Garland Pose Malasana

Body WeightBeginner

Garland Pose, or Malasana, is a deep squat that opens the hips and stretches the lower back.

To perform this pose:

  1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
  2. Lower your hips down into a squat, keeping your heels on the ground if possible.
  3. Bring your palms together at your heart center.
  4. Press your elbows against your inner knees to deepen the stretch.
  5. Hold the position, breathing deeply.

How to perform the Garland Pose Malasana

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Garland Pose Malasana using your body weight.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your primary working muscles.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your working muscles rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

Build a free routine

Stage exercises here, then sign up to save them as a real Fitly routine — synced to web and mobile.

View staged routine (0)

Related exercises

0 exercises staged Save your routine — sign up free.