At Zuda Yoga, we love celebrating how easy and convenient life has become. In the blink of an eye you can travel to another place or town. You can sit in a comfortable office all day and when you get home, you can snuggle down on the couch for some TV. That’s how good it is.
But, have you noticed that after a while you feel pain in your back, knees, and hips? That’s what body yoga Roseville is all about fixing!
This post will introduce you to hip stretches and yoga poses that you can practice daily to improve flexibility and reduce pain in your back, knees, and hips.
Why Should You Stretch?
If you don’t have time to hit the gym or go for a run, stretching frequently throughout your day can help keep your body limber. Stretching increases blood flow to the muscles and joints, which helps to ease stiffness and soreness.
Hips and knees are tight from all the time we spend sitting. If you don’t take action and start stretching, you will find yourself with a limited range of motion. Stretching helps loosen tight muscles for better freedom of movement.
Yoga In Practice
Many people come to perform body yoga Roseville looking for ways to increase their flexibility. Whether it’s to get a better, more athletic basketball dunk, or just for general mobility, there are a lot of online sources offering solutions. But unfortunately, a lot of these articles can be misleading.
So, if you want to improve your mobility and reduce pain, get up and let’s stretch. Here are 6 easy poses to get you stretching for more!
Laying Down Pose
This simple, effective method of mobilizing all the joints from the waist down keeps you grounded and open. It is an excellent way to warm up for the rest of your practice series. You can perform this exercise while lying on a bed or couch.
Start by putting your feet a little wider than hip-width apart and bringing both legs over to one side.
From this position, you can extend farther by feeling as if your knees are reaching away from you; this will gain length along the thigh bones.
Use your core muscles to rotate your pelvis and legs to the opposite side and feel the bones in your thighs swivel in their hip sockets as you roll from left to right.
Repeat the extending and rotating steps two more times.
Child Pose
This pose stretches the entire back and helps open up the hips by stretching the glutes. This is a great pose to follow the laying down pose because after you have warmed up your hips lying on your back, you’ll want to do the opposite.
To begin, sit back on your heels and walk your hands forward. Keeping a long spine, place your forehead onto the floor.
Laying face down, press your forearms against the floor. Move your hands out in front of you until your arms are straight. Try to keep your shoulders away from your ears.
Hold this pose for 30 seconds.
90/90 Stretch
This is an excellent mobility drill that improves hip flexion, external rotation, and internal rotation of one hip as well as abduction and lateral rotation of the other. You may find yourself crossing one leg over the other while sitting. You will probably notice that it is more difficult to rotate the leg on one side than the other.
From a seated position with an erect spine, begin by bending one leg in front of you while the other leg is out to your side. Bend both knees to around 90 degrees. Sit on an elevated surface to do this if positioning on a flat surface is difficult for you.
Rotate your torso in each direction, first by threading the needle towards the leg in front of you. Reach as far as you can towards the back wall without lifting your butt off the floor. Then rotate towards the leg on your outside.
Repeat 1-2 reps on each side.
Supine Figure 4
This stretch improves the flexibility of your hip flexors and lower back by stretching the glutes, piriformis, and lower back muscles. It’s great for anyone who struggles with tight glutes and lower back pain.
To begin, lie down on your back. Bend your knees, and place your feet on the ground about at your hips-width apart.
Bend your right knee and place your right ankle above your left knee on the upper leg. By looping your right hand through your legs and interlacing your hands behind your left thigh, you can create a full-body stretch that feels great.
Keep your head on the floor as you pull your left thigh towards you.
Hold for 30 seconds per thigh.
Adductor Opener
This stretch is great for opening up your hips and allowing blood and energy to flow throughout your body.
Stand with your feet out wide, heels in, and toes pointing out at 45-degree angles.
Turn your body to the right and bend your knees until your butt hovers above the floor. Then place your hands on your thighs.
Press your thighs apart while lying on your back to feel a stretch in the inner thighs and groin.
Hold for 30-40 seconds.
Pigeon Pose
Pigeon pose is an excellent stretch you can use to loosen up your glutes and hips. It’s a great yoga move for runners, cyclists, or anyone with tight hips. This pose stretches the hip rotators to build hip stability.
Begin in a tabletop position with your knees directly below your hips and your hands a little lower than your shoulders.
The key step is sliding your right knee forward and outside your wrist.
With your left leg bent and right leg straight, slowly slide the left leg backward and slowly straighten the knee. At the same time, lower the front of the left thigh while keeping it close to the floor.
Lower your right hip down to the floor.
Place your right foot in front of your left hip, and push using the pressure of your fingertips on the floor.
Try to roll your left hip joint in front of your right hip joint while keeping your pelvis squared.
Place your fingertips on the floor and gently push back. Lengthen your spine, and look straight ahead.
If you can, hold for roughly 1-2 minutes.
Conclusion
Along with other exercises, hip stretching can help reduce muscle tightness. It will also help increase hip mobility to avoid spasms and pain. Treatment for these kinds of muscle spasms is pricey, so prevention is the first step to maintaining your overall health.
For guided stretching and yoga in practice, join us at Zuda Yoga Roseville or Folsom. We offer a variety of classes that can help you feel your best. Happy stretching!
