Couch Stretch Guide

Kneel with your front foot on the ground in a lunge position and your back knee against a wall or couch, back foot pointed or tucked against the surface. Place a pad under the knee for comfort. Slowly lift the torso until upright, feeling a stretch through the hip flexor and front of the thigh.

Key Cues

• Glute squeeze + PNF: Drive the back knee into the ground for 4 seconds, then relax for 4 seconds. This contract-relax cycle progressively deepens the stretch.
• Rib cage down: Keep the spine neutral — avoid arching the lower back ("banana backing"), which dumps tension out of the hip and into the lumbar spine.
• Breathwork: Maintain deep, steady diaphragmatic breathing throughout. You may feel resistance as the psoas and iliacus are pulled; stay relaxed and breathe through it.

Progressions

• Move into a high-kneel to increase the extension bias.
• Place the front foot on a block or plate to intensify the stretch further.

Purpose

The hip flexors and quadriceps become chronically shortened through prolonged sitting. Releasing and lengthening them here directly improves the health and mobility of the low back — a tight anterior chain tilts the pelvis forward and compresses the lumbar vertebrae.