Hip popping out to the side in Side Angle

This is Ashtanga Yoga Tech Support. Real questions from the community, answered.

The Question

Hip keeps popping out to the side in side angle pose – block not really helping tbh

Our Response

A block raises the floor; it doesn’t tell your hip where to go. So if the hip keeps shooting out laterally in Utthita Parsvakonasana, the block was never the right fix—it’s a control problem, not a height problem. What’s happening: instead of bending the front knee straight over the ankle and keeping the pelvis stacked, you’re letting the front hip drift outward and dumping your weight into the outer hip and IT band. The joint slides to the side because nothing is actively holding the femur centered in the socket.

Drive the front knee out toward the pinky-toe side (it tends to cave inward, which makes the hip compensate outward), root the outer edge of the back foot, and pull the front hip back underneath you so the pelvis stacks rather than juts. The real solution is end-range strength: train the hip’s external rotation so it tracks under muscular control instead of flopping to the side at depth. Build that and the “popping out” stops, block or no block.

More on Ashtanga Tech: Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle) · Hip Joint External Rotation Lift Offs