Open your hips without leaving your chair.
Hinge from the hips with a flat back, don't round your spine to reach lower.
Crossing your ankle over the opposite knee externally rotates the hip, and hinging your chest forward from there drops a deep stretch straight into the glute of the crossed leg. Because it is done from a chair, one side at a time, it is the rare hip opener you can do at a desk between sets or between meetings. The forward hinge, not how far you slump, is what deepens it.
The glutes and the deep rotators of the hip on the crossed-leg side. You will feel it right in the meat of the glute, especially once you hinge your chest forward over the crossed shin.
Your hips are just tight, which is exactly why you are here. Rest the ankle lower on the shin, skip the downward press on the knee, and hold there. Range comes with consistency.
Around 30 to 60 seconds per side, breathing slowly, works well. Sink in gradually rather than forcing depth, and do both sides even if one feels fine.
