Pyramid Pose: Stretch One Hamstring and Calf at a Time
Step one foot back, heels down, hips facing forward, and fold over your straight front leg with a long spine. Stretches one hamstring and calf at a time.
Long hold · Lower back · Hamstrings · Calves and ankles · 2 min read
Why it works: Chapter 23, Stiff people work harder for every stroke
How to do it
- 1
Short stance, both heels down
From standing, step one foot back about a leg's length, shorter than a lunge, and turn that back foot in about 45 degrees. Both feet stay flat. If the back heel will not stay down, step the back foot in a little.
- 2
Feet on two tracks
Keep your feet hip width apart side to side, as if each stood on its own train track, not both on one line. The wider base keeps you steady and lets your hips face forward.
- 3
Square the hips first
The back hip wants to swing open. Draw it forward until both hip bones face the front, as far as it goes without forcing. Do this before you fold, not after.
- 4
Hinge with a long spine
Straighten the front leg without locking the knee, then hinge from the hips and reach your chest toward the front shin. A soft front knee with a long spine beats a locked knee with a rounded back.
- 5
Give your hands something to reach
Hands on blocks either side of the front foot, or on your shin. Chasing the floor is what rounds the back. Breathe out slowly and let the fold settle.
- 6
The test
A broad stretch up the back of the front leg, calf to hamstring. If you feel it only behind the knee, bend it a little and lengthen your spine instead. Come up with a long back, then change sides.
Watch for
- Chasing the floor with your hands. Your back rounds and the stretch slides out of the hamstring into your lower back.
- The back hip swinging open. Your chest twists off the front leg and the hamstring stretch fades.
- Locking the front knee. The pull piles up behind the knee instead of along the hamstring.
- Both feet on one line. You wobble, and the back hip twists open to keep you up.