Yoga for Happy Hips

How do you know if your hips are happy?

Chances are, it’s easier to tell when they’re not. If you’ve been feeling discomfort in your lower back or groin, there’s a good chance your hips are tight and holding on to tension.

Tight hips are one of the most common complaints among yoga students and active individuals. The first sign of unhappy hips is often hip pain, lower back discomfort, or groin tightness. But what many people don’t realize is that emotional trauma can also be stored in the hips. That’s why consistent hip-opening yoga not only improves your flexibility and mobility—it can also help you release long-held emotional stress.It’s also been said that this area of the body stores unresolved emotional pain, primarily from our relationships. During times of stress you may notice a more rigid quality to your movement.

Your hips are a ball-and-socket joint, connecting your femur to the pelvis. This area supports nearly every type of movement you do—from walking and sitting to squatting and dancing. Healthy hips need to move in all six directions:

• Flexion

• Extension

• Abduction

• Adduction

• Internal rotation

• External rotation

When your range of motion is limited in one or more of these areas, you may experience pain, stiffness, or an increased risk of injury. A yoga practice for hip mobility should include poses that work all six of these movements, targeting imbalances and gently increasing flexibility over time.

Supported runner's lunge

• Utthita Ashwa Sanchalanasana (runner's lunge)
• Utthan Pristhasana (lizard pose)
• Eka Pada Rajakapotasan (pigeon pose)
• Agnistambhasana (double pigeon pose)
• Mandukasana (frog pose)
• Baddha Konasana (bound angle pose)

IIncorporating these yoga poses for tight hips can increase circulation, improve range of motion, and help you feel more open—both physically and emotionally.

Supported pigeon pose