The piriformis is one of those little muscles hidden in your body that if you are lucky you don't even know it's there. If you are unlucky, or if you do a lot of sitting, or not enough stretching, you will know about this muscle. You will know about it via its effect on your hips, gluteals, or even your lower back. This little muscle can affect any one, if not all three, of these muscle groups and leads to tightness or discomfort.
❊ While seated, place one foot on top of the opposite thigh
❊ Try to relax the stretched hip and let your knee sink as low as it can
❊ Keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed
❊ Repeat 2-3 times per leg
❊ Gradually increase the duration of the stretch up to 1:00 per side @ 2-3 times
If it is too discomforting, or you are unable to lift your foot up to your thigh, you can still complete this stretch in a modified way. Grab your foot, or pant leg, or shoe laces and lift them up as high as you comfortably can. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds and repeat on the other leg.
Conversely, if the stretch is not challenging enough you can increase the difficulty by doing one, or a combination of several things:
Raise up on the toes of the planted foot
Pull on the knee of the non-planted foot
Lean your body forward
Enjoy this stretch. It is an uncomfortable stretch for many to perform, however, in time your hips and back will thank you.
-Jason
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