How to do Forward Fold Hands Behind

Instructions

Reach your arms behind your back and interlace the fingers. Activate your core by drawing your belly button towards the spine. Bend the knees slightly so they are not locked out and then hinging at the hips fold as deeply forward as you can go. On the way down keep your back as straight as possible for as long as possible and then allow it to curve at the bottom of the forward bend. Encourage your knuckles to move overhead towards the floor.

To come back out, activate your core to brace your back. With slightly bent knees again, hinge at the hips to lift all the way out.

Common mistakes are to lock out the legs which can jar the back so having knees slightly soft avoids this. If very tight in the hamstrings (back of thighs) bend the knees deeply. Additionally it can be tempting to curve and round the spine as you go forward, which puts undue pressure on the discs of the spine, to avoid this keep your spine as straight as possible for as much of the way down as you can and ensure core is active.