Yoga involves strengthening the body and mind through physical poses, breathing and meditation. Poses or asanas can increase flexibility, balance and strength in all parts of the body including your hips. Practice yoga poses on a sticky yoga mat, a towel or blanket. Contact your physician before starting a yoga practice, especially if you have had a hip replacement.
Significance
Tight hip muscles can lead to numerous issues in the body, including backaches, poor posture and injuries. Kim D. Christensen, President of the American Chiropractic Association Rehab Council, recommends frequent stretching of the internal and external rotators to maintain hip flexibility. A variety of yoga poses target hip rotators. Yoga poses that require the student to bear their own weight act as resistance training or isotonic resistance exercise. Resistance training can build strength in the hip muscles, according to Christensen.
Function
To create healthy hips, try yoga poses that stretch and strengthen your hip rotators, flexors, abductors and adductors. The hip external rotators are a group of six muscles that include the piriformis. They help to externally rotate the leg bone and keep the spine, pelvis and leg connected. The hip internal rotators include the iliopsoas and adductors. The hip abductors include the gluteal muscles and offer support in yoga balance poses. The hip adductors are five muscles that create the inner thigh. They bring the legs together. The hip flexors are muscles that create the iliopsoas. The iliopsoas help bring the thigh toward the abdomen.
Flexibility Exercise
To increase your flexibility, hold the following poses for five to seven deep breaths:
Bound angle pose or butterfly pose stretches the inner thighs or hip adductors. Sit on the floor with the bottoms of your feet pressed together. Let your knees splay out to each side. Lean forward from your hips to intensify the pose.
To stretch all the muscles of your hips at once, use fire log pose. From a seated position, stack your right shin on top of your left shin. Keep your shins facing straight out as much as possible. When you look down, you should see space between your legs that resembles a triangle. You can lean forward to increase the sensation.
Stretch your hip flexors or the psoas muscles with bow pose. Lie on your belly, then bend your ankles back in toward your hips. Grab your ankles and flex your feet. Press your ankles into your hands to create an arch in the back. Keep your knees together.
Strength Exercise
To strengthen your hip flexors, try boat pose. From a seated position with your knees bent and feet on the floor, lean back until your abdominals contract. Raise your legs up until your calves are parallel to the floor or pointed out straight. Your body shold resemble a V shape. Hold for five to seven breaths.
Half moon pose can strengthen your buttocks, spine and thighs, thereby targeting some of the muscles in the hips, according to "Yoga Journal." Try this pose against a wall, then away from a wall when you feel more balanced. Fold your upper half toward your lower half and place the hand that is closest to the wall on the floor. Raise your outside leg up until it is parallel to the floor. Slowly turn your torso and hips away from the wall so they face the center of the room. Hold for up to thirty seconds.
Considerations
Warm up before using yoga poses that stretch the body. Spend five to ten minutes walking at a brisk pace or do another activity that you enjoy. When you go into poses, be sure to avoid stretching to the point of pain. End your yoga practice with a few minutes of quiet relaxation.
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