The hamstrings are a group of three muscles that run along the back of the thigh, from the hip to just below the knee. They’re involved mainly in extending the hip and bending the knee, and you use them whenever you walk, run, climb the stairs, and practice yoga. A tissue known as ‘fascia’ wraps around your muscles and tendons, and the ‘superficial back line’ of fascia connects the entire posterior chain of your body. This means what happens to your hamstrings affects not only this muscle group, but the entire back of your body.
Whilst the hamstrings are some of the largest muscles of the body, they can become injured through pulling or straining them, which often happens when they become tight or over-worked. Having tight hamstrings can also contribute to hip and lower back pain. Therefore, knowing how to release tension in this muscle group is important for overall wellbeing.
Are your hamstrings tight or weak?
Having ‘tight hamstrings’ is one of the many reasons yoga is so beneficial for runners, cyclists, and sports people, as it can help release the tightness that may cause injury. If you sit at a desk for long periods of time, the hamstring muscles can also become tight due to inactivity and maintaining a rigid, shortened position for longer than is natural. If you’ve tried stretching, rolling or massaging your hamstrings, only to have them return to being tight and tense soon after however, it could be because your hamstrings aren’t just ‘tight’, but they’re weak too.
Most of the time, hamstring injuries don’t just happen because the muscles are tight; they happen because the muscles are weak. Poor core strength, lots of time spent sitting, and an inability to activate your glute muscles can all contribute to weak (and therefore tight) hamstrings. In this article, we’ll look at the 10 best postures for tight hamstrings, that will help engage your core, fire up your glutes, strengthen your hamstrings, and help release the tension and tightness.
> Practice: Post Run, Cycle, Hike Hamstring Love class with Julie Martin.
> Practice: Back and Hamstring Strengthening class with Amy Slevin.
Flexibility vs. mobility
The way you stretch your hamstrings may vary depending upon your goal; do you want to loosen up the muscles before a busy day ahead? Do you want to wind down and relax before bed? Or do you want to free up your body after a long day at work? Passive stretches that are held for a long period of time can help the muscle lengthen in a very relaxed way to improve flexibility, whilst engaging your muscles and moving them whilst stretching can help to improve mobility. For many of us, improving your hamstring mobility is more useful in everyday life than improving your hamstring flexibility, since mobility is dynamic and active – necessary to move around in the world – and flexibility is passive. Below, you’ll find different postures that help address both.
> Get the best of both by practicing Pilates & Yoga Fusion: Strong and Flexible Legs with Rose van Ooijen.
So, if you’ve been searching for the best yoga poses for tight hamstrings, keep reading for the perfect postures to help release the tension, build strength, and prevent injury.
Yoga poses to release tight hamstrings
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana: Downward Facing Dog
This posture helps stretch the muscles surrounding the ankles, calves and hamstrings, whilst lengthening the spine too. When beginning this pose, keep your knees slightly bent to avoid stretching behind the knees. Gently press each heel towards the ground one at a time to help release the calves, keep the weight pressing back towards your legs, and relax your neck. For many of us, the heels will never reach the floor in this posture, which is fine!
- Modification: This posture can be practiced against the wall, and will still bring great benefits to the hamstrings. Simply place your hands on the wall at shoulder height, walk your feet back and push your hips back behind you until you feel stretch.
- Make it more challenging: Add a little core strength and balance challenge by alternately lifting one leg at a time.
> Learn more in the downward facing dog tutorial with Esther.
2. Setu Bandhasana: Bridge Pose
This pose is all about building strength in the glutes and hamstrings so you can fully activate them. Squeeze your glutes as you lift your hips. When your hips are at their highest point, imagine dragging your heels towards your body, which can help further activate and strengthen your hamstring muscles.
- Modification: If this posture feels too strong on the hips and back, practice lifting the hips only a very small distance from the floor, before placing back down again. You can also leave your hips on the ground entirely, and simply practice the action of dragging your heels in towards you to fire up the hamstrings.
- Make it more challenging: Try lifting one leg at a time to challenge your glutes and build core stability.
> Activate your glutes and hamstrings in the Fire Up The Glutes class with Ruth Larkin.
3. Uttanasana: Forward Fold
One of the most important things to remember in this posture, it that it’s not about touching your toes! Keep your knees slightly bent as you fold forward from the hips, and focus on the stretch in your hamstrings instead of reaching for the toes. Relax your arms, or grab your elbows and gently sway from side to side if it feels comfortable.
- Modification: For a supported variation, stand with a wall behind you and let your hips rest against the wall. As you forward fold, keep a bend in the knees and let some of your weight be supported by the wall. Using blocks to support your hands can also make this more restorative.
- Make it more challenging: If you already feel comfortable in a forward fold, try clasping your hands together behind your back for an added shoulder stretch.
4. Ardha Uttanasaha: Half Forward Fold
This is a great posture to practice your core and glute activation, whilst improving hamstring mobility and stretching the superficial back line of fascia. After you’ve forward-folded, bring your hands to your shins and lift your chest to a half way position. Aim to keep your back straight, engaging your core and gently squeezing your back muscles. Keep your knees bent if this allows you to maintain a straight spine. Try using mula bandha, the ‘root lock’, which involves lifting the pelvic floor, to fully engage your core and protect your lower back.
- Modification: Rest your hands on blocks instead of your shins, or bend your knees deeply and rest your forearms on your thighs to take pressure off the lower back and hamstrings.
- Make it more challenging: If you’re feeling strong, reach your arms alongside your body and squeeze your shoulder blades together to power-up your back muscles too.
> Practice this Daddy Longlegs class with Sandra Carson to strengthen and stretch the hamstrings.
5. Trikonasana: Triangle Pose
Standing postures like this are an effective way to help improve both strength and mobility of the hamstrings, as you’re supporting your body weight whilst stretching. As you move into the posture, keep a micro-bend in your front knee to avoid over-stretching, especially if your joints are hypermobile. As you begin to feel more comfortable in this pose, you may want to inch the feet a little wider apart, whilst keeping an even distribution of weight in the feet.
- Modification: Instead of resting your hand on your front shin, use a prop to support you instead. Place a brick close to the inside of your foot, and rest your hand on it. Bending your front leg slightly can also help take the pressure off if this posture is too intense on the hamstrings.
- Make it more challenging: To build greater core strength, try lifting your bottom hand away from your leg entirely, so your core has to support you. Do not try this if you are suffering with lower back pain.
6. Prasarita Padottanasana: Wide Leg Forward Fold
This is another posture that can help improve strength, flexibility and mobility of the hamstrings. Take you feet wide apart, and bend your knees slightly as you fold forward from the hips. Keep the knees bent if the stretch feels especially deep in the hamstrings. To help improve mobility, gently bend one knee and then the other, so that you’re slowly moving from side to side.
- Modification: Keep your knees as bent as you need to so that the stretch does not feel painful. Resting your hands on bricks here can also be very helpful if the hands do not reach the floor.
- Make it more challenging: This posture can also be used to build strength in the core, back and hamstrings, similarly to ardha uttanasana. To practice this variation, place your hands on your hips, bend your knees slightly and lift up to half way with a flat back. Engage your core, pelvic floor, glutes and back muscles and feel your whole back-body working!
7. Baddha Konasana: Bound Angle Pose
This pose stretches the muscles around the hips, including the adductors, which lie close to the hamstrings. If you can fold forward in this posture, you’ll also be able to stretch the superficial back line of fascia. With your feet together, allow your knees to relax out to the sides and gently fold forward. There’s no need to push into this posture, simply relax when you get to your limit.
- Modification: Sitting up on a cushion or block can make this posture easier to access, as it may help release excess hip tension, allowing you to fold further forward.
- Make it more challenging: Resistance stretching can help release tight fascia and muscle adhesions, whilst improving mobility too. To practice a resistance stretch in this posture, place your elbows against the insides of your knees.
> Release your hamstrings and lower back in this gentle yet powerful class with Julie Martin.
8. Janu Sirsasana: Head-To-Knee Pose
Don’t let the name put you off – this pose definitely isn’t about putting your head anywhere near your knee! Janu sirsasana can help release tension in the back, hips, adductors and hamstrings, which is especially useful if you experience lower back tightness and pain. Instead of pushing your head towards your knee, focus on lengthening your spine and folding your abdomen towards your leg, which can be a much more effective way to stretch the hamstrings.
- Modification: if you feel too much of a stretch in the back of your knee, roll a towel or blanket and place this under your knee, so that it stays slightly bent and can relax.
- Make it more challenging: To engage your core and prevent rounding in the spine, place your hands behind you and focus on lengthening your spine forward as you fold. If you try this variation, be mindful to engage your core and pelvic floor to protect your back.
In his Hatha Yoga for tight hamstrings class, Andrew Wren takes you on a journey of your hamstrings, exploring different poses and movements, making you aware not only of the physical sensations, but also the influence your practice has on you mentally and emotionally.
9. Paschimottanasana: Seated Forward Fold
This is another posture that may look as though it’s all about touching your toes, but in fact has nothing to do with it at all. The word paschimottanasana actually meaning ‘stretching of the West’, referring to stretching the ‘western’ side of the body, because yoga is traditionally practiced facing the rising sun in the east. Stretching the back of your body in this pose also helps release tension in the superficial back line of fascia, running literally from your head to your toes.
- Modification: Sit up on a folded blanket or block to make this posture more accessible, especially if your back or hamstrings are feeling tight. To prevent stretching behind the knee, place a rolled up blanket or towel underneath your knees to support them.
- Make it more challenging: Engage your core, hips and hamstrings by reaching your arms out to your sides instead of resting them on the ground. Be mindful to engage your core and pelvic floor to protect your lower back if you try this variation.
10. Supta Utthita Hasta Padangustasana: Reclined Hand To Big Toe Pose
The laid-back cousin of the intense standing balance, this pose is all about encouraging the hamstrings to release and relax, whilst calming the nervous system. As you lie on the ground, loop a yoga belt around one foot and stretch it up to the sky, keeping hold of the belt with one or two hands. Keep a small bend in your knee if the stretch feels intense. You can keep your other leg bent or straight, depending upon how it feels in your body. Aim to breathe slowly and relax for a while here.
- Modification: Keep your free leg bent, with your foot firmly planted to the floor. If you do not have a belt, use a towel, or rest your leg against a wall.
- Make it more challenging: To build core strength, after you’ve stretched the hamstrings in this position, release the belt and slowly lower your straight leg up and down five times, keeping your core engaged.
Quick hamstring release class
A quick session is designed to help you find mobility in your hamstrings. As we journey through a few simple yet effective exercises you’ll get some of the science along the way! This is a great class to do after any kind of workout or even after just sitting for a long period.
Find more classes to target your hamstrings HERE.
More ways to release tight hamstrings
Body rolling with a Yamuna ball can help release muscles and tendons, increase blood flow, speed up injury healing, and reduce tightness in the superficial back line of fascia. Practice Yamuna with Nichi Green for the glutes and lower spine HERE.
Your feet play a huge role in how tight your hamstrings are. If the feet are tight and knotty, rolling a ball on the soles of your feet can be an effective way to release the fascia in the feet, which connects directly to your hamstrings. Try rolling a tennis ball on the soles of your feet for 30 seconds each in the morning.
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