Are you properly teaching the "Frog"?

While attending Velocity Nationals in 2014, a workshop was provided for the individuals at Nationals with a director or instructor pass. This workshop was taught by Shannon Mather. With more than a plethora of experience and a resume as long as an encyclopedia, Shannon Mather is more than qualified to speak to dance instructors and share her experiences and knowledge.

One go-to that many of us use after sliding through our middle splits during warm-up is the "frog" stretch. By laying on your belly, slapping your feet together behind you, and letting gravity do the work on your feet (like pictured above), many of us may think that we are stretching out hips. However, as Shannon Mather noted, this stretch is actually just twisting your knees into an unnatural turned in position. 

However, the correct way to do this stretch is to ensure your students' knees are in 90 degree angles. With their feet right below their knees, they will sink their hips as low as possible and extend their hands to press their hips back as far as possible in order to stretch their hips out. You can refer to the photo above for the proper body positions. If your students still do not feel this stretch, you can gently pull their hips back and downward while securing your legs behind their knees so they don't move their legs from the proper position. This ensures their adductors and groin are getting stretched without putting their knees at risk.