How long should I hold the Standing Figure Four Pose?

Most adults do well holding a stretch for 10 to 30 seconds and repeating it 2 to 4 times per side, while older adults often benefit from 30 to 60 seconds. If balance ends the hold early, lightly touch a wall so the stretch gets its full time.

What if I can't keep my balance?

Stand next to a wall or chair and rest a fingertip on it, fix your gaze on a point ahead, and sit less deep until the hold feels steady. The Lying Figure Four Stretch gives the same hip stretch with no balance demand at all.

Why do I feel it more in my standing leg than in my hip?

The standing leg is holding a single-leg squat, so the thigh can tire before the crossed hip relaxes into the stretch. Using light support lets you sit deeper without the thigh giving out, and the stretch usually becomes easier to feel.

How do I make the stretch stronger?

Sit the hips lower and hinge the chest forward over the crossed shin while keeping the spine long. Both increase how far the crossed hip bends, which deepens the stretch through the glute.

Is the Standing Figure Four Pose good for sciatica?

It can ease tightness through the buttock, but it is not a treatment for sciatica on its own. Pain that travels below the knee, numbness, tingling or weakness should be assessed by a clinician, and the stretch should stop if it brings those symptoms on.

How is it different from the Lying Figure Four Stretch?

The crossed-leg shape is the same, but lying on your back removes the balance and standing-leg work, so it is easier to relax into a longer hold. The standing version adds single-leg strength and balance and needs no floor space.

Standing Figure Four Pose

What Is the Standing Figure Four Pose?

Standing Figure Four Pose is a compound exercise that primarily targets the glutes and also engages the quadriceps, calves and hip stabilizers of the standing leg. It is an intermediate-level movement that pairs a hip-opening stretch for the crossed leg with an unsupported single-leg squat hold on the other, so it tests balance as much as flexibility.

The pose takes its name from the shape of the legs: one ankle rests across the opposite thigh just above the knee, and the bent, turned-out leg forms a "4". With that hip flexed and rotated outward, the stretch lands in the gluteus maximus and the deep rotators underneath it, including the piriformis. A shear-wave imaging study in healthy young men found the piriformis was stretched more with a bent hip turned out than turned in, and the crossed leg here holds that bent, turned-out position. Sitting the hips lower and hinging the chest forward from the hips increases hip flexion on the crossed side, which is how the stretch is made stronger.

What sets this version apart from lying and seated figure four stretches is the standing leg. It holds a partial single-leg squat with nothing to lean on, so the quadriceps and glutes work isometrically while the gluteus medius keeps the pelvis level and the ankle muscles make constant small corrections. In yoga classes it is often taught as a one-legged variation of chair pose, and it fits well in a warm-up, a mobility session or a cool-down when there is no floor space for a mat.

It suits anyone who wants a glute and outer hip stretch that also builds single-leg control. If balance or standing-leg strength runs out before the stretch is felt, start with the Lying Figure Four Stretch or Seated Piriformis Stretch, which open the same hip without the balance demand, or practice the standing pose with a fingertip on a wall until the unsupported hold feels steady.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Gluteus Maximus: Primary
Gluteus Medius: High
Vastus Lateralis: High
Vastus Medialis: High
Gluteus Minimus: Medium
Rectus Femoris: Medium
Soleus: Medium
Erector Spinae: Low
Peroneus Longus: Low
Tensor Fasciae Latae: Low

Instructions

Stand tall with your feet together and press your palms together in front of your chest.
Fix your gaze on a point ahead and shift your weight onto your left foot, keeping a slight bend in that knee.
Lift your right leg, turn the knee out, and rest the outside of the right ankle across your left thigh just above the knee.
Draw the toes of your right foot back toward the shin so the ankle stays firm instead of rolling over the thigh.
Keeping your chest lifted and your hands at your chest, bend your left knee and sit your hips back as if lowering onto a chair.
Stop when you feel a stretch in the right glute and outer hip, with your left knee tracking over the middle of your foot and your hips level.
Hold the position and breathe steadily.
Press through your left foot to stand, lower the right leg, and repeat on the other side.

Common Mistakes

Rounding the back
Dropping the chest by curling the spine instead of hinging from the hips takes the stretch out of the crossed hip and puts it into the lower back.
Standing knee caving in
Letting the standing knee drift inward past the foot shifts load onto the inside of the knee and usually means the hips are sitting deeper than the standing leg can control.
Slack lifted foot
Letting the crossed ankle go limp allows it to roll and twist over the thigh, which puts sideways stress on that ankle and knee.
Forcing the crossed knee down
Pressing the lifted knee toward the floor with a hand or elbow forces rotation the hip may not have and transfers the strain to the knee.
Uneven hips
Hiking or dropping one side of the pelvis to reach depth turns the pose into a lean and loses both the stretch and the balance work.
Sitting deeper than balance allows
Chasing depth before the hold is steady leads to wobbling and grabbing for support, so build the depth gradually over several holds.

Injuries

Standing Figure Four Pose is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. There is no external load and the depth is controlled by the lifter, but because the whole pose rests on one foot, the main risks are a loss of balance and strain at one of the two knees.

The crossed knee is vulnerable when the hip does not rotate far enough and the knee is forced to make up the difference, or when the lifted foot goes slack and the ankle twists over the thigh. Keep the lifted foot active and never push the crossed knee down with the hands. On the standing side, keep the knee tracking over the middle of the foot rather than caving inward, and only sit as low as you can hold without wobbling.

To make it easier, keep a hand on a wall or the back of a chair, sit less deep, or move to the Lying Figure Four Stretch or Seated Piriformis Stretch. To progress, sit lower, hinge the chest farther forward from the hips, or hold longer; Pigeon Pose is a deeper floor-based option for the same hip.

Stop if you feel sharp pain in either knee, a pinching pain at the front of the hip, or tingling, numbness or pain that travels down the leg. Anyone recovering from hip replacement or other hip surgery should follow their surgeon's movement precautions before crossing the leg into this position.

Overview

Primary Focus: Glutes
Equipment: Body weight
Modality: Yoga
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long should I hold the Standing Figure Four Pose?: Most adults do well holding a stretch for 10 to 30 seconds and repeating it 2 to 4 times per side, while older adults often benefit from 30 to 60 seconds. If balance ends the hold early, lightly touch a wall so the stretch gets its full time.
Q: What if I can't keep my balance?: Stand next to a wall or chair and rest a fingertip on it, fix your gaze on a point ahead, and sit less deep until the hold feels steady. The Lying Figure Four Stretch gives the same hip stretch with no balance demand at all.
Q: Why do I feel it more in my standing leg than in my hip?: The standing leg is holding a single-leg squat, so the thigh can tire before the crossed hip relaxes into the stretch. Using light support lets you sit deeper without the thigh giving out, and the stretch usually becomes easier to feel.
Q: How do I make the stretch stronger?: Sit the hips lower and hinge the chest forward over the crossed shin while keeping the spine long. Both increase how far the crossed hip bends, which deepens the stretch through the glute.
Q: Is the Standing Figure Four Pose good for sciatica?: It can ease tightness through the buttock, but it is not a treatment for sciatica on its own. Pain that travels below the knee, numbness, tingling or weakness should be assessed by a clinician, and the stretch should stop if it brings those symptoms on.
Q: How is it different from the Lying Figure Four Stretch?: The crossed-leg shape is the same, but lying on your back removes the balance and standing-leg work, so it is easier to relax into a longer hold. The standing version adds single-leg strength and balance and needs no floor space.