Head-to-Knee Pose

Muscles worked by the Head-to-Knee Pose

Primary

Lower BackErector SpinaeHamstringsHamstring Muscles

Secondary

AdductorsHip AdductorsGlutesGluteus Maximus

Also called: erector spinae, spinal erectors, lower back muscles, back extensors, hamstring, hamstrings.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Head-to-Knee Pose

1. Sit with one leg straight in front of you and the other knee bent out to the side, that foot at the inner thigh.
2. Turn the chest towards the straight leg so the navel lines up with the thigh.
3. Hinge from the hips and reach forward along the straight leg with a long spine.
4. Hold the fold for the prescribed time, breathing into the back of the leg.
5. Come up with a flat back and repeat on the other side.

Form tips

• Sit on a folded blanket so the pelvis can tip forward instead of the back rounding.
• Keep the toes of the straight leg pointing up rather than rolling out.
• Use a strap around the foot when the hands do not reach it comfortably.

At a glance

Head-to-Knee Pose in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Banded Good Morning
• Banded Hamstring Stretch
• Banded Romanian Deadlift
• Banded Standing Leg Curl
• Bench Hamstring Stretch
• EZ-Bar Romanian Deadlift
• Easy Pose
• Good Morning

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "head-to-knee-pose",
  "name_en": "Head-to-Knee Pose",
  "name_de": "Kopf-zum-Knie-Haltung",
  "name_es": "Postura de Cabeza a la Rodilla",
  "description_en": "A seated one-legged fold: one leg stays straight while the other foot rests against the inner thigh, so the hamstring of the straight leg lengthens one side at a time.",
  "description_de": "Eine sitzende einbeinige Vorbeuge: ein Bein bleibt gestreckt, der andere Fuß liegt am Innenschenkel, sodass die Beinrückseite einseitig verlängert wird.",
  "description_es": "Una flexión sentada sobre una pierna: una queda estirada y el otro pie se apoya en la cara interna del muslo, de modo que el isquiotibial se alarga de lado en lado.",
  "category": "stretching",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "adductors",
    "gluteus_maximus"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "mobility"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "mobility",
    "stretching"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": true,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Sit with one leg straight in front of you and the other knee bent out to the side, that foot at the inner thigh.",
    "Turn the chest towards the straight leg so the navel lines up with the thigh.",
    "Hinge from the hips and reach forward along the straight leg with a long spine.",
    "Hold the fold for the prescribed time, breathing into the back of the leg.",
    "Come up with a flat back and repeat on the other side."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Setz dich mit einem gestreckten Bein hin, das andere Knie zur Seite gebeugt, der Fuß am Innenschenkel.",
    "Dreh die Brust zum gestreckten Bein, sodass der Nabel über dem Oberschenkel liegt.",
    "Beuge dich aus der Hüfte nach vorn und streck dich mit langer Wirbelsäule über das Bein.",
    "Halte die Vorbeuge für die vorgegebene Zeit und atme in die Beinrückseite.",
    "Komm mit flachem Rücken hoch und wiederhole auf der anderen Seite."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Siéntate con una pierna estirada al frente y la otra rodilla abierta al lado, con ese pie en la cara interna del muslo.",
    "Gira el pecho hacia la pierna estirada para que el ombligo quede alineado con el muslo.",
    "Bascula desde las caderas y alcanza hacia delante a lo largo de la pierna con la columna larga.",
    "Mantén la flexión durante el tiempo indicado, respirando hacia la parte posterior de la pierna.",
    "Sube con la espalda plana y repite del otro lado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Sit on a folded blanket so the pelvis can tip forward instead of the back rounding.",
    "Keep the toes of the straight leg pointing up rather than rolling out.",
    "Use a strap around the foot when the hands do not reach it comfortably."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Setz dich auf eine gefaltete Decke, damit das Becken nach vorn kippen kann, statt den Rücken zu runden.",
    "Lass die Zehen des gestreckten Beins nach oben zeigen, statt nach außen zu kippen.",
    "Nimm einen Gurt um den Fuß, wenn die Hände ihn nicht bequem erreichen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Siéntate sobre una manta doblada para que la pelvis pueda bascular en lugar de redondear la espalda.",
    "Mantén los dedos del pie estirado apuntando hacia arriba en lugar de dejarlos caer hacia fuera.",
    "Usa una cinta alrededor del pie cuando las manos no lleguen con comodidad."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/head-to-knee-pose-main.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "head-to-knee-pose");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.