Prevention Yoga – Forward Folding on Chairs & Bolsters

We look at forward folding and how to use yoga tools to help us find freedom in the back body and creating energy to heal love over fear.

Forward folding lengthens hamstring and calf muscles, with a stretch of the back. You can use a technique called triangulation to locate the focus of the stretch and deepen it. Activate the quadriceps to straighten knees. This moves hamstring insertions farther away from their origin on the sitting bones. Flex the trunk to draw ischial tuberosities up and away from hamstring insertions.

Contract hip and trunk flexors to draw torso forward while engaging quadriceps. These actions combine to move the origin and insertion of the hamstrings farther apart, "triangulating" hamstrings and stretching the muscle. To add to this, constrain hands on the mat and attempt to drag them forward by bending the elbows; drawing the trunk further into flexion. If you cannot reach the floor, grasp the backs of lower legs and bend the elbows. Because hands are fixed on the mat or holding legs, it draws trunk deeper into flexion. This force is transmitted to the pelvis, tilting it forward and lifting the ischial tuberosities, augmenting the stretch.