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Strengthen your hip muscles with yoga
A lot of us do a tremendous amount of sitting throughout the day, often because of work. As a result, many of us find that the muscles of our hips become limited in flexibility. When muscles are less flexible, they can cause painful or abnormal movements in other regions of our bodies and impact the way we move.
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Physical therapist and certified yoga instructor Patti Kopasakis, PT, DPT, SCS, RYT-200, has provided poses below to address flexibility in the major muscle groups that surround the hip. These muscle groups assist in preserving your hip joint’s range of motion for activities like walking, standing and climbing stairs, to name a few.
When doing yoga for your hips, be sure to hold each pose for five to eight breaths. On the one-sided poses, make sure you repeat on the opposite side to improve your mobility in both hips.
Note: Poses should be entered into and moved out of slowly to protect muscles and joints. If you’re having specific pain that’s been ongoing for longer than two weeks or you have a specific injury, it’s always best to consult a qualified healthcare provider, such as a physical therapist, who can develop a plan specific to your needs.
This beginner’s pose stretches the muscles of your lower back and inner thighs.
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This intermediate pose stretches your hip rotators, hip flexors (the muscles toward the front of your hip that help you move your legs upward) and quadriceps.
This intermediate pose stretches your lower back, gluteal and outer hip muscles.
A beginner’s pose, this stretches your hip flexor and quadricep muscles.
This beginner’s pose stretches your groin and inner thighs.
A beginner’s backbend, this pose stretches your abdominal muscles, back and quadriceps.
This is a great pose to relax your deep hip rotators and gluteal muscles. However, this can be intense if you have hip pain in the front of your hips.
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By targeting your hip flexors, this beginner’s pose stretches your abdominal core, hamstrings and inner thighs.
This intermediate pose is a deep, hip opener that focuses on your gluteal muscles.
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This intense position targets your groin muscles, abdominal core, inner thighs and lower back.
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