Anatomy Geeky Puzzle That No One Can Solve!

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I received a great question the other day, and it sparked a whole exploration of the yoga pose frog pose:

"Hi Jenni! What do you think the hips are doing in Frog pose? Is it internal or external rotation? If we flip this pose like in reclined, it becomes external rotation, right? But belly down, is it internal? If so, why? Does it have to do with the torso position in relationship to the hips? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks!"

After sharing my answer about the anatomy of frog pose with this inquisitive yogi, I realized this would be a *perfect* yoga geeky question to throw out to my Yoga & Movement Science Facebook group. (This is a free FB group I created that anyone can join, BTW!)

Because... frog pose is confusing, right?? The legs are arranged at odd angles, our torso faces down toward the floor, we see right angles at the hips and knees, and the feet point out to the sides.

What does this mean for the hip position in this pose? Are the hips externally rotated like pigeon pose? Are they internally rotated like virasana?

I was curious about the Facebook group’s thoughts on the anatomical position of the hips in frog pose, so I asked group members to share their views, promising to follow up with *my* answer the next day.

And what did the group say?

99% of respondents said the hips are in external rotation in frog pose.

Clearly, there's something about frog pose that leads our movement eyes to believe it's an externally-rotated hip opener.

But is this true? The surprising anatomical reality of frog pose would suggest otherwise!

Check out my anatomy breakdown of this confusing pose (and why it's not actually an externally-rotated hip opener) in this video!