6 Yoga Poses to Improve Hip Flexibility
When you lead a busy life, the time to move your body naturally decreases. This can lead to poor joint function, easy injury, and poor quality of life. Today, we are going to look at yoga poses that improve hip flexibility.
Yoga is a good practice for training the mind, body and soul, and consists of asanas , postures, breathing, and meditation. Yoga is the best way to take care of your overall health.
A strong hip joint can prevent falls and lower body fractures and relieve knee and back pain. In addition, flexibility and resistance exercises can alleviate the impact.
muscles that flex the hip joint
If you want to develop hip flexibility, you need to know which muscles are responsible for hip flexion.
- Psoas : This is the innermost muscle and helps maintain spinal stability.
- Rectus femoris : Acts on both joints and promotes knee extension and hip flexion.
- Oblique femoris : It extends between the hip joint and the knee and can flex both sides. The oblique femoris is a muscle required to perform the motion of placing one heel in front of the opposite knee.
These muscles help stabilize the backbone and hip joints.
Yoga poses to improve hip flexibility
Most yoga classes start with sun salutation. You can prepare your joints by standing up and slowly lowering your upper body. Breathing is also essential for providing the energy needed for activity.
After the sun salutation pose, try the following six yoga poses.
1. Hero Pose
Sit with your legs apart and your knees bent so that the tops of your feet touch the mat.
Place your buttocks on top of your feet and lean back. It is important to keep your elbows on the floor and your back as straight as possible.
2. Down Dog Pose
Stand up and lower your upper body until your hands touch the floor. Send your feet back so that your body forms an A-shape.
The down dog pose is a simple hip stretch, and the key is to keep a straight line from the tailbone to the back.
3. Frog pose improves hip flexibility
Kneel down on a mat, stretch your arms out in front of you, and spread your legs as wide as possible on the floor.
Bend your upper body forward until your elbows touch the floor.
4. Runner Stance
Stand on a mat and put one foot forward. Bend your front leg and straighten your back leg.
Place your arms on the floor as you lower your pelvis down.
This is similar to a runner standing on the starting line, and it is important to do the same with the opposite leg.
5. Forward Flexion to Improve Hip Flexibility
Sit on the floor and stretch your legs. Bend one leg so that the sole of the foot touches the buttocks, then lower the upper body until both arms touch the tip of the opposite foot.
6. Triangle Pose
Stand up and spread your legs apart. Turn your left foot outward.
Open your arms and bend your upper body to the side so that you can touch your left foot or leg with your left hand .
Repeat on the opposite leg.
The triangle pose can be done according to your own stretching ability, but your gaze should always be directed toward the ceiling.
Recommendations for Improving Hip Flexibility
When you do yoga, you need to focus on your posture, but it’s also important to find a style that suits you. You have to choose whether you want to focus on the physical aspect, focus on the spiritual aspect, or improve both.
You have to consider your taste, free time, health, and physical condition, and you can try other styles after you improve your skills to a certain extent.
It is important to perform yoga poses slowly and safely. There may be positions that are a bit more demanding, but you shouldn’t feel any pain.
When practicing yoga, wear light, breathable, comfortable clothing. Comfortable clothing helps prevent dehydration and slows down fatigue .
It is also important to learn different types of breathing without overdoing it .