Yin Routine · All Levels
For the outer hip and the line down to the knee
25 min · 5 poses · no props
This is for the outside of the leg — the outer hip, the front of the thigh and the long side line that runs down toward the knee. It will not lengthen your IT band, because nothing does. What it does is soften the muscles that pull on it, which is a different job and a far more useful one. Everything here is gentle, most of it is on the floor, and you are welcome to take any shape smaller than you find it. About sixty to eighty per cent of what you can feel, no more.
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Press play and follow along — each hold is timed, with a gentle chime and fifteen seconds to move into the next pose. Use Skip or Prev to move at your own pace.
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Not really, no. The IT band is a thick sheet of fascia running down the outside of the thigh, and it is far too stiff to lengthen in any meaningful way with a stretch. What you can change is the tension in the muscles attaching to it — the tensor fasciae latae at the hip, the glutes behind it and the quads in front. That is what this practice works on.
It may ease the everyday tightness that contributes to it. But pain on the outside of the knee while running is worth a physiotherapist's opinion rather than a stretching routine — especially if it is sharp, gets worse as you run, or only happens on one side.
After a run while you are still warm, or on a rest day. Not immediately before a run — long, still holds can leave your legs feeling a little loose and less powerful for the first mile.
No. A cushion under the back knee in Dragon makes it a great deal kinder, and something to sit on in Deer helps if your hips are tight, but a folded towel does either job.
Rolling the band itself is uncomfortable and does not lengthen it either. If rolling helps you, it is almost certainly changing how the tissue feels rather than its length, which is still worth something. These shapes go after the muscles pulling on it, which is the part you can actually influence.
For your next run
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