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This Sitting Position Reveals How Your Hips Really Work — Key Takeaways

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This Sitting Position Reveals How Your Hips Really Work

GMB Fitness (Praxis)11mAug 31, 2025

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Seiza (Japanese kneeling) practiced daily in as little as 30 seconds builds the ankle mobility and posterior chain activation that unlocks advanced movements like shrimp squats and explosive transitions — regardless of prior knee issues.

Key takeaways

Heels-in, toes-together seiza keeps spine erect; heels-out causes back rounding

Heels-in, toes-together seiza keeps spine erect; heels-out causes back rounding

  • Pulling heels inward places sitbones on top of heels, maintaining upright posture.
  • Opening heels lets hips drop between them, forcing lumbar flexion — the opposite of correct sitting.

Floor-to-stand: drive hips forward first, not chest — quads control the descent

Floor-to-stand: drive hips forward first, not chest — quads control the descent

  • Lowering by 'almost falling backward' forces quad engagement before hips reach heels.
  • Rising by driving hips forward over knees (not leaning chest forward) preserves crown-to-coccyx alignment and trains posterior chain.

Use isometric holds mid-movement to build strength at your sticking point

Use isometric holds mid-movement to build strength at your sticking point

  • If you can't lower smoothly to seiza, stop at your limit, hold, release — then continue; repeat in reverse for the rise.
  • Same method applies to shrimp squat: hold knee just off floor to strengthen the position before attempting full lift.

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In this video

  1. 1mCan you do this?
  2. 1mMy knees would explode!
  3. 1mTry the test
  4. 1mSeiza position
  5. 2mAdjusting the position
  6. 3mSeiza to standing
  7. 6mSeiza jump to squat
  8. 7mSeiza to shrimp squat
  9. 9mStatic positions
  10. 11mProgramming
  11. 11mYour next step

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