Your hips might be to blame if you feel like your back has given out. On top of that, being inactive can make you less flexible, especially in the hips. This makes your strength, balance, and ability to move easily change. Muscles can also get tired when your hips are tight.
Also, the body is more likely to get hurt as we age because our movement decreases (source: Harvard Health Publishing). For this reason, stretching every day is good for staying in shape. Along with your legs, lower back, and chest, your hips are also very important to your everyday life. As Family Time Fitness says, basic daily tasks include walking, turning, reaching, changing, and moving things from one place to another.
Don’t worry if you feel a little rusty and your joints are stiff. Dr. Lauren Elson, faculty writer for Harvard Health Publishing’s special reports, says it’s never too late to fix and improve a lack of flexibility. As she says, stretching every day is very important and can be done in as little as 5 to 10 minutes a day. Make sure you take care of your hips by adding hip stretches to your workouts.
1. Pigeon Pose
You can stretch your back and hips by doing pigeon pose. It helps rotate the hips outward and stretch the soas muscle, which connects the body to the legs and is a main hip flexor. When we sit down, it gets smaller and stiffer. You can choose from different types, such as Classic Pigeon and Resting Pigeon (Healthline). To get ready for this pose, you might want to do some down dog and cat-cow repeats first. This position will open up your hips.
Start on all fours on your mat for the Classic Pigeon pose. Hold your hands and feet on the ground and lift your hips to the sky as you press up into downward dog. As you stand in an upside-down V shape, lift your right leg and bring it to the back of your right hand. Then, turn your right shin so that it is straight out from your body. Behind you, keep your left leg straight.
Keep your hips level as you slowly drop your right butt to the ground. Lift your body slowly to make your spine longer while you press your hands into the ground. Take a moment to hold it here, and then do it again on the left side. You can also move on to Resting Pigeon by putting your right leg under your body and putting your arms out in front of you with your elbows slightly bent. Bring your head down slowly to the ground. Take five to ten deep breaths and hold. Then do it again on the other side.
2. Hip Circles
Chris Boone MD says that hip circles can help you walk better and stop or ease pain. The hip-strengthening move in a circle will also support the muscles and tissues around the joint, making the hips more flexible and the lower body stronger overall. Your glutes are one group of muscles that hip circles help. For everyday walking and more difficult activities like running and heavy moving, having strong glutes helps keep your hips stable and allow you to move them freely (source: Self).
If you want to do this exercise while standing, you might need a chair or the wall to help you stay balanced (source: Chris Boone MD). You can make circles by standing on your left leg and extending your right leg out. The circles should go around you counterclockwise and then around again.
Do 20 circles going one way and 20 circles going the other way. Do it again on the other side. You can also do this exercise while lying on your side with both legs stretched out and your top leg lifted and drawn in circles (source: Canadian Living).
3. Runner’s Lunge
Run ’em lunge isn’t just for runners, despite what the name might imply. The hips, legs, thighs, and back get longer, stronger, and more flexible in this pose. It’s also a great way to tone your lower body, straighten your spine, and improve your balance and stance as a whole.
Many good things happen when you do this stretch. For example, it gets your body ready for deeper hip-openers (source: Yoga15). Take a step with your right foot between your hands while in downward dog. If you need to, move so that your right knee is next to your right ankle and not in front of it.
Also, make sure your toes are looking forward. Make your stance wider so that your feet are hip-width apart. Then, to make your back leg longer, press through your back heel. Hold this pose on one side for three to five deep breaths, and then do it again on the other side.
4. Seated Twist
Need to get your energy back after being seated for a long time or doing a lot of hard work? The seated twist may help you feel better by opening up your shoulders and lengthening your spine. This will also improve your balance and movement while relieving back pain. What’s more, the Rochester Athletic Club says it’s a great way to open up the hips, which may help lower the risk of back injuries.
It’s also called “Half Lord of the Fishes,” and there are different ways to do it, just like with any other yoga pose. This version with one leg stretched out will help you stay stable if that’s what you need (source: Yoga Journal). Start by sitting with your legs crossed.
Place your right leg over your left. Bring your right foot to the outside of your left knee and sit up straight. Stretch out your left leg if you need more support. Connect both hips to the ground in the same way. Take a deep breath in as you raise your left arm to the sky. Turn your body to the right while letting out a breath. Place your right arm next to your right hip. To get a deeper stretch, hook your left elbow outside your right knee and press into your right hand. Hold for five breaths, then switch sides and do it again.
5. Crescent Lunge
A yoga move called the crescent lunge works every muscle in your body. The name comes from the Sanskrit word “anyenaya,” which means “hello.” Because of this, it fits well into a Sun Salutation flow. The crescent lunge works the legs, hamstrings, back, chest, and shoulders.
It also rotates the hips outward. This stretch works the hips, legs, and glutes very well. In addition, letting the front body grow can give you more energy all around.
The Yoga Journal says to start in downward facing dog. Step your right foot between your hands from the lying V shape . Make sure your knee is straight over your ankle. Keep your back leg straight and straight out. Take a deep breath in as you straighten your back and raise your arms above your head. To make your spine longer, press through your back heel and reach your fingers up to the sky. Do not over-arch. Instead, tilt your hips toward the floor and squeeze your ribs together. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds, then switch sides and do it again.
