Yoga Glossary · Joint Actions
Flexion
Closing a joint angle — bending, as the knee bends or the spine rounds forward.
Flexion is the movement that decreases the angle between two body parts: bending the elbow or knee, curling the spine forward, or drawing the thigh toward the chest. It is one of the fundamental joint actions named in every anatomy reference, and its opposite is extension.
Forward folds are spinal flexion; Chair is hip and knee flexion held against gravity; the front leg of a lunge lives in hip flexion. Teachers name flexion constantly because where a pose flexes determines which muscles work and which lengthen — the hamstrings, for instance, are stretched precisely because a straight-leg fold combines hip flexion with knee extension.
In practice
- Fold forward and the spine flexes; bend the knee and it flexes — same word, every joint.
- Pairing flexion at one joint with extension at the next is how most pose shapes are built.
- Flexion is produced by flexor muscles crossing the front of a joint.
Poses built on this action
- Arms Overhead (Upward Salute)
- Chair Pose
- Warrior I
- Warrior II
- Reverse Warrior
- Extended Side Angle
- Triangle Pose
- Crescent Lunge
- Runner's Lunge
- Tree Pose
- Eagle Pose
- Dancer's Pose
- Standing Forward Fold
- Ragdoll
- Halfway Lift
- Gorilla Pose
- Wide-Leg Forward Fold
- Seated Forward Fold
- Bow Pose
- Camel Pose
- Bridge Pose
- Wheel Pose
- Half Pigeon
- Reclined Bound Angle
- Happy Baby
- Revolved Crescent Lunge
- Prayer Twist
- Supine Twist
- Boat Pose
- Plank Pose
- Chaturanga
- Crow Pose
- Downward Facing Dog
- Shoulder Stand
- Child's Pose
- Easy Pose
Related terms
Test yourself
Pose IQ's Anatomy rounds quiz this term and its neighbours — ten questions, explanations after every answer.
The Yoga Glossary is an educational study reference. Definitions are standard yoga and anatomy knowledge in plain language; nothing here is medical advice.