Asana: Transverse adduction in the side-lying position

yogabook / asana / transversaladduktion in seitlage

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Last updated: 21 September 2025
Name: Transverse adduction in the lateral position
Level: A

Classification

Traditional: functional exercise

Contraindication

A tendency towards anterior
shoulder dislocation that has not been treated surgically constitutes a contraindication.

Effects

Preparation

No preparatory exercises are specified for this functional exercise.

Diagnostics (No.)

(261) Excessive tension in the transversal abductors

The main cause of the inability to rotate the upper body far towards the arm lying on the floor, or of the intense sensation of stretching felt when attempting to do so, is dorsal scapulohumeral muscles that pull the upper arm in the shoulder joint in a dorsal direction, or truncoscapular muscles that retract the scapula retract (retractors).

Instructions

  1. Lie on your side, on the side where the transverse adductors of the shoulder joint are to be stretched. The knee joints and hip joints should be slightly bent to ensure a stable side-lying position.
  2. Extend your arm loosely and bring it into a 90° frontal abduction; keep the other arm in a position where it does not interfere with the movement.
  3. Turn your upper body towards the arm lying on the floor, as far as you can comfortably manage.

Details

  1. This posture stretches the transverse adductors of the shoulder joint by moving the upper body relative to the arm. These are mainly the deltoid muscle (spinalis portion), along with the infraspinatus and teres minor, and to a lesser extent, depending on the position of the arm, the supraspinatus as well. As transverse adduction in the shoulder joint is exhausted when the arm is pointing approximately forwards, the remainder of the movement comes from the scapulothoracic glide, which means that the retractors of the scapula are also stretched.
  2. In cases where the garudasana cannot be performed, it must be assessed whether the exorotation capacity of the arm at the shoulder joint is insufficient, or whether the protraction of the scapula is too limited.
  3. Make sure that the shoulder blades remain depressed.