Lower back and hips
Prasarita: Hands on Blocks
A comfortable wide-legged stretch with support.
How to do it
- 1
Set two blocks on the floor in front of you
Tall setting to begin with, roughly under where your shoulders will end up. Step the feet wide, toes forward.
- 2
Hinge from the hips with the knees soft
The blocks mean your hands arrive early, so the fold stops before it gets deep.
- 3
Rest your hands on the blocks and settle
The hands take a little of your weight, which drops the balance demand and lets the back do less holding.
- 4
Keep the spine long rather than rounding down to reach
Raise the blocks higher if the back wants to round in order to meet them.
- 5
Hold 30 to 60 seconds, then come up slowly
Narrow the stance if the inner thighs are working hard, and rise with a long spine.
What to watch for
Blocks set too low, or blocks that tip. As soon as the hands have to reach down for them the back rounds to make up the distance, which is the one thing the blocks are there to prevent.
Ways to adjust it
- Higher blocks
- Soft knees
- Narrower stance
If this one is too much today
Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.
Other ways to do this movement
Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits. See all Wide-Legged Forward Fold versions in one place, ordered from gentlest to strongest.
Before you try it
Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.
One movement is a start. A session is the thing.
A few questions about your body and how it is today, and Vinys builds a session around it, including which movements to leave out.
Start your first sessionFrom the clinically authored Vinys movement library.