Poses to Relieve Tight Hip Flexors

We as humans have become very sedentary creatures. We sit at our desk for the entire workday, we sit on our commute home from the office, we sit and eat dinner with the family and finally we sit and watch TV (or maybe read a blog) before going to bed.

When we sit, out hips are in a flexed position. Basically, we are engaging these muscles and using them to hold ourselves upright leading to a tightening of the joint. Tight hip flexors may not seem like a big deal, but they can lead to a lot of discomfort in not just the hips but other parts of the body as well. Pain from tight hip flexors can manifest in the low back, knee, and of course, hip pain. It can also result in an inequality in leg muscle strength. Constantly, flexing and working the front of our legs while the muscles on the back of our legs weaken from disuse.

We all know how important it is to try and move our bodies at least once a day but sometimes the gym is just too far off. So, here are a few basic poses (or asanas as we call them in yoga) that you can practice in the comfort of your own home to help release those muscles we engage constantly while we sit through out days.

·      Kneeling crescent lunge/Anjaneyasana

·      Lizard/ Utthan Pristhasana

·      Kneeling crescent lunge with quad stretch/Anjaneyasana with quad stretch

·      Upward facing dog/ Urdhva Mukha Svanasana

·      Camel/ Ustrasana

·      Bridge/ Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

·      Yogi squat/Malasana

·      Side lunge/Skandasana

·      Pigeon/ Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

·       Happy baby pose/Ananda Balasana

Hold each asana for between 5 and 10 breaths. Of course you can always end off with a little meditation or savasana.

At the end of a long day it can be hard to make ourselves move our bodies, but something as simple as flowing through these poses can be done in no time and from the comfort of your own home. So many of us struggle with leg stiffness and pain in our hips, knees and low back. These poses will help alleviate all those ailments and increase hip mobility. Give them a go and I promise you’ll feel better.