The Psychology of Tight Hamstrings

June 15, 2025

Hamstrings are more than muscles – they’re gateways to serenity. (Oh, buckle up…you’re never going to ignore your hamstrings again after you read this post.)

Hamstrings are the three muscles located at the back of each thigh. They help your knees bend and hips hinge. Every time you walk, jump, or sit down, you’re using them.

From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) vantage point, hamstrings are yang, so they love being in motion and they love heat. Also, hamstrings are a central point of the TCM bladder meridian, which is a significant energy line of the body with a big nervous system connection. In other words, your hamstrings are influencing your stress response, and vice versa! 

When hamstrings get overworked, they get tight. When they get underworked and cold, they get tight. Many people claim to “innately” have tight hamstrings. “Everyone in my family has tight hamstrings…it’s just the way I’m built,” they say. (This is a negative affirmation, BTW, and I’ve heard it a thousand times. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, so please, stop saying it!)

From what I see, as a fit pro wearing her trusted TCM glasses, chronically tight hamstrings are a symptom of an unregulated nervous system. In other words, you’re perpetual fight or flight response is showing up in your hamstrings. 

 Observations to ponder:

  1. Mental Stress= Physical Tightness
    Notice your hamstrings when you are feeling pressure, rushing around, and/or worried. You’ll find that they have seized up. 
  2. Physical Warmth = Reduction in tension
    Notice when you’re soaking in a warm bath or sunbathing on a hot day, how your hamstrings “soften” as a state of serenity emerges. 
  3. Stretching = Calming
    Notice how the simple act of stretching, especially your hamstrings, induces a calming effect on your psyche. 

Are you someone with chronically tight hamstrings? That’s your nervous system begging you to regulate your nervous system. Move, get warm, and stretch, a lot…and in that order. You’ll see, your hamstrings will eventually “open up” and you’ll feel so much better for it. 

Movement is your medicine. 
Let’s Move!