Full lotus much like many other yoga poses can be helpful when trying to add new moves to your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) arsenal. If you are looking to improve your ground game, you should consider building up your ability to perform the full lotus and implementing rubber guard into your game.
The rubber guard was invented by Eddie Bravo founder of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, it is one of the more effective guards from the bottom you can utilize.
We will be covering various stretches you can do to help improve your flexibility and mobility that can help you get into the full lotus pose and inturn help master the rubber guard technique.
But to learn how to implement it into your BJJ game, please check out Eddie’s online subscription courses and/or instructional videos.
The stretches below will help your flexibility to achieve full lotus and better develop your Rubber Guard. Here are some stretches you can do to help you loosen up your tight muscles:
Adductor Stretches
Sitting butterfly Stretch
- Sitting with your legs extended.
- Bend your knees towards you while keeping your feet together.
- Let your knees fall out to the sides.
- You should feel a stretch in the groin region.
- To increase the stretch, place your elbows on your knees and push down.
- Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds.
Hip and Quad Stretches
Hip Flexor Stretch
- Kneel on one knee creating a 90-degree angle with the opposite hip (use a
chair for support, if needed). - Tilt your pelvis backwards to flatten your lower back and transfer your
weight forward until you feel a gentle stretch on the front of your hip of the
lower leg. - Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds.
- Relax and repeat on the other side.
- Maintain your upper body upright and your lower back flatten (not
arched).
Hamstring Stretches
Sitting Hamstring Stretch
- Sit on a chair with one foot on a small bench.
- Maintaining a straight back.
- Pull your toes towards you while you extend your leg until you feel a stretch behind your leg.
- Maintain the position and relax.
- Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds.
Calf Stretches
Standing Calf Stretch (v.1)
- Stand and place both hands on a wall.
- Place one leg behind the other and lean your body forward without bending the back knee until you feel a
stretch in your back calf. - Maintain the stretch and relax.
- Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds.
Myofascial Release
Foam Rolling IT Band
- Place your foam roller on the floor. Take a side plank position with the outside of one hip over the
foam roller and your other leg in front for support. - Roll the entire outside of your leg from your pelvis to your knee in an up and down motion.
- Pause at any spots that feel especially tender.
- Avoid the hip bone and knee joint.
- Can stack legs on top of each other for extra pressure, if needed.
See more in our stretching guide
Doing these stretches can help reduce tightness in your legs and hips to help improve your ability to get
into full lotus position ?♀️.
This yoga position is a great indicator of mobility and flexibility that will allow you to perform rubber guard offensive and defensive moves.
The stretches provided will help improve your mobility & flexibility to get to full lotus if you have tight muscles.
You should also slowly move into phases of the lotus pose in conjunction with the stretches provided or
the other stretches provided in our stretching guide.
Additionally, here are a few options of poses you can perform to build up your flexibility to achieve the
full lotus pose:
Example 1:
Example 2:
Example 3:
Enjoy the stretches and keep training, OSS!
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