Figure 4 Floor Stretch
With both hands pull the bent leg to your chest.
Figure 4 floor stretch. This is a great lower back exercise to help relieve muscle tension from sitting too long at a desk. Seated figure 4 stretch. Pause when you feel a stretch in your hips and glutes. Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Release the stretch and repeat on your left side. You will feel a stretch in your hips and glutes. The other ankle should be placed on the thigh of the bent leg. This pose can be done anywhere and is a good stretch to help open your hips particularly if you have a job that involves sitting at a desk for extended periods of time to do a seated figure four find a stable chair where you can place both feet on the floor.
The figure 4 can be done by laying with your back flat on the floor or a mat. Place your hands on the floor slightly behind your hips to help you stay balanced. Hold for at least five breaths or work up to two minutes per side. The figure four stretch is one of my all time favourite piriformis muscle stretches to do especially for lower back pain and sciatica relief.
For more information on personal. From a completely flat position bend one knee. Seated figure four stretch to open up the hips and glutes. Be sure to keep a flat back and pull your heart toward your shin.
The seated figure four is a modification of the figure four yoga pose typically done while standing. It is perfect for when i see someone come into the clinic with a dull ache in their lower back say from a long car drive or maybe from sitting for too.