Yoga practice for the hip flexors
This practice will help you release tension in the psoas and iliacus muscles, as well as their supporting musculature. You will need a sturdy chair to get the best out of this practice. It is not appropriate if you cannot stay on your hands and knees, have acute lower back problems or if your sacroiliac joints are inflamed.
Great series – as usual! I posted to my Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/rabbishalva) – and will work on this myself, too!
Hi Ben, good to hear from you again! More hip stuff to come, once I get going there is no stopping me 🙂
Loving this information. thankyou
Thank you Caroline!
Hi Olga,
Another great class! I love your classes because I can do them! My pelvis was so out before finding you. This work has been so helpful, especially laying on the stomach and pressing the pelvis down. It seems to be strengthening my glutes!
When you say not to keep the feet in one line on the warrior, should they be on the same plane as they would be if the heels and toes were together?
That final position was such a relief! Thanks again for your excellent work.
Stephenie
Thank you Stephenie, I am so happy to hear that the practices are working for you! In Warrior 1 we want the feet to remain hip distance apart (width-wise). Positioning them that way will help keep your pelvis facing forward and will minimize the torquing action in your sacrum. Try to keep the toes of the back foot facing forward (or slightly out). Soon I will be introducing a series of short videos that explain different poses that I teach and show why we do what we do in them – there is always a reason for specific elements of alignment! And I am happy that you have discovered Cobra and Co. with the pelvis anchored – it is sooo good for your back, sacrum and glutes!
Olga,
I was in such pain and stiff until I tried this practice: thank you! I’ve had total hip replacement on one side, so is there an alternate posture to step#13? After a few practices, the leg extension has deepened but I am concerned about crossing the midline. It has been 2 yrs since surgery.
Hi Jane! It’s great to hear that the practice is working for you! The easiest way to adapt #13 for your purposes is to lie on your side instead of your back, extend the top leg in front of you and raise your leg from parallel to the ground to slightly higher (small movement). When it comes time to hold the pose, bend both knees and stack them on top of each other (you can even put a blanket between them) and from there move into the twist. Hope this works; let me know if any other questions pop up!
Hi Olga,
This is the second time I tried this sequence and while my hips feel great, the strangest thing happened tonight. When I stood up, my lower back felt tighter than before! I have a forward tilted pelvis and I was hoping to straighten it with this sequence, but I looked in the mirror and it’s now *more* forward tilted than before the practice. Did I do something wrong?
Hi Pinkie – sorry to hear about your experience! Everyone is different, of course, and the reactions to the practice can be different. Next time you try it I would recommend that you only go to #12 and then skip the bridge and twisting and just rest with legs extended down (if comfortable). Also, it’s super important not to tip the pelvis forward in Warrior 1 (#6), especially if you already have a tendency to do so naturally. Or may be this is just not an appropriate practice for you altogether, you might want to try this sacrum practice and see how it makes you feel.
Hi Olga,
Thank you so much for your advice! You’re spot on that keeping my pelvis upright in warrior is difficult. I tried your pelvis leveling practice tonight and was a little more successful with it, but I’ll see if the sacrum practice you recommended doesn’t make my lower back a little happier.
Thanks for sharing all of this!
I look forward to trying this to help with my hip flexor tendonitis. I’ve over stretched in runners lunge and am having pain. Thanks for your blog.
Thank You!