Seated Wall Straddle Pancake

All-Levels
Written By Danielle Enos (Dani Winks)

Flexopedia > Hamstrings & Adductors

Seated Wall Straddle Pancake

Muscle Group Stretched: Hamstrings, Adductors

Muscle Group Strengthened: n/a

Type of Stretch: Passive Static

Difficulty: All Levels

Suggested Prerequisites: none

I particularly like this variation on the “traditional” straddle pancake because it makes it incredibly hard to “cheat” the stretch by rounding your back. It can easily be modified for less-flexy students by elevating the hips (sitting on yoga blocks, or even a chair), and for more-flexy students by starting with blocks between feet and the wall to allow more room to lean forwards.

How To

Step 1

Start in a seated straddle, with legs spread wide, feet pressing into the wall. I like to start in a “comfortable” straddle, meaning one where you aren’t feeling a stretch in your back, hamstrings, or inner thighs to start with. Depending on your flexibility, you may choose to sit (in order of increasing difficulty):

  • On a chair, with feet straddled out to the side (don’t worry if your legs don’t open very wide)

  • With hips on a yoga block or two, legs straddled into the wall

  • Butt on the floor, but with knees slightly bent

  • Butt on the floor, legs straight

  • Straddle on the floor, with legs wide, blocks between your feet and the wall

Step 2

Reach your hands up the wall overhead. With your hands on the wall, lean forward trying to reach your chest to the wall. This may be more challenging than when you do a straddle pancake on the floor because the wall will block you from leaning too much with your upper body and rounding your back!

Hold this passive stretch for 20-60 seconds.

Modifications

Need to make it easier?

Elevate your hips. Stting in a chair is A-OK if you’ve got tight hips! Start with the chair scooted close enough to the wall that you can splay your legs out in a straddle and rest your feet against the wall

Bend your knees slightly.

Want to make it harder?

Place yoga blocks between your feet and the wall.

Add a backbend & shoulder stretch by arching your back as you reach your chest towards the wall, belly towards the floor.

 
 
Danielle Enos (Dani Winks)

Dani is a Minneapolis-based flexibility coach and professional contortionist who loves sharing her enthusiasm for flexibility training with the world.

https://www.daniwinksflexibility.com
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