It’s all too common for people to think that they “can’t” do yoga because they’re not flexible. Really, that’s all the more reason to start; you can practice yoga for the sake of becoming more flexible, among many other worthy benefits. And flexibility isn't just for sitting in Lotus Pose for hours on end or nailing other advanced poses on your mat. The fact is, being flexible is crucial for overall well-being—no matter your age, level of physical activity, or health status.

Keep reading to discover the link between yoga and flexibility, according to experts. Plus: the best yoga poses for flexibility that’ll help you get loose and limber from top to toe.

Why Flexibility Is Important for Your Overall Wellbeing

Many people think being flexible means being able to touch your toes and perform other bendy feats. In reality, flexibility includes—but goes beyond—having stretchy muscles, and is crucial for maintaining health in many other ways.

“Strong and flexible muscles allow us to be mobile and maintain a fuller range of motion in our joints,” says Peloton instructor Kirra Michel. “Flexibility also allows us to move with more ease and fluidity in our workouts, our daily movements, and as we age.” 

For instance, prioritizing flexibility via stretching will help you combat pain from short, tight muscles—whether that’s from staring at screens all day (hello, tech neck) or overusing certain muscle groups (such as your hip flexors from your morning Peloton Bike sessions or runs). Meanwhile, flexibility in your connective tissues is vital for maintaining healthy joints, improving posture, preventing injury, and retaining functional independence (i.e., doing everyday activities without aches, pain, or other limitations), says Adrianne Vangool, a physical therapist, yoga therapist, and owner of Vangool Wellness.

Flexibility can also help promote cardiovascular health in an indirect way; remaining flexible helps you avoid joint pain, cramping, and other musculoskeletal issues, allowing you to stay active and stick with your workout routine, per Johns Hopkins Medicine. Some types of flexibility exercises, including dynamic and/or intense yoga flows (such as power yoga), can also count as aerobic exercise and improve circulation when done with enough intensity.

How Yoga Improves Your Flexibility

Yoga and flexibility go hand in hand—or sometimes, hand in foot, à la Big Toe Pose (Padangusthasana), Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasana), and Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana).

“Yoga is a wonderful way to target whole-body flexibility that impacts multiple body systems, rather than just one muscle at a time,” Vangool says. For this reason, she says that practicing yoga for flexibility isn’t just time-efficient; it also involves functional movements that improve daily life and promote good posture to boot.

A growing body of research backs up the link between yoga and flexibility. One 2023 study published in the journal PLoS One found that female Chinese college students who practiced yoga for 16 weeks experienced increased flexibility across the lower back, legs, groin, and hips. Another study of physically active male students published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine in 2023 found that a 12-week yoga intervention improved not only flexibility (as measured by a sit-and-reach test) but also muscular strength and balance. Other research has shown similar boosts in flexibility following a consistent yoga practice across populations as diverse as children and the elderly.

8 Yoga Poses for Flexibility

Regardless of whether you live a sedentary lifestyle, are an elite athlete, or fall somewhere in between, yoga is one of the best antidotes to counteract aches, pains, and tightness—not to mention, foster a meaningful connection between your body and mind. Here, Kirra and Vangool share their favorite yoga poses for flexibility, culminating in a full-body stretch and juicy release.

If you prefer to follow along with an instructor in real time, consider trying a yoga class on the Peloton App.

1. Puppy Pose (Uttana Shishosana)

Puppy Pose offers a satisfying stretch for your shoulders, chest, and back. If you have tight shoulders, Kirra says it’s okay to rest your forehead (rather than your chin) on the mat, as well as to allow your head and chest to hover.

2. Cow Face Arms (Gomukhasana)

Cow Face Pose stretches the arms, shoulders, and chest—and if you do the full expression of the pose, including your legs (as shown above), it’ll stretch your hips and glutes too. Can’t catch your grip? “Perform the same instructions as below, just with a yoga strap in your right hand and making the connection,” Kirra advises. If you don’t have a strap, she suggests making fists with both hands and actively working to reach them towards one another.

3. Warrior 1 Pose (Virabhadrasana 1)

Vangool says that Warrior 1 is great for improving the range of motion in the hips, as well as leg strength and stability. “It’s also a great pose for runners or cyclists who tend to get very tight in their hip flexors and calves,” she adds. You can transition to Warrior 1 from plank, as shown above, or from standing at the top of your mat.

4. Upward-Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)

Upward-Facing Dog is a commonly practiced yoga pose, and for good reason; it offers a great front-body stretch for the abdominals, fronts of the shoulders, chest, hip flexors, and quads. To add this yoga pose for flexibility into a flow, Kirra advises transitioning into Downward-Facing Dog (shown above), as you might do in a Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskars). Vangool also loves this pose, citing it as one of the best yoga poses to counteract the effects of long hours sitting at a desk. 

5. Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Downward-Facing Dog can feel like a breath of fresh air, creating length in the neck, arms, back, hamstrings, and calves. Need to make this foundational yoga posture more accessible? Vangool advises placing your hands on a steady chair. “This pose targets the whole body, improving length of the hamstring and gastrocnemius muscle [part of the calves], while also targeting the flexibility of the spine and strength in the arms to hold this position,” she adds. 

6. Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)

Bridge Pose strengthens the back, glutes, and hamstrings while stretching the neck, throat, chest, abs, hip flexors, and quads. Both Kirra and Vangool cite this as a star yoga pose to encourage flexibility in the back and hips—especially for those who sit for long hours at a time. Need more support? Place a yoga block under your lower back for a more restorative iteration of the pose. Ready to level up? Advance into Wheel Pose after warming up with a few Bridges.

7. Reclined Butterfly Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana) with Blocks

This supported version of reclined Butterfly Pose, also called Reclined Bound Angle Pose, opens up the chest, shoulders, lower back, abs, and hip flexors. Don’t have blocks? Kirra says you can place a bolster lengthwise at your mid-back, so your head can rest on it as well. If you don’t have any yoga props, that’s okay too; just note that this version will primarily work on stretching your hips and inner thighs, rather than your chest. Lastly, Kirra says you can skip the hip opener and focus on expanding your chest by keeping your feet flat on the ground and your knees bent.

8. Reclined Pigeon Pose (Supta Kapotasana)

Reclined Pigeon Pose, also called Supine Figure Four, opens up the glutes, tensor fasciae latae (TFL), and lower back.  

How to Use Yoga to Increase Your Flexibility

The above list just scratches the surface when it comes to the yoga poses you can use for flexibility. To optimize the flexibility-boosting results of your yoga practice, Kirra advises:

“Working on flexibility is not only physical, but also mental,” Kirra adds. Patience and grace will go a long way in making your body and your mind more flexible and at ease. “It takes a long time to release (sometimes decades’ worth of) tightness and/or lack of movement in these areas of your body,” she continues. 

Lastly, Vangool says that the keys to improving flexibility, whether via yoga or stretching, are time under tension (the amount of time a muscle is active and under tension during an exercise) and consistency. She advocates for a low and slow approach, especially if you’re new to yoga or experiencing a lot of tightness. “It’s better to stay in a range of five out of 10 (for level of stretch) for longer, rather than to hold for shorter and blow past your tolerance,” she explains. “Building up your tolerance over time and being consistent will give your body time to adapt to the flexibility you are trying to grow into.”