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Details on doing Leg Stretch Pose, including modifications, safety tips, common errors and breathing.
| | Detailed Instruction | | Getting a good starting position |  |
Tip If your hamstrings are tight or if you have a "bad back", bend your knee a bit or prop your knees up by putting a cushion under your thighs. |
| | Safety Tip Be sure your foot and knee are facing upward, not rolled to the side. If your foot rolls to the side, your knee will roll sideways, too, which will put too much stress on your knee when you're in the posture. |  | Avoid rolling the foot away from the center line like this. This will strain your knee | Have your foot pointing roughly upward and relaxed. | |
| | Common Errors |
Error: Allowing the feet to roll to the side | Error: Hunching shoulders and upper back. Keep your neck lined up & straight with your back. |  | 
Error: Not opening the elbows. | Error: Not gripping with the hands. Error: Bobbing up and down as you breathe in and out. Gripping with your hands will help prevent this. |  | | Error: Starting too far down the legs for the first hold. (Starting at the extreme position.) Start at the knees and work your way down. This will loosen you up to get better extension, more safely, by the time you reach your extreme. |  | | Error: Reaching too far in the last repetition. This does not allow the upper body and arms to be loose. Only go as far as you can with shoulders relaxed and elbows loose & open. |
| | Breathing | | | Do this posture at: | | Red Level | Do the steps and enjoy a good stretch | | Orange Level | Do each pose using the Orange Level procedure.
OR for a simpler Orange Level routine:
Pay close attention to breathing in and out at the right time when doing each posture. | | Yellow Level | Match movements with the breath
For each step of going into and out of the pose:
Start the movement and the breath at the same time
Pace them together
End the movement and breath at the same time |
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Postures by Body Area 
