The piriformis stretch will loosen a muscle deep in your rear-end called the piriformis. You will feel this stretch in your glutes (butt muscles) and you might also feel the stretch down the side of your upper leg. Many runners and walkers have pain stemming from a tight piriformis and never even know it! The piriformis can irritate the sciatic nerve when it is tight. This can cause pain that runs down the length of your leg. From experience, I can tell you it is not a fun injury! To perform the piriformis stretch, start on your back, one leg bent with foot flat on the floor, other leg crossed on top as shown in the first picture below. Grab the leg that is on the floor with both hands (fingers interlocked) and pull leg towards your chest as shown in the second picture. Hold 18-30 seconds and repeat if you'd like.

Set up for piriformis stretch

Perform piriformis stretch grabbing bottom leg with both hands and pulling towards chest.