Remember to take the time to stretch out your hips daily or a few times a week. This can help relieve tension and offset the hours spent standing or sitting at your desk. Increasing the mobility in your hips can also help increase your strength and power in your workouts. Plus, it feels amazing!
Yoga is one the most popular ways for individuals to gain flexibility in their hips, due to the variety of hip-opening poses. These poses are some of my favorite hip openers. You will see these in many yoga classes. Have fun. 😊
Happy Baby
Squat pose
Frog
Half Pigeon
Low Lunge
- Happy Baby: Lie on your mat and pull your knees to your chest. Place hands on outsides of feet, opening your knees wider than your torso. Press your feet into hands while pulling down on feet, creating resistance. *Breathe deeply; hold for at least 30 seconds.
- Squat Pose: Squatting is one of the more challenging ways to open the hips, especially for beginners. Start in standing pose with the legs wider than the hips. Slowly begin to bend the knees as if you were coming to sit on a chair. Bring your sit bones as close to the floor as possible keeping the knees wide and soles of the feet on the floor. If your heels naturally lift, then you can place cushions or blocks underneath them. *Hold for up to one minute.
- Frog: To get into the pose, get on all fours, with hands under your shoulders and your knees on your mat, or even blankets for more padding. Widen your knees until you feel a comfortable stretch in your inner thighs. Be sure to keep your ankles in line with your knees, and your feet and calves grounded the entire time. If you’re able to, lower down to your forearms. *Hold for at least 30 seconds.
- Half Pigeon: The best way to get into this position is to start in a runner’s lunge with your RIGHT foot forward and both hands on the mat on either side of your front foot. With most of the weight in your hands, slide your front foot over towards your LEFT hand, and lower the knee over to the RIGHT. Place the outside of your RIGHT calf on the mat so that it is parallel to the front of your mat. Slowly lower your back knee and shin to the floor. Square your hips as much as possible to the front of the mat. For a more moderate stretch, keep your arms straight and hands flat on the floor. *Hold for at least 30 seconds, then repeat on the opposite side.
- Low Lunge: Start in a runner’s lunge with your RIGHT foot forward and your hands on the mat on either side of your front foot. Lower your back knee and shin to the floor and lift your chest and your arms up, resting your hands on your front thigh. Keeping the abdominals engaged and don’t allow the back to arch. *Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.
Until next time!
With love and beauty,
Xoxo,
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