Poses for Your Hamstrings

Spoiler Alert: It's not what you think.

Because there's more to life than hip openers.

“Going deeper” into your pose has nothing to do with how it looks.

Bound Angle Pose, or Baddha Konasana, opens the deepest part of the hip muscles.

Open wide into Prasarita Padottanasana to increase flexibility by leaps and bounds.

It might look straightforward, but there's more to Dandasana than meets the eye.

Fold into Paschimottanasana to help your distracted mind—and your hamstrings—unwind.

Parsvottanasana encourages balance, body awareness, and inspires confidence.

Trade in your gym workouts for these postures, which shape stronger legs, arms, and core.

A standing posture centered around balance, Virabhadrasana III will strengthen your legs, ankles and core.

One of yoga's most widely recognized poses, Adho Mukha Svanasana strengthens the core and improves circulation, while providing a delicious, full-body stretch.

Just as it’s essential for archers to know how to string their bows, it’s important for yogis to learn how to properly engage their bodies in Bow Pose.

Extended Triangle Pose is a quintessential standing pose that stretches and strengthens the whole body.

Uttanasana will wake up your hamstrings and soothe your mind.

Suddenly, your practice just became a lot stronger (literally).

Revolved Head-to-Knee Pose, or Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana, offers a deep, vivid stretch to the side body paired with loving and heart-opening movement.

This revolved variation of Utthita Parsvakonasana requires a lot of flexibility to twist so deeply and ground the back heel.

Want to fly? Fire up your core. Firefly pose is an arm balance pose that requires more core strength than arm strength.

Folding into Marichyasana I or Pose Dedicated to the Sage Marichi I calms your mind, extends your spine, and gives your internal organs a healthy squeeze.

Practicing yoga with tight hamstrings isn't about stretching past your known limits. It's about finding a way to practice within them.