How to get my splits?

i m a dancer, and I ve been dancing for about 11 years. but I just can t seem to get my splits for the life of me. no matter how long I stretch, or how close I get, I just can t seem to keep them. once I got my left split, but I even lost that within a week even though I was stretching. i notice that my legs feel stretched enough, but my hips still feel kind of tight. so maybe that has something to do with it? - my left split is 3 inches from the ground - my right split is 5 inches from the ground - my straddle is 4 inches from the ground
Answers

mintchips49

Make sure you always warm up before you do any stretching. That gives you the biggest gains as well as minimizes injury. The very best time to stretch is right after dance class when you are really warm. You should talk to your teacher regarding your hips. Include the butterfly in your strreching to open your hips. Make sure you don’t force this as it will only torque your knees and do damage. Not everyone has the bone and muscle structure to be able to do splits. Especially a straddle. That may be part of your problem if you have been taking classes for 11 years. Don’t count any years before age 7 in those 11 years. If you are, you may very well have more room to improve. If you are 18 it isn’t as likely.