3 Hamstring Stretches: You Get First Dibs

Happy Friday, pack!

Tomorrow this goes public on YouTube. But you are the ones who practice with me all the time, so you get it TODAY, before everybody else.

Here is why I think you will like it: it can help you to feel looser in your hips and low back, and to go into your forward folds WITHOUT that pinching feeling in your sitting bones. That is a very nice thing to bring into a weekend.

Why now?

Think about your week. Sitting at the desk, sitting in the car, sitting on the couch while the news scrolls by. And this was an eventful week in the US, and honestly for a lot of the world. Whatever IT is that you carried this week, a lot of us carry it in the body.

The muscles on the back of your body, from your heels all the way up to your head (the “back chain”, with the hamstrings right in the middle), tend to hold a lot of that. Releasing them can have a very calming effect on your whole being. I see it in my students all the time, and I feel it myself.

And then there is the weekend. Hiking, walking on the beach, playing with the grandkids, picking up stuff from the floor, finally cleaning the garage. Your hamstrings should not be the reason you hold back. Let’s give them some attention before you go and enjoy yourself.

The part most people miss (me included)

Here is the confession: I did this wrong for YEARS, and I see it in classes all the time. You pull your leg toward you, and it looks like a big hamstring stretch. But all that happens is the pelvis tilts, the low back flattens into the floor, and the hamstring gets almost nothing. Very impressive for the mirror, not so useful for the body. 😄

In the video I show you how to catch this and fix it. Not easier, but BETTER:

Firm the leg that stays on the floor. I say “a baby elephant is sitting on your thigh.” It keeps your pelvis where it belongs, so the stretch goes into the hamstring and not into your low back.

Firm your glutes and draw the low belly in. This protects the place where the hamstring attaches to your sitting bone (the “yoga butt” spot) from being overstretched.

Square your hips in the standing version. If one hip drifts back, only part of your hamstrings get the stretch. Your hamstrings are three and a half muscles, and we want all of them.

Keep the knee straight, but not locked. Firm the quads, no hyperextending.

Then wait. After you firm up, your nervous system often feels safe enough to let go a little more. You will feel it. Trust your body, it is on your side.

What you need: a mat, a strap, and two blocks if the floor feels far away.

👉 The full practice is waiting for you in the Yoga Wolf Studio, in the classroom [add exact location/link].

When you try it, tell me: which one did you feel the most, the floor one or the standing one?

And do your hips want to be square, or do they love to cheat like mine? 😄

Have a wonderful weekend.

Namaste,

Doreen

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3 Hamstring Stretches: You Get First Dibs