Legs Up the Wall
Sit up against a wall, swing the legs up it, and stay. Three shapes in one position — straight, wide, soles together — and you never come down between them.
The lesson
- 01
Sit sideways, then swing up
Sit with one hip against the wall, then lie down and swing both legs up it. Awkward the first time, automatic after that.
- 02
Choose your distance from the wall
Hips right against the wall is the strongest version. Shuffle a hand's width or two away and it eases off immediately — do that if the backs of the legs are shouting or the low back lifts.
- 03
Bend the knees if you need to
Straight legs are not the point. A soft bend, or a folded towel under the hips, keeps the low back down where it belongs.
- 04
Shape one — legs straight up
Legs together and resting on the wall, feet relaxed. Arms wide, palms up. This is the drain: everything that has been pooling in your legs since the run starts heading back the other way.
- 05
Shape two — let them go wide
Let the legs slide apart down the wall as far as they go on their own. The wall carries them, so the inner thighs open without you doing anything about it.
- 06
Shape three — soles together
Slide the feet down the wall toward each other until the soles meet and the knees fall open. The deepest of the three, and the last.
- 07
Come down slowly
Bend the knees into the chest, roll onto your side, and take a moment there before you get up. Standing straight out of this makes people dizzy.