When we think about hip openers in yoga, we often think about a folded Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (half pigeon pose) to stretch some of the hip rotators, but don't forget that the hips do more than just rotate!
The hips can do all the major motions, so they can be "opened" in several ways. When trying to open the hips, figuring out what way we are trying to open the hips helps us focus our efforts to be more effective. Not all "hip openers" affect the same anatomy! So how do we keep track of it all? Remember the 3 planes of motion? That's a good place to start! Let's take a look at the sagittal plane first. Remember, these are forward and backward movements in the hip, or flexion and extension.
When we talk about "opening" we are talking about stretching or lengthening muscles. Remember, the motion opposite to the action of the muscle will stretch it, so we will be extending to open the flexors and flexing to open the extenders.
When we talk about "opening" we are talking about stretching or lengthening muscles. Remember, the motion opposite to the action of the muscle will stretch it, so we will be extending to open the flexors and flexing to open the extenders.
Opening the Hips Front and Back
Most yoga poses for sagittal plane hip opening will focus on the front of the hip or the flexors: iliopsoas, rectus femoris, some tensor fasciae latae, and even a little bit of the adductor muscles. Check them out below. All of these muscles contribute to flexing the hip joint.
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As for the hip extenders, mainly the gluteus maximus and hamstrings, we usually don't focus on opening them too much. They are pretty stretched out already in most people. We are always sitting around, so the hips are flexing a lot. However, any forward folding (uttanasana, paschimottanasana, adho mukha svanasana) or knee-into-chest type poses (apanasana) will open the back of the hips. But what about stretching tight hamstrings?!? We'll have to save that discussion for another post!
Asana for Hip Extension
Poses that extend the hip joint will create opening and stretch the front of the hips in the sagittal plane. These poses will involve mostly lunges and backbends like the ones below.
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Proper hip opening will help us get into more advanced asanas. Opening the front of the hips in the sagittal plane will definitely advance our backbend practices. Think vrschikasana (scorpion), eka pada rajakapotasana (single leg king pigeon), and natarajasana (king dancer). That's it for the sagittal plane! We have a couple more planes where we can open the hips, so stay tuned for parts II and III! (update: see part II here!)
Namasté
Namasté
Anatomy images from Thieme Atlas and Textbook of Human Anatomy General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System, and yoga pose photos from yogajournal.com.
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