Meeting the Muscle Belly: Quadriceps

By: Kylie Roswell

The four muscles that make up the front of thigh:⁠

1. vastus lateralis on the outside of the thigh⁠

2. vastus medialis on the inside⁠

3. vastus intermedius in the center (underneath the rectus femoris)⁠

4. rectus femoris goes down center of thigh (only one that crosses both the hip joint and knee)⁠

- To fully stretch the rectus femoris, you must include hip extension (opening across the front of the hip) as well as knee flexion (bending the knee). ⁠


Yoga asana to stretch the rectus femoris: ⁠

Supta Virasana - Reclining Hero Pose (or half with one leg bent at a time!)⁠

dancer-pose-quadricep-stretch-yoga-anatomy

Yoga poses that stretch the quads:

Crescent Lunge (Anjaneyasana)

King dancer (natarajasana)

Camel (Ustrasana)

Bow (Dhanurasana)

Sugarcane pose (Ardha Chandrasana Chapasana)⁠


** Photo of quads Credit


Kylie Roswell-Bio Photo-Vinyasa Yoga .jpg

Kylie Roswell

Kylie Roswell is an energetic Vinyasa & Iyengar teacher spreading joy through yoga. Teaching from her heart-center, she connects the origins of love and spontaneous flow to refined dedication to a structured practice. Kylie is known to weave intentional Mantra music with her well-traveled ukulele, who has guest starred in yoga classes in India, Bali, and beyond.