By Jonathan FitzGordon

Click to play

There can’t be too many stretches for any particular muscle. My go to quadratus lumborum stretch is a simple standing side stretch that I do a few times a day. The stretch in the video above is one that I love to do when I am on the mat.

Quadratus Lumborum Stretch
  • Starting on your hands and knees, tone your core, solidifying the trunk.
  • Take your right leg back and to the left placing the ball of the foot on the floor with the heel pointing straight up towards the ceiling. How far out to the side you take the foot is relative and the stretch is different wherever the foot ends up.
  • Work to keep your hips level or parallel to the ground.
  • Do both sides exploring the different feeling that the stretch provides on the different side.

Quadratus lumborum is an important muscle serving to stabilize the pelvis to the rib cage, bending the body sideways and assisting with every step we take when walking correctly. The quadratus lumborum is the next door neighbor to my favorite muscle the psoas major and it is impossible to have problems in one of these muscles and not in the other.

***

Experiential Exercise: Releasing Hands and Knees