My journey to flexibility

On one knee and one foot, lean forward while keeping your hips square. That means your crotch should be pointed forwards, not towards the wall. Lean forward and flex the butt cheek on the leg that is back so your hips are pressed further forwards. Do not let your front knee go past your front heel. It helps to have something on each side of you during the stretch so you feel stable, and can focus on increasing your range of motion without fear of falling.

You should feel this right below the front of your hip bone on the leg that is back (your hip flexor), and in your quad on that leg.

Lean back so your butt is behind the knee you are on, straighten out your leg, and hinge forward at the hips. Keep your hips square, the same way you did during the first stretch. Keep your back ramrod straight, as you lean closer to your knee.

You should feel this in a very focused way in your hamstring of the leg that is sticking out straight.

A variation on the second stretch, once you’ve spent thirty seconds with your back perfectly straight, allow your back to round.

Feel how the stretch moves down your leg and spreads out.

Return to the first stretch we did, but this time don’t use anything to hold yourself up. If your left leg is back, put your left hand on the floor. Lean forward and put your left hand on the ground. grab your back foot with your spare hand. Feel the stretch! If you cant do this, you are really tight, and need to do a lot more hip flexor stretching. If this stretch is too difficult, look at stretch number 5.

You should feel this right below the front of your hip bone on the leg that is back, and in your quad on that leg.

This is an adapted version of stretch number 4. By letting the wall shorten the hip flexor and hold your foot, your other hand is free to help hold you up. The closer your knee is to the wall the more you will feel this stretch. This is an easier version of the stretch and allows more cursing without fear of falling or dropping your foot. When you want to make this stretch even more intense, lift your chest up in this stretch by placing your hand on something to help you elevate your body and pull the muscle open 🙂 Excuse the finger in that last picture.

You should feel this right below the front of your hip bone on the leg that is back, and in your quad on that leg.

Now that you have done your splits pre-stretching, slide into the splits! Imagine that you’re trying to touch the wall in front of you with your front foot, and the wall behind you with your back foot. I have something on both sides of me to help my form and help me feel relaxed enough to stretch my splits. Notice that I am looking to the outside of the leg that is in front to help me keep my hips square. Its sad to go from full splits to just your calf touching. If you want to increase how much this stretch hits your hamstring, lean your head forward to your knee. If you want to increase how much this stretch hits your hip flexors, lean back and look at the ceiling.

You should feel this stretch everywhere in your legs.

Since the front and back of your legs are now stretched out, it’s time to get into middle splits. If you are not very flexible, or just want to feel more secure in your stretch, put a block or chair in front of you and place your hands on it. Let your feet slide out, but make sure your toes are in the air! Look at how I am in the first picture. If your feet are flat on the ground, you are doing the stretch wrong. Hang out in this position for a while, then walk your hands and upper body forward a little, while pointing your feet like the second picture. walk your hand and chest back like in the third picture. Walk back and forth to stretch everywhere in your legs. Finally lower yourself down to the floor.

you should feel this stretch the most in your Adductors.

This stretch is exactly what it looks like. Without leaving the middle splits position, lean one way, try to grab your foot or your ankle and work on getting your head t your knee. Do this on both sides. Also try to reach as far forward as you can in the middle splits. Try to get your lower back straight and tucked under you so you don’t feel like you’re falling over.

This is my favorite back stretch. Whenever my low back hurts, I make sure to do this, and the pain goes away completely. The technique is similar to the previous stretch, but the outside arm on whatever side I am leaning towards reaches back through to the other leg. I work on twisting my chest through so my chest is not facing the leg I am leaning towards, but the other leg. The middle stretch for this one just involves grabbing both feet or knees and leaning forward. I find it interesting how much this changes the stretch from reaching both arms forward.

This stretch and the variations of it are my favorite way to stretch your glutes. Starting on your knees, slide one leg behind you and tuck the other leg in beside that hip bone. Notice I am keeping my hips over the top of my legs, and am not letting myself lean towards one side or the other.

You should feel this in your Glutes, and potentially in other parts of your leg that is tight, such as your Abductors.

For this next stretch, while in pigeon pose, slide your foot that was tucked by you hip bone further up. I usually try to get it to 45 degree angle or a little further. I am still being careful to keep my body upright over the top of my legs. Once I have stayed there for 30 seconds, I move the foot further up. Once I have gotten to the point where my legs are in a “T” position, my knee usually lifts off of the floor. I put my hand on my foot to keep it from sliding back. As I relax into the stretch, The knee drops closer to the ground, and if I had actually been stretching as opposed to just having my picture taken, my knee would be totally on the floor.

You will feel this in your glutes for sure.

While this is not my favorite calf stretch by any means, I know everyone has access to a wall. Step into a lunge and lean forward against the wall, keeping your back leg straight. Rotate your back foot in so that your toes are pointed towards the other foot, not straight ahead. The rotation of the foot moves this from a mediocre stretch to a decent stretch.

Do this seated or standing to improve hamstring and lower back flexibility. Keeping your legs straight and preferably together fold forward and touch your toes. To focus on the lower back more than the hamstrings, grab the ankles and focus on getting your head to your knees.