This technique is called quad stretching and quad and reach. First things first, let’s identify the quads. Short for quadricep, they connect your kneecap to your hip. You have four of them, some are longer than others.

Their two jobs are straightening your knee and flexing your hip. The reason it’s important to stretch your quads is to counterbalance all the time we spend sitting in chairs. So when you’re in the shape of a chair, your quad is resting in a short position.

So are your hamstrings. When you get up out of that chair, our bodies tend to not fully extend. It’s really important to open up the connection of the front of your thigh into your pelvis. As you can see, if I had slumped forward head posture, this area is getting shorter.

To keep things simple, we’re going to start with a basic standing quad stretch. Reach for something to hold on to for stability. Reach for your ankle with the same side hand. First things first, notice what happens when you stand up.

Some people’s knee will be here, others will be back here. Wherever you find your knee, move it in line with the other one. So when you look down, the surface of each thigh is level. Depending on how it feels to you, you may or may not be able to exhale and pull your heel to your bottom.

Once you’re there, take a deep refreshing breath and on your exhale gently tuck your bottom under. That’s the same thing as tipping your pubic bone forward, dropping your tailbone or what’s called a posterior pelvic tilt.

You will feel an intense burning sensation in the front of your thigh if you’re doing it right. Once you get the hang of that holding on to something, you can do what’s called quad and reach. This can be done walking across a room, maybe five or ten times on each side, or you can just stand in place.

So basically you take your right hand, you reach for your right ankle, you bring your knees together, you do that posterior pelvic tilt, and stretch your opposite arm up to the sky. You want to feel as long as possible on the straight leg and the straight arm, really reaching up, even lifting your chin, and then practice in slow motion with your breath.

You can walk across a room like this or you can just practice standing in one place. Remember to get the heel to the bottom, the thighs level, and to tuck your pelvis under. Also remember to breathe.