wide legged forward fold

Benefits:
  • Increases hip mobility
  • Allows the neck and back to relax
  • ​Stretches both the hamstrings and the inner thighs
Cues:
  • Start in mountain pose
  • Bring your feet feet out wide
  • On an inhale reach your arms up and out overhead
  • On an exhale keep a small bend in the knees and fold foward at the hips leading with your chest, keeping a long spine and a strong core
  • Allow the neck to relax and the head to hang
Common Errors:
  • The knees are locked
  • When folding forward the movement comes through the back rather than the hips
  • There is tension held in the neck
Modifications:
  • To lessen the intensity of the pose you can:
    • ​Place your hands on a block
    • Increase the bend in the knees
  • To increase the intensity of the pose you can:
    • ​Start to reach the hands in between the legs back towards the heels
Cautions:
  • Knee pain
  • Back pain 
  • ​Hip pain
Alternative Poses:

Anatomy