Spending many hours sitting ankyloses the hips and causes them to accumulate tension. Practicing yoga helps keep them flexible and unlock them energetically.
There is no doubt that a sedentary lifestyle contributes to health problems such as obesity or osteoporosis, but that same passivity also has harmful effects on the hips and, consequently, on the spine and the rest of the bone structure through important muscles and ligaments.
Imagine, for a moment, that you break your arm and it is immobilized so that you cannot flex your elbow. When the cast is removed after a few weeks, the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and even the skin around your elbow will have shortened, which won’t let you stretch it again at will. To regain the range of motion you had, you’ll need weeks of stretching and rehabilitative exercises that allow you to re-flex your joint.
The same goes for the hips. If we spend days, months or entire years without stretching them properly, they atrophy, lose mobility and cause tension in other parts of the body. In the long run, this lack of mobility can trigger osteoarthritis or other serious bone and muscle injuries.
A JUNCTION AREA THAT ENABLES MOVEMENT
The hips support the entire weight of the upper body and stabilize the relationship between the torso and legs. In the area of the pelvis there is the encounter between the descending force of gravity and the ascending response to contact with the ground.
From an anatomical point of view, the hips function as a “hinge” with the limbs and facilitate three types of movement: flexion-extension, abduction-adduction and rotations.
Walking, sitting, standing, climbing stairs, kicking a ball, dancing or running are all possible thanks to the mobility of the hips.
ROTATORS: MUSCLES THAT STABILIZE US AND ALLOW US TO MOVE FORWARD
Numerous bones, muscles and ligaments are inserted into the hips. In fact, most hip movements are a natural consequence of actions that originate in the legs or trunk.
An action as common as walking is made possible by a group of muscles called rotators, which function as one and work to stabilize the pelvis and rotate the femur.
To know the state of these rotators, the trunk can be flexed forward, either standing or sitting. The difficulty in bringing the abdomen closer to the thighs may be due to the short length of the hamstring, but it also has a lot to do with the rotators, and is frequently seen among those who start in yoga, especially in men.
One of the most important rotators is the piriformis or pyramidal muscle, which runs from the inside of the sacrum to the upper border of the greater trochanter (at the top and outside of the femur).
When this muscle tightens, it presses on the sciatic nerve and causes pain that radiates down the buttocks and down the leg to the sole of the foot. Sometimes, the tension can even pull on the sacrum and affect the functioning of the sacroiliac joint (which is located between the sacrum and the pelvis) and unbalance the lumbar region.
Often, what feels like lumbar injuries are actually strains on the external rotators, which can be corrected by stretching these muscles.
RELAX THE PYRAMID THANKS TO YOGA
The practice of yoga, with its stretches, push-ups, extensions and twists, is an excellent way to keep the hips toned, flexible and unblocked to compensate for sedentary lifestyle and prevent its associated pain.
This Indian discipline was developed with an ultimate goal: that the student managed to stay hours and hours in the lotus posture or padmasana (crossed legs on the floor) while meditating, for which agile, unlocked and very healthy hips are required.
Yoga twists, especially those performed sitting, such as Vakrasana (twisting posture) or Ardha matsyendrasana (half-twisting posture), or those performed on the floor, such as Jathara parivratasana (posture with the twisted abdomen), result inshortening of the external rotators and hip joint.
If accompanied by conscious and deep breathing, these postures distend the pyramidal, as well as other hip muscles, and allow them to lengthen.
THE FLEXOR MUSCLES: FUNDAMENTAL AND “INVISIBLE”
Other actions, such as cycling, climbing stairs or standing up when lying down, are made possible by the flexor muscles, which are located in the front of the hips.
As with the rest of the muscles in the area, if they are not stretched properly, they affect the position of the pelvis, which in turn affects the back, especially in the lumbar area. Among this group of muscles, the most important is the psoas-iliac, composed of two muscles that join in the pelvis: the psoas and the iliac.
To place them it is useful to visualize the human body without internal organs. The psoas is inserted in the back of the abdomen, at the height of the last dorsal, extends parallel to the spine by the lumbar area and reaches the pelvis. The iliac inserts into the iliac crest, reaches the sacrum and crosses the floor of the pelvis attached to the psoas.
Due to the difficulty of seeing and touching them, confusion about their location and action is frequent.
The practice of some yoga postures such as Dhanurasana (the bow), Kapotas Ana (the dove), Ardha mandalas Ana (alert posture), Anjaneyasana (the monkey) or any of its variants, are very useful to stretch the psoas-iliac muscle, and Navasana (the boat), to strengthen it.
THE TREE (VIRKASANA)
- Transfer all the weight to the right foot. Relaxes tension that may appear in the right hip.
- Rest your left foot on the inside of your right thigh and bring your left hip down.
- Look at a fixed point, breathe and, if you can, raise your arms.
- Switch sides.
ROTATOR STRETCH
THE LOTUS (PADMASANA)
- Sit on the floor, on your ischia, cross-legged and your back straight. If it curves or goes backwards, arrange a hard cushion or blanket under the buttocks.
- Once in the posture, raise the crown towards the ceiling and relax the shoulders.
- Rest your palms on your knees and breathe in and out ten times.
THE WARRIOR (VIRABADRASANA 2) – PART 1
- Separate the legs a little more than a meter and turn the left foot forward, aligning the heel with the arch of the right foot. Bend your left knee so that it forms a 90º angle with your ankle.
- Make sure your hips are relaxed and your pelvis slightly rotated inward. Stretch your arms to your sides and bring your gaze over your left shoulder. You’ll notice how your hips stretch and create space in your pelvis to make up for the hours you spend sitting.
- Breathe in and out ten times.
THE WARRIOR (VIRABADRASANA 2) – PART 2
- From the previous position, rest your left elbow on your knee and stretch your right arm above your head. Use your elbow as a lever to create space between your left hip and your ribs.
- It brings the coccyx forward creating space in the pelvis. Make sure that the outer edge of the sole of the right foot is well supported on the ground and the leg straight.
- Breathe in and out ten times.
THE TRIANGLE (TRIKONASANA)
- From the previous position, stretch your left leg and gradually lower your left arm towards the floor without closing your right hip. If your hand doesn’t reach the ground, you can rest it on your shin or use a support.
- Try to keep your left shoulder, knee and hip aligned, as if you had a wall behind you, and help yourself breath to slightly rotate your ribs from the right side towards the ceiling. You will notice a strong stretch in the hips.
- Take ten deep breaths and switch sides.
THE BRIDGE (SETU BANDHA SARVANGASANA)
- Lie on the floor with your back well supported. Bend your knees and place your feet underneath, open the width of your hips. Stretch your arms next to the trunk and help yourself with them to, little by little, raise your hips.
- If you are comfortable, interlace your hands behind your back and stretch your arms to open your shoulders. You will notice how the front of the legs and the psoas lengthen.
- Breathe in and out ten times, release your hands and lower your back to the ground vertebra by vertebra.
EXTENSION OF THE FLEXORS
RELEASE THE PSOAS – PART 1
- Standing, take your left leg back with a big step and flex your right so that your knee is aligned over your ankle.
- Place each hand on either side of the right foot and look forward trying to align the left ankle with the hip and crown.
- Activate the thighs as if you had a magnet between your legs and try not to let your hips rise. You’ll stretch the front of your hips and psoas.
- Breathe in and out ten times.
RELEASE THE PSOAS – PART 2
- Now bend your left knee and rest the instep on the floor.
- Bring your hands to your chest joined together as if praying, and try to bring your hips a little closer to the ground. Confirm that the hips are in the same line.
- Hold the posture for about ten breaths.
RELEASE THE PSOAS – PART 3
- Then breathe in and, when exhaling, bring your left elbow to the outside of your right knee. Make sure your hips, elbows, and right knee are aligned with your ankle.
- Try bringing the ribs on the left side closer to the right thigh. You will notice how you stretch the right hip and the psoas of the left leg.
- Breathe ten times and switch sides.
THE DANCER (NATARAJASANA)
- Stand upright, feet together and your back straight. Bend your left knee, bring your ankle towards your buttock and grab it on the outside with your left hand.
- With an inhalation raise the right arm, and keep it parallel to the ground.
- Make sure your hips are aligned toward the front and, with an exhale, tilt your torso forward a little while raising your left leg up. You will notice an intense stretching in the psoas.
- Look at a fixed point in front to keep your balance. Hold the posture five deep breaths and with the last exhale release and change sides.
TORSION
- Sit on the floor with your legs straight. Bend your right knee and support the sole of your foot outside your left leg, at knee height. Make sure that the ischia are well supported on the ground and the back, straight.
- Stretch your right arm behind the spine and with an inspiration extend your left arm towards the sky. When exhaling, bring it to the outside of the right leg.
- Breathe ten times.
FOLD
- From the previous pose, drop your right knee to align with your left.
- Activate the left leg and try to bring the abdomen towards the thighs, with the back straight. You will notice a deep stretch in your right hip. If you can, grab your right foot with your hands.
- Breathe ten times and switch sides.
THE ROLE OF THE HIPS IN SEXUALITY
In addition to being physically a crucial point of the body, the hips are also important emotionally and sexually.
A woman’s walking and running is distinct from that of a man because of the constitution of her hips, which have a greater forward inclination and are wider and deeper.
This makes the thighs more apart and the hips wiggle. The purpose of this structure is to facilitate greater openness in childbirth. Also, the iliac bone and the muscles that surround it are located in such a way that they move the buttocks away, so that the contraction of the buttocks does not interfere at the time of giving birth.
The male hip is more solid, more elongated and narrower, but its bone walls are thicker to support greater body weight and ensure good stability in movement.
All this area supports, houses and protects the organs where life is conceived, closely linked to sexuality (the uterus, genitals), as well as the bladder and kidneys.
Flexible hips allow these organs to be kept healthy, while balancing sensuality, sexuality, emotions, intimacy and desire.
Energetically, according to the tradition of yoga, in the center of the pelvis is the second chakra, baptized as Svadisthana and whose translation would be “the place or base of one”. Therein lie sexuality, emotional movement, openness to pleasure, as well as learning a life without attachments, according to its natural flow.
Energy blockages of the hips, which can lead to pain and stiffness, are thought to be related to feelings of fear, repression, traumatic sexual experiences, and conflicts related to family, partner, or social relationships.
The Svadisthana chakra is also related to everything watery in the body: circulation, urine, menstruation, orgasm, tears… that are regulated if this energy center is kept balanced. Yoga offers an excellent tool to achieve this.
Keeping your hips flexible helps you feel well physically but also to stay emotionally healthy, to achieve full sexuality and to learn to change, flow and move with life.