Have you ever seen a hiked up back hip in Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2 pose)? I call it the "sassy hip" because it has some life and attitude. It pops up like the hips of a runway model taking a stroll down the catwalk. What's going on with these sassy hips in Virabhadrasana II? Let's take a look at the anatomy behind it.
The Gluteus Medius
In actuality, the hip is not lively at all, and is kind of being lazy. The muscle that we'll blame for sassy hips is the gluteus medius. Most sources consider this the main muscle for hip abduction, although the gluteus maximus, gluteus minimus and TLF also play a part. When the gluteus medius is not doing its job, the hip will not abduct and will look like it's popped up. This muscle lies underneath the gluteus maximus on the back and side of your hips. See the picture below.
Warrior 2 Alignment
Chicago yoga teacher, Taylor Gamache, was kind enough to be a model for this post. In the pictures below she is doing her best to show a sassy hip in virabhadrasana II. It's not very obvious in Taylor though because she has to try to break her good alignment habits to do this, but focus in on her back/right hip.
You'll see that it is higher than the front/left hip. If you take a look at the close up, you'll see that her right hip is not abducted much at all. It is almost in a straight line from her torso to her right thigh. That means her thigh hasn't move out from the midline of her body much, so not much abduction has occurred. It also means that the gluteus medius is not doing its job. When spotting this in other yoginis and yogis, it'll look like they are leaning toward the front leg instead of keeping the torso vertical and moving the back thigh out (hip abduction).
You'll see that it is higher than the front/left hip. If you take a look at the close up, you'll see that her right hip is not abducted much at all. It is almost in a straight line from her torso to her right thigh. That means her thigh hasn't move out from the midline of her body much, so not much abduction has occurred. It also means that the gluteus medius is not doing its job. When spotting this in other yoginis and yogis, it'll look like they are leaning toward the front leg instead of keeping the torso vertical and moving the back thigh out (hip abduction).
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In improved virabhadrasana II alignment with the gluteus medius working, the torso and spine will stay vertical and the back thigh will move away from the midline of the body like in the picture below. If this alignment is difficult some coronal plane hip opening may be helpful.
Final Thoughts
In the clinic, I've seen a weak gluteus medius contribute to various issues in my patients including knee pain, pain in the opposite hip, IT band issues, and QL pain to name a few. We can do our fellow yogis and yoginis a great service by helping them with a quick cue to "level" their hips or give them an adjustment to help them work and strengthen their gluteus medius muscles in virabhadrasana II. Stayed tuned for a short video that Taylor and I made on a simple adjustment for sassy warrior 2 hips.
Namasté
Namasté
Gluteus medius graphic from Thieme's Atlas of Anatomy by Gilroy. Runway model picture from www.vancouversun.com.
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