes, and cool-down sequences alike.
Origins and Other Names
You’ll hear this pose called by several names depending on the class or tradition. Baddha Konasana is the formal Sanskrit term. It’s also commonly called Cobbler’s Pose, because it mimics the cross-legged seated position Indian cobblers traditionally used while working. In older Hatha Yoga texts like the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a similar posture appears under the name Bhadrasana, or “throne pose,” reflecting its use as a meditation seat. The “butterfly” nickname comes from the dynamic version of the pose, where you gently bounce your knees up and down like flapping wings.
How to Do It
Start by sitting on the floor with your legs extended in front of you and your spine tall. Bend both knees and bring the soles of your feet together, letting your knees drop open to either side. It doesn’t matter how close your feet are to your body. Focus on pressing your heels firmly together rather than forcing your knees down.
Interlace your fingers around your toes or hold your ankles. If your back rounds significantly, place your hands on your legs or shins instead to help maintain a straighter spine. On an inhale, press your hips down and lengthen through the crown of your head toward the ceiling. On an exhale, you can hinge forward gently from the hips, keeping your spine long rather than collapsing through the chest. If you want to use your arms for a deeper stretch, press your elbows into your inner thighs as you fold forward.
For the dynamic “butterfly” version, stay upright and gently flutter your knees up and down. This is often used as a warm-up. For the static hold, stay in the position for 30 seconds to a few minutes, breathing steadily.
What It Stretches and Strengthens
The butterfly pose primarily targets the inner thighs (adductors), hips, and lower back. These are areas that get chronically tight from sitting in chairs all day, which is why the pose tends to feel immediately productive for most people. The external rotation of the thighbones also stretches the muscles around the groin and the outer hips.
Beyond stretching, the pose builds strength and circulation in the pelvic floor muscles. Holding the upright version with a tall spine also engages your core and the small stabilizing muscles along your back. Over time, regular practice increases hip range of motion, which carries over into activities like squatting, running, and simply getting up from the floor more easily.
Key Benefits
The most noticeable benefit is relief from tightness in the hips and inner thighs. If you spend long hours sitting, this area accumulates tension that can contribute to lower back discomfort. The butterfly pose addresses all three problem zones (low back, hips, inner thighs) simultaneously, which makes it efficient for a single stretch.
The pose also promotes relaxation. The combination of a grounded seated position, deep breathing, and a gentle forward fold activates the body’s rest-and-digest response. Many yoga traditions use it specifically as a calming posture at the end of a practice or before meditation.
Improved pelvic floor circulation is another benefit, which is why the pose appears frequently in prenatal yoga. Opening the pelvic region can help ease some of the discomfort associated with pregnancy, improve flexibility in the hips and groin, and potentially support an easier labor by preparing the body for the range of motion childbirth requires. Pregnant women generally practice this pose during the second and third trimesters rather than the first, since deep hip-opening work early in pregnancy is typically discouraged.
Common Mistakes
The biggest mistake is forcing your knees toward the floor. Your knee position depends on the flexibility of your hip joints, not effort. Pushing down on your knees puts stress on the inner knee ligaments without meaningfully increasing the hip stretch. Let gravity do the work, and your range of motion will increase naturally over weeks of practice.
Rounding the spine is the other common issue. When people try to fold forward, they often collapse through the upper back and drop their head. This shifts the stretch away from the hips and into the spine in an unproductive way. Think about leading with your chest rather than your forehead. Even a small forward hinge with a straight back is more effective than a deep fold with a rounded one.
Who Should Be Careful
The butterfly pose is beginner-friendly for most people, but certain conditions call for caution or avoidance. If you have a groin injury, skip it entirely, as the stretch can aggravate the tissue. The same applies to knee injuries involving ligament tears, worn-down cartilage, or rheumatoid arthritis. The outward rotation of the knee in this pose puts lateral stress on the joint that damaged knees can’t handle safely.
Anyone who has had surgery on the knee, ankle, or hip should avoid the pose until fully cleared for this type of movement. People with significant hip stiffness, especially older adults, should ease into the pose gradually, possibly sitting on a folded blanket or cushion to elevate the hips and reduce the demand on the joints. Placing yoga blocks or rolled towels under each knee for support is another simple modification that lets you hold the pose without strain.
If you have osteoporosis, kidney problems, or a degenerative spinal condition, the forward fold component of this pose may not be appropriate. The upright version, without folding, is generally a safer alternative in those cases.
Simple Modifications
Sitting on a cushion or folded blanket tilts your pelvis forward slightly, which makes it much easier to keep a straight spine. This is the single most effective modification for people who feel stuck or uncomfortable in the basic pose.
If your knees are far from the floor and the stretch feels intense, place blocks or pillows under each thigh for support. This lets your hip muscles relax rather than brace, which actually leads to a deeper stretch over time. You can also move your feet farther away from your body to reduce the intensity, then gradually draw them closer as your flexibility improves.
For a restorative version, lie on your back and bring the soles of your feet together, letting your knees fall open (sometimes called Reclined Butterfly or Supta Baddha Konasana). This removes the challenge of keeping your spine upright and lets you focus entirely on the hip opening while gravity gently does the work.