How to Do a Split Without a Mat

Getting into a split takes a lot of practice and a lot of patience. If you're practicing your split regularly, you may find yourself in a place where you'd like to practice your split without a mat. While it may seem a little awkward at first, a few minor adjustments to your normal split preparation will make practicing a split without a mat just as easy as practicing with one.

Things You'll Need

  • Blanket
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Instructions

    • 1

      Warm your body up. In order to come into a split, with or without a mat, your muscles must be warm. In yoga, you warm your muscles with sun salutations. However, running, lunges and other exercises that utilize your hamstrings can also warm up your muscles in preparation for doing a split.

    • 2

      Settle into a runner's lunge, get your balance and let your back knee come to the ground. While you can do a split without a mat, you may want to use a folded blanket under the back knee to protect the knee.

    • 3

      Bring your hands up to your knee, straighten your spine and take a slight back bend; push into the front leg and feel the stretch in your hip flexors.

    • 4

      Straighten the front leg and lean forward with a flat back over the front leg, coming into half split. If it is painful to straighten the front leg, just work toward a straight leg. You should experience a gentle stretch in half-split. If you experience pain, bend the front knee slightly.

    • 5

      Repeat steps three and four several times. Notice how your body gets deeper into the stretch. If you don't initially achieve a straight leg, continue practicing steps one through four until you do.

    • 6

      Walk the back knee back or the forward leg forward and start to spread the legs apart, working your way into split. If you are not using a mat, focus on grounding down through the front heel to create traction. If you don't do this, you could slide the legs out too far and tear the muscle.

    • 7

      Hold this pose, paying special attention to how you feel in the pose. If you feel pain, come out of it by moving the back leg forward and bringing the knee to the ground (using a blanket to protect the knee). Keep pressing into the front heel to avoid sliding the legs out too far.

    • 8

      Repeat. It takes time to get into a split and patience is a virtue that will prevent injury. Take your time and be careful when practicing splits without a mat.