Top Yoga Poses for Hip Pain Relief

December 25, 2019

Hip pain is found in people of all ages, ranging from light muscular discomfort to something more serious like arthritis. If you are currently experiencing severe hip pain, it’s best to get proper medical advice from an experienced doctor before trying any of the poses below. For most, The common cause of hip pain is from the stiffness of muscles.

Try the following yoga poses to help ease discomfort and maintain mobility in your hips. Before practicing these yoga poses warm up the muscles with up to 5 rounds of Surya Namaskar to make them more pliable Hold each pose for up to 5-10 breaths Notice how your body responds and adjusts the length of practice based on it. If you feel sharp pain, especially in a joint, come out of the pose. If the sensation is intense but just uncomfortable, try to stay in it one more breath than you think you can. That will help aid in getting through the mental and emotional blocks.

Half Crescent – Salamba

All that time sitting at work and at home causes the hips to be fixed in constant flexion. Muscles such as the psoas major, rectus femoris and iliacus, helps to fix the flexion at the hip and it becomes tight and shortened.

This pose helps to stretch the deep muscles and balance out all those hours of sitting inflection. Use the opposite arm to reach back and hold your foot to increase the stretch of the rectus femoris and other parts of the quadriceps muscles.

Figure 4 Stretch

Some life habits and life choices, such as wearing high heels, may alter the balance of your body and move the hips forward, which affects the positioning of the pelvis, lower back, and lumbar spine. Even something that seems harmless, like resting on the couch, can alter the positioning of the pelvis, lower back, and lumbar spine. This is where the figure 4 pose comes in. This pose stretches the tilt of the pelvis lightly and engages the spine to shift equal weight into the sits bones along with stretching the external and lateral rotators of the hip.

Half Pigeon – Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

This pose is also known as the Pigeon Pose which provides a similar action to Figure 4 above and stretches the same muscles. When in the variation with the chest lifted, focusing on the shoulders being squared and aligned with the hips will provide a better stretch in the hip flexors and iliacus muscles. When folding over your bent leg, you may feel a deeper stretch in that same hip. Just be mindful of the bent knee. Sometimes the body weight can be too much for the joint. If so, adjust the upper body position to take the pressure off. The bent leg positions, in both figure 4 and pigeon pose, open the inner thigh and the shortened and tightened adductor muscles. For those with tight hips, it is better to stick with Figure 4.

Join classes in Uptown yoga and learn a variety of yoga poses including poses to maintain healthy hips.