Can't Touch Your Toes? These Stretches Can Help.

"You're not alone if you've ever hovered your fingertips inches above your toes in Standing Forward Bend while a yoga teacher casually instructed, "Just relax forward!" Forward folds are often taught as beginner poses but for many bodies, they are anything but. "How do I touch my toes?" is a commonly asked-and frequently misunderstood-question. That's because touching your toes can have very little to do with flexibility, and almost everything to do with your body's bone structure, the position of your spine."

"Whether or not you can touch your toes is influenced less by how often you stretch and much more by the shape of your bones, position of your body in the stretch, and how you approach movement in general. Your Personal Anatomy The length of your thigh bones (femurs), depth and placement of the hip socket (toward the front or the side of your pelvis), and even your spinal curves all play a role in how close your hands can come to your toes."

Touching the toes depends largely on bone shape, pelvic orientation, and spinal curvature rather than simply on how often a person stretches. Femur length, hip socket depth and placement, and spinal curves can create mechanical limits or hard stops during forward folds. Seated forward folds can immobilize the pelvis and increase restriction in the hips and lower back. The nervous system also influences range of motion because perceived threat or strain causes muscle guarding that limits flexibility. Breath-holding and forcing a stretch can provoke protective contraction and reduce rather than increase range of motion.

Read at Yoga Journal