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JenBellYoga Malasana

Yogi Squat Made Easy: Simple How to + Helpful Modifications for Every Body

Beginner Yoga • Yoga • Yoga Pose
August 23, 2022

Our Korean halmeoni (grandma) stood all of 4’10”. She’d whisk her way up to the tops of our 9-foot windows, then drop it like it’s hot into a perfect yogi squat to dust the baseboards.

I was astonished by her zippy nimbleness. A little jealous, too.

Yogi squat (malasana or garland pose) looks effortless when someone grew up squatting for meals, the bathroom, and everything else. But if you grew up in a chair-sitting culture? Your ankles lock up. Your knees shout. Your lower back rounds like a question mark.

Good news: your body isn’t broken.

You just need the right modifications to meet yourself where you are, and that’s exactly what this guide is for. Below, you’ll find a step-by-step on how to do the pose, 5 modifications for the most common sticking points (tight hips, cranky knees, stiff ankles), three variations to keep it interesting, and a full anatomy breakdown for the curious (and for yoga teachers who need a quick reference).

Whether you can already drop into a deep squat or you can barely get halfway down, your version of yogi squat is in here.

(And if you’re wondering why you’d want to bother in the first place? Halmeoni cleaned her baseboards well into her 80s, but more on that in a minute. 🧹)

What a visual aid? Watch the video.

Caution! Why you shouldn’t do Garland Pose

Malasana doesn’t look impressive or difficult to do, but it is far from easy. There are a few contraindications for doing malasana, but with one-on-one support from a knowledgable professional, many (but not all), people can find comfort in garland pose after some time. If you have had the following please speak to your physical therapist, yoga therapist, or physician before attempting the pose:

  • Hip replacement
  • Knee replacement

*CAUTION* It is not possible (nor is it safe) to achieve malasana for a posterior hip replacement.

Malasana 101: How to squat like a yogi

If you haven’t already guessed, malasana has many names. Typically “garland pose” is the English translation, but you’ll hear people reference it as “yogi squat.” 

No matter what you call it, when done traditionally, malasana is one of those poses that allows you to feel supported while stretching, but also strong all at the same time. Once you get into the pose, sitting in it for some time should feel comfortable.

Lower Body:

  • Feet are around hip distance apart (your mobility, flexibility, the physical length of your legs, and physical width if your hips all play a role in this)
  • Heels theoretically should be on the floor.
  • Knees are completely bent (flexed) so the backs of your thighs (hamstrings) are touching your calves.
  • Tops of your thighs are pressed up against your core with your hips completely bent (flexed)
  • Tailbone is pointed towards the ground.
  • Core can be engaged, but it can also be relaxed

Upper Body:

  • Spine is long – no rounding forward here
  • Crown of the head reaches away from your tailbone
  • Traditionally hands press together with elbows inside the knees/inner thighs

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Let’s get into it: Moving In and out of yogi squat

Moving into garland pose

Lowering from standing is the easiest and most accessible way to move into malasana. You don’t have to work against gravity, and you can maintain the symmetry of the pose.

  • Start standing on your mat with your feet about (skinny side) mat-width 
  • Toes turned out approximately 45 degrees (this is not a hard and fast rule)
  • Hands come together at heart center 
  • Bend the knees keeping them tracking over the toes
  • Tailbone draws down towards the ground
  • Lower until the backs of the calves touch the backs of the thighs, and the fronts of the thighs touch the front of the torso.
  • Your butt should be hovering just over the floor
  • Elbows go inside the thighs and hands press together
  • Lengthen the spine engaging the muscles of the core and the back to prevent rounding.
  • Crown of the head reaches up toward the ceiling

Important things to note:

  • Feel free to lower the hands to the thighs or the ground as you move in or out of the pose

Moving out of yogi squat

There are so many ways to get out of malasana. You can have fun, or keep it strictly functional, but here are a few ideas to get you started.

Option 1:

  • Lean back until your bottom touches the floor

Option 2:

  • Stand back up

Option 3:

  • Hands come to the floor in front of you and move into tabletop

Option 4:

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Help (Troubleshooting) I’ve fallen and can’t get up!

It Doesn’t Look Right

Malasana is not easy or comfortable for many people. Chances are if you are struggling to get into the pose you will find yourself in one of the two options below. You might even bounce back and forth between the two until you’ve gained the right flexibility in the appropriate places.

My heels are lifted

Try walking your feet out a little bit wider.

I can’t lower my hips

Try walking your feet closer together. You can also try turning your feet in (or out) a little to see if it makes a difference.

Physically Tight

Lifted heels and hips are not the only difficulties people find in yogi squat. Sometimes you CAN get all the way down but you feel uncomfortable. And sometimes you are trying to adjust to correct one of the above 👆but find yourself seesawing between the two. Here are a few ways to prop and adapt the pose to meet your needs.

Tight calves

Tight hips

  • Turn the feet in or out and see if one way is easier
  • Walk the feet in and out to find the sweet spot for you
  • Sit on a block

Tight lower back

  • Play around with rounding forward (as long as you don’t have herniated discs)
  • Engage your core to draw the thighs and belly closer together

3 Variations for a squat with three Names 

There isn’t a lot of room to move in malasana, but below are a few ways to switch up malasana so it’s more versatile and exciting.

With a twist

An easy twist in malasana is a great way to mix it up, it’s also a precursor to taking the bind. For a visual description check out the video. 

From malasana:

  • Lower one hand towards the floor in front of and outside of the same side foot
  • Straighten the arm
  • Gently press that arm into the inside of the leg to initiate the twist
  • Look over the opposite shoulder
  • Open up the other arm out towards the side and towards the ceiling (think straight line from one set of fingertips towards the other)

With the bind

The bind is never necessary but it can be an excellent way to stretch the chest. So the directions are easier I will describe how to take the bind on one side, swap “left” with “right” to do the bind on the other side. You can also watch this variation of malasana demonstrated in the video.

Start in malasana:

  • Extend the right palm to the floor outside of but forward of the right foot (The right arm is straight)
  • Internally rotate the right arm so the elbow and palm turn up toward the ceiling. (It should feel awkward)
  • Bend the elbow, allow the back of the right hand to touch the outside of the right leg. (the palm faces a wall, pinky side of the hand is closest to the floor)
  • Left arm reaches out to the left side and wraps around the back. (shoulder is internally rotated and elbow is bent)
  • Allow the back of your left hand to gently touch your back.
  • Expand the chest. (think move the collar bones away from each other)
  • Reach the left hand to the right hand. (they may or may not connect)

Notes:

  • This is not accessible to everyone.
  • Try holding a strap in the left and reaching for it with the right hand.

Work the compression

Compression work is key for press entrances to inversions. 

Psss: If you have no idea what that means, it’s ok. The following exercise is accessible for all and you’ll still find the benefit.

It’s easy to work the compression. All you have to do is engage the core (transverse abdominis) and psoas to pull the thighs close to the core in malasana. Here’s how to experience it:

  • Start in malasana
  • Hands and arms can be wherever is most comfortable
  • Engage your TA (transverse abdominis) Think:
    • Draw the two front hip points towards each other
    • Draw the space below your belly button towards the spine
    • Feel the abdomen firm
  • Use the core to draw the thighs to the torso
  • Keep the spine long

Note:

  • Thighs can be wide apart or close together
  • You may need to shift your feet/legs to maximize the compression effort

Does this look right? What you should feel.

You may not be aware of what you feel when garland pose is a challenge for you. Below is a guide of what you should feel when you’re fully in the pose. If your muscles are tight and you’re unable to get all the way into malasana some of the things below may not be felt, and that’s O.K. If you’re more mobile the list below may only feel like slight sensation (also OK).

  • A stretch in your hips – typically the back and outsides, but the compression may cause pressure on the front side
  • Stretch in your inner thighs
  • Stretch through the calves
  • Stretch on the bottoms of your feet

Let’s Nerd Out! Anatomy breakdown of Malasana

This section is to help you know EXACTLY what’s going on. Honestly, this would have been nice when I first started teaching yoga. These days my husband always asks for stretches/exercises for specific muscles. This section is also for that. 

You don’t need to be an anatomy expert, this can help you general understand your body and its specific anatomy.

Muscles worked:

Malasana is mostly a pose for stretching, but like in those compression drills above 👆these muscles are engaged to help support the spine or work the compression:

  • Erector spinae 
  • QL (Quadratus Lomborum)
  • Erectus abdominis (maybe)(optional)
  • Transverse abdominis (optional)
  • Psoas (optional for compression)

Muscles stretched

As you guessed many muscles are stretched in garland pose. Your flexibility has a great impact on what muscles will be stretched when you’re in malasana. The pose itself is not a deep stretch but for some, the stretches may feel intense. 

  • Gastrocnemius 
  • Soleus
  • Quadriceps (maybe)
  • Hamstrings (maybe)
  • Gluteus Maximus (maybe)
  • Adductors (maybe)

I drop into yogi squat almost every day. Something usually pops in a good way on the way down. My spine loosens. My hips let go. After a few breaths I’m more energized than when I started, with a spine that feels 2 inches longer and hips that move freely in all the ways.

Halmeoni was onto something. She was 80-something and still dropping into a perfect yogi squat to dust her baseboards, and I’m convinced that’s part of why she moved the way she did. The pose isn’t really about the pose. It’s about giving your body a position it was always meant to do, and feeling the difference in everything that happens after you stand back up.

Some days that difference even makes me want to clean my baseboards. Almost. 😉

How about you? Are you ready to pop a yogi squat next time those baseboards need dusting?

Loved this guide? There’s more where that came from.

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