Half Frog pose is an advanced backbend in yoga that stretches the feet, ankles, quads, hip flexors, abs, chest and shoulders and increases spinal mobility. Unfortunately, this is one of those poses that is incredibly awkward as it requires considerable flexibility in your upper body. In a sequence, you can always substitute Sphinx or a standing quad stretch.
HALF FROG POSE BENEFITS
- Stretches the quad and hip flexor of your bent leg as your heel draws in toward your glute.
- Stretches the foot and ankle of that same leg as you press the top of your foot with your palm.
- Stretches the chest and shoulder of your reaching arm as it crosses your body and rotates open behind you—usually the limiting factor in how deep you can go.
- Stretches the abs as your spine extends into the backbend.
- Improves spinal mobility.
CATEGORY
SKILL LEVEL
- Advanced
INSTRUCTIONS
- Set-Up
Lie face down on your mat.
- Action
Come up onto your forearms in Sphinx pose. Cross your right forearm across your body so that it is parallel to the top of your mat. Pick up your left foot and reach back to hold of the inside of your left foot. Rotate your elbow up to the sky, slide your fingertips over the top of your foot and curl them over your toes. Apply gentle pressure with the base of your palm to the top of your foot.
- Duration
Hold the pose for 3-5 breaths on each side.
RESTORATIVE MODIFICATION: Resting Half Frog Pose
- Stay flat on your belly instead of lifting into Sphinx pose first, resting your forehead on your right forearm. This takes the intensity out of the backbend and lets you focus purely on the quad and hip flexor stretch, without needing the shoulder flexibility for the full expression of the pose.
CONTRAINDICATIONS
- Avoid Half Frog pose if you have a foot, knee, lower back or shoulder injury.
MASTER HALF FROG POSE
If you’d like to practise Half Frog as part of a sequence, watch Quads & Hip Flexors—a 15-minute guided practice designed to release tension in the quads and hip flexors. This video can be accessed along with my full library of 360+ videos as part of the 14-Day Free Trial.
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