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How to Touch Your Toes to Your Head in a Cobra Pose
Being able to touch your toes to the back of your head in a backbend (like in King Cobra pose or King Pigeon pose) is a fun flexibility goal to work towards because: a) it looks cool, and b) it encourages you to work on backbending flexibility through the full backbending chain. So you can’t (usually) get away with just having a bendy lower back, you need to work on the whoooooole length of your body to build up the flexibility (and strength!) to be able to pull those feet all the way to tickle your head.
How to Sit in Full Lotus Pose
Earlier this week I wrote about working on hip flexibility for sitting cross-legged more comfortably, so it seemed only fitting to continue this topic further to the next goal some folks sometimes to aspire to: being able to sit in a “full lotus” pose. Both poses are actually quite similar in the ranges of motion required in the hips, but lotus just requires more flexibility in these areas . .
Help! I Can’t Sit Up Straight with Legs Extended
Do you feel like it’s impossible to sit up straight when sitting on the floor? This is a super common challenge folks with tight hips. But what if I told you the solution isn’t just stretching your hips more? Whether we’re talking about sitting in a “pike” position (butt on the floor, legs together straight in front of you), or sitting in a “straddle” (butt on the floor, legs spread out wide), the two major things this requires are…
What Is Sciatic Nerve Tension (and How Do I Fix It?)
This is a topic I wish I had learned about WAY earlier in my flexibility training journey, because it made such a huge difference in my leg flexibility (and I see the same thing happen with many students that I work with).
For the longest time, I just thought I had tight calves when it came to forward folds . . .
Lift That Leg! 7 Stretches for a Higher Y Scale Leg Hold
A “Y Scale” or a side leg hold is one of my favorite standing contortion shapes because it’s one of the first ones I ever learned to do. Most students tend to enjoy this shape because it looks cool (obviously!) and is typically easier to train than a “traditional” standing split or the even-more-complex needle scale.
Earlier this week I posted a quick how-to showing the basic mechanics of how to do a Y scale. Today we’ll be looking at how to make it look bendier (working on our flexibility to lift the leg higher, make it look split-ier, etc).
Struggling to Keep Your Back “Flat” in a Forward Fold? 5 Tips to Hinge at the Hips
Earlier this week I wrote about why you may choose to keep your back flat (instead of letting it round) in a forward fold - but for many students that’s easier said than done! Like I’ve mentioned in previous posts, our body is really good at avoiding a challenging stretch and compensating by moving other joints (in the case of a forward fold, when the hips are tight that means we tend to try and round the spine to “fold” or reach farther). So for those of you wanting to practice your forward folds with a flat back, here are some of the best modifications and training adjustments I’d suggest.
Is it OK to Round Your Back in a Forward Fold?
Do I have to keep my back flat in a forward fold, or is it OK (and safe) to round it? Like with most flexibility-related questions, the answer is “it depends.” So let’s take a look at why you’re doing your forward fold, and discuss different situations where rounding-vs-flattening your back would be a better choice for your particular goals.
4 Active Flexibility Drills to Strengthen Your Front Splits
If you’re trying to get lower in your front splits - passive stretching is only part of the equation, you need to make sure you’re strengthening your muscles to support this unique range of motion in your hips (front hip flexion and back hip extension). These 4 drills help strengthen our hips to support both the front AND back leg stretches needed to flatten our front splits.
What Muscles Do I Need to Stretch for the Front Splits?
If you’re asking what muscles do you need to stretch for a front split - then congratulations on trying to train smarter! Understanding the basic anatomy behind stretches can not only help you choose better stretches to reach your goals, but it can also help you understand where you should be feeling the stretch, and how to stretch with proper form.
Work Your Active Split Flexibility with Front Split Slides
If you’re looking to train flatter (and stronger!) front splits, working on your active flexibility is a must - particularly working on strengthening your hamstrings and hip flexors while they’re at their end range of motion. These sliding drills below are one of my favorite ways to train active front splits because they strengthen our muscles across a pretty full range of motion, including the end range, helping increase our flexibility over time.
Straddle vs. Middle Split - What’s the Difference?
Having dabbled in the wide world of contortion training for 11+ years now, I’ve come to learn that there are some serious inconsistencies in naming conventions for stretches/poses. But when it comes to straddles and middle splits, all instructors can agree that these are distinctly different poses. Why does that matter to you? It influences what muscles you need to train to be able to do them, and informs the “proper” form for safely working on your hip flexibility for these shapes.
How To Get Your Leg Higher in Three-Legged Downward Dog
Feel like your lifting leg is a dead weight in Three Leg Down Dog (Tri Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana)? Does trying to lift your leg higher make your calves and hamstrings burn like the dickens? Then this post is for you!