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Lower back, hips and knees

Supported Forward Fold: Blocks

Blocks raise your hand height so your spine can stay long, reducing hamstring demand and making this posterior chain stretch more accessible and safer for your back.

Hip Mobility30 to 60 seconds
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How to do it

  1. 1

    Set two blocks in front of your feet

    Start them on their tallest setting. The height of your hands is what makes this version different, so begin high and only go lower if the shape holds.

  2. 2

    Stand with feet hip width and soften the knees

    A soft bend in the knees from the start keeps the length in the back of the legs manageable and gives the spine room to stay long.

  3. 3

    Hinge from the hips onto the blocks

    Tip forward from the hip creases with the chest leading, and place the hands on the blocks. Because the blocks come up to meet you, the back can stay long instead of rounding to reach the floor.

  4. 4

    Hold for 30 to 60 seconds, then come up slowly

    Press lightly into the blocks and lengthen the breastbone forward as you breathe. Come up unhurriedly, using the hands on the blocks to help you rise.

What to watch for

Rounding the back to reach blocks that are set too low. The moment your spine rounds to get there, raise the blocks or bend the knees more. Reaching lower is not the goal here; keeping the spine long is.

Ways to adjust it

  • Short stance
  • Soft knee cue

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 Supported 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 session

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.