Targeted Muscles: Glutes & Rectus Femoris
Purpose: To help move the body in a forward motion and create stability around the hip joint.
Setup: Stand upright with TVA engaged (feeling like your vertebrae are being gently decompressed), and place your hands on the wall for stability. Have the standing leg elevated approximately 6”, such as on a yoga block or a folded towel.
Exhale-:Lead with your heel, and with a dorsiflexed foot, draw you straight leg away from the wall. Keep toes pointing forwards, and stop at the ‘natural block’ of your glute muscles.
Inhale: Lead with your knee, as you draw you straight leg back towards the wall.
Reminder: You may need to internally rotate your hip to ensure that your toes remain pointing towards the wall throughout. Also, avoid going too far at a point where you might feel your low back pinch, or collapse. We want to stay in the glutes as you draw out.