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Yoga poses

Low Lunge: A Long, Easy Stretch for Tight Hip Flexors

Back knee down on a towel, front foot forward, hands inside it, then sink your hips and stop holding yourself up. A long stretch for the front of the hip.

Long hold · Hips · Hip flexors · Inner thighs · Quads · 2 min read

Why it works: Chapter 23, Stiff people work harder for every stroke

How to do it

  1. 1

    Back knee down, padded

    From kneeling, step one foot forward outside your hands and let the back knee rest on a folded towel or blanket. This is a long hold, and a bare knee on a hard floor will not last it.

  2. 2

    Walk the front foot out

    Slide the front foot forward until the shin is upright, knee over the ankle. As your hips sink, the knee can drift a little past the ankle if it feels fine. The longer the stance, the more the back hip opens.

  3. 3

    Hands inside the front foot

    Bring both hands to the inside of your front foot. Many classes call this version Lizard. It lets your hips drop between your legs instead of hovering above them.

  4. 4

    Forearms, or a prop

    Lower onto your forearms if the floor is close enough. If it is not, rest your hands on two stacked books or a chair seat. Propped and settled beats unpropped and braced.

  5. 5

    Sink and stop holding

    Let your hips drop down and forward and let your bodyweight do the work. If your arms are pushing you up rather than resting on the floor or the prop, you have stopped doing the pose. Breathe out slowly.

  6. 6

    The test

    A deep, broad stretch across the front of the back hip and down the front of that thigh is the pose working. Anything sharp in the front knee or the groin means come up and take less depth. Then change sides.

Watch for

  • Hovering on straight arms with the hips high. Your shoulders hold the shape up and the front of the hip barely stretches.
  • A bare back knee on a hard floor. The kneecap hurts long before the hip opens, and you cut the hold short.
  • The front knee falling inward. The knee twists and the hip loses its line.
  • Arching your lower back to go deeper. Your back bends instead of your hip opening.

Questions

Why does Low Lunge hurt my knee?

If it is the back knee, it is the floor: pad it with a folded towel or blanket. If it is the front knee, bring your hips up a little and walk the front foot forward until the knee sits over the ankle. Anything sharp means take less depth.

How long should you hold a Low Lunge?

Two minutes each side, right then left, in the Range · 01 routine, then a minute and a half each side later in the same routine. The time is long on purpose: the hip keeps settling once you stop holding yourself up, so if your breathing strains, come up a little rather than out. There is no daily target: hold it when your training day has that routine. Those are the times in the normal-length session: a long day holds a little longer, and a short day trims only the holds longer than a minute.

What is the difference between Low Lunge and Lizard Pose?

In many classes a Low Lunge keeps the hands either side of the front foot, and Lizard moves both hands inside it and often lowers to the forearms. This page teaches that deeper, hands-inside version under the name Low Lunge.

What does a Low Lunge stretch?

The front of the back hip, where the hip flexors are, the psoas among them, and the front of that thigh. With your hands inside the foot, the inner thigh of the front leg stretches too.