Yoga · Flexibility

Forward folds with a strap

Hamstring-friendly forward folds that hinge from the hips, lying down first and then seated, with a strap doing the reaching.

Strap, blanket and block per matT
Start / 6
Time
12 min
Players
1–30
Age
U12+
Area
Mat per person
Equipment
matsstrapsblanketsblocks

Setup

  1. Mats with space between them; a strap, a folded blanket and a block per student. Chairs available for a seated option.
  2. Anyone with back problems or osteoporosis gets advice from a health professional and tells the teacher; they keep to the lying version and avoid rounding forward.

How it runs

  1. Sit on the folded blanket in Staff pose (Dandasana), legs long and knees soft; five breaths sitting tall with the hands beside the hips.
  2. Reclining hand-to-big-toe pose (Supta Padangusthasana): lie down, loop the strap around the ball of the right foot and raise the leg only as far as feels comfortable, knee slightly bent. Eight breaths.
  3. Open the right leg out to the side with a block under the outer thigh for five breaths, bring it back to centre and lower. Repeat on the left.
  4. Head-to-knee pose (Janu Sirsasana): sitting, right leg long, left sole against the inner right thigh, strap around the right foot. Inhale lengthen, exhale hinge forward from the hips. Eight breaths each side.
  5. Seated forward fold (Paschimottanasana): strap around both feet, knees bent as much as needed. Walk the hands along the strap only while the spine stays long. Ten breaths.
  6. Rise slowly on an inhale, lie down and hug the knees in to finish.

Coaching points

  • Hinge from the hips: the chest moves towards the feet, the head follows.
  • Bend the knees enough that the stretch is in the back of the thighs, not behind the knee.
  • Let the strap do the reaching; hands and shoulders stay soft.
  • Each exhale is a chance to soften, not a signal to pull harder.
  • A gentle stretch is the goal; sharp or pulling pain behind the knee or in the back means ease off.

Common mistakes

  • Hauling on the strap to force the fold.
  • Rounding the lower back to bring the head down.
  • Locking the knees straight.
  • Bouncing at the end of the range.

Say it: “Long spine, soft hands.”

Make it harder

  • Hold the feet instead of the strap, only if the spine stays long.
  • Stay in the seated fold for two minutes with a slow, even breath.

Make it easier

  • Sit higher on two blankets or a block so the pelvis can tip forward.
  • A rolled blanket or bolster under the knees in the seated folds.
  • Stay with the lying version, where the floor supports the back.
  • Sit on a chair, one leg out straight, and hinge forward with the hands on the thighs.

Reviewed by the Sportdify coaching team.