Sitting bound one-leg forward fold

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Technique

1. Sitting with legs extended in front, bend the right knee and bring the right foot back to place it near the right hip bone.
2. Without letting the right knee drop over to the right, fold forward and wrap the right arm around the right shin and bring the hand behind the back.
3. Bring the left hand back to bind the hands together, right hand grasping left hand or wrist.
4. Fold forward and lower the head, pulling the shoulders back and down to “hug” the bent leg.
5. Take 5 breaths.
6. Then switch sides and repeat on the other side.

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Form tips

• Keep some space (about a palms width) between the foot and thigh.
• As you fold forward, the bent leg hip will likely lift off the floor. That is normal.
• This is a deep flexion and internal rotation of the bent leg hip. Keeping the knee of that leg pulling toward the center line helps with this, so try not to let the knee fall to the side in favor of folding forward.
• This is also a fairly deep internal rotation of the shoulder to bind the hands.
• Both of these actions are made easier by a deep forward fold to begin with, so work with that part first (sitting one-leg forward fold) and when you are ready, try the bind.

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Muscles

Flexibility

Primary

• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Shoulders
• Chest

Secondary

• Hip adductors
• Legs
• Pelvis
• Biceps

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Equipment

Ground (hands or body)

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Appears in

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Regressions

Sitting one-leg forward fold

Novice

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