Hip Openers

This is a gentle hip opener practice to help release any tension or tightness you might be experiencing in the hips. Come and practice with me as we move through poses on the ground and progress into further releasing of the hips.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Jenny. Welcome to your yoga practice this morning. We're going to work on the hips. Sometimes we carry tightness or tension in the hips, And we're going to come into some poses today to release that, Release the hips, Release any tension or tightness. So take a moment, Find a comfortable seat on your mat. You might sit cross-legged. You might sit with your legs extended or sitting on your shins. Just coming into stillness. Think about aligning your spine, Lifting up through the top of the head, Lowering the shoulders away from the ears. Maybe you close the eyes or just take a soft gaze down the tip of the nose. And begin tuning into your breath. No need to change the breath, Just begin to notice. Feel the inhale filling up the lungs. Feel the exhale releasing the body. Take a few more rounds of breath. Just noticing. Feeling the stillness. Feeling the breath. And then when you are ready, We're going to unite the breath together. Full breath in through the nose. Open mouth exhale, Releasing. The eyes are closed, We gently blink them back open. And we're going to slowly make our way all the way down to the mat. Coming on to your back. We'll start with the knees bent, Arms could be at your side. Feet are about hip width distance or a little bit wider apart. And we'll just begin windshield wipering the shins side to side. Feeling this along the lower back. Feeling this gentle twist to each side. Just noticing the body. You choose the speed of the windshield wipers just like on your car. You can go slower or faster, Whatever feels best for you. And then whichever side you're on, Just let the knees land there for a moment, Pausing on this side. And then we'll open the arms out like a T. Maybe turn the chin in the opposite direction of the knees, Feeling this nice twist through the body. Stay for a breath in. Stay for a breath out. As you inhale, We'll bring the knees back up through center and drop them down to the opposite side, Maybe turning the chin in the opposite direction of the knees. Breathe in. And breathe out. On your next inhale, Knees come back up through center. We'll pick the feet up, Bring your knees closer into your chest, Hands would come on knees or shins, And gently give yourself a sway side to side. Feel your lower back. That sacrum bone, Pressing into the mat, Getting a nice massage against it. Pepper. And then you could stay side to side or you might begin circling the knees, Going around in one direction, Guiding them with your hands. And with the breath. You can reverse the circles, Take it the other direction. And when that feels complete for you, Knees come back into center. And let's separate the knees, Opening through the hips. And then we'll guide the knees around in one circle, Going one way. And then take it around the other way. Breathing in fully. And releasing. And the knees back into center. We're going to send the left leg long, Downrested on the mat. Kick that right foot up towards the sky. We're going to hold on right behind the right thigh, Guiding the leg closer in towards the chest. And then slowly guiding that right thigh over to the right edge of the rib cage, Coming into a half of a happy baby on the right side. Just noticing for a moment, Pausing here, Feeling this nice hip opening stretch. Have the happy baby. And then if you like some movement, Maybe you sway the legs side to side, Just noticing the hips. Maybe you add some circles with the ankle. Maybe you play around with straightening and bending the knee, Adding in some hamstring exercises. Extra stretch here. Yeah. Another round of breath for your movement. And then we'll release that leg back long down on the mat. Let's take a full body stretch, Reaching arms overhead. Let your back arch slightly up off of the earth. Inhale. And then as you exhale, We'll bring the left knee into the body, Guiding it with the hand. And then we'll flex the left foot up towards the ceiling, Holding on just behind that left thigh. And then we'll guide the leg to the outer side of the left thigh. Rib cage. Yeah. Coming into this half a happy baby on this side, Flexing through the foot. We'll stay here for a moment with a nice breath in. And out. And then if you like movement, We'll add that same movement to this side. Noticing that each side might feel a little different. Maybe something's going on on one side of the body. Just notice, No judgment. Maybe add on the straightening and bending of the knee, Maybe circling around the ankle while we're here. Why not? Another round of breath for this movement. Bye. And when this side feels complete for you, We'll send that leg back long down on the mat, And then reach the arms up and overhead, Letting the back arch up off of the mat. Feel the ribcage expand. Maybe wiggle around fingers and toes. Take a full breath in. And then as we exhale, We'll curl ourselves up into a tiny yogi ball. Give yourself a big squeeze. Pick up the forehead to meet the knees. And then from here, We're gonna come up onto a seat. You can rock and roll the length of the spine, Or you can just roll onto the right or left side to come on up into your seat. Yeah, Coming back into this seat. We'll bring our hands back into our heart center. Feel the breath. Full breath in. Full breath out. From here, Let's make our way onto tabletop, Coming onto hands and knees. Stacking your shoulders directly over the wrists, The hips right over the knees. And now let's just sway the hips side to side. And then coming back into center, Back into tabletop, We'll come into cow pose. We'll arch the back, Drop the belly down, Open the collarbones, Gaze up, Breathe in. Exhale as you round through your cat back, Pressing the mat away. And then we'll continue rolling through these, Inhaling as you arch, Exhaling as you round. Going at your own pace, Take a few more rounds of these, Just warming up the spine. Following your breath and then when you're ready we come back into tabletop and we're going to get into the hips so we're going to lift that left knee up off of the mat and then just bring it out to the side like in this fire hydrant position flexing the foot and now we'll circle that foot up behind us with the knee at a 90 degree angle, And then slowly bring it back down to a hover. So we're making these hip circles. But nice and slowly, Like we're moving through honey. Circling around the knee to get that rotation through the hip joint. And then we'll reverse the circles, Take it around the other way, Bringing it up and back. To the side, And then back down to the hover. Take a few more rounds following your breath, Going at your own pace. Mm-hmm. And then when you're complete, We'll send that leg long behind you, Point through the toe, Take a breath in, And exhale, Knee comes back down to the earth. Give the hips a wag, Maybe sit back on the heels, Give the wrists a roll. And if the wrists are getting tired or cranky in this position, You could do the same thing. Position on forearms instead of on hands. And we'll come on over to the right side. So we'll lift the right knee up off the mat, Flex the foot. Bring that knee out to the side, And then we'll bring it back 90 degrees, Flexing through the foot, Noticing the glute working, Noticing the core. As the upper body is remaining still. Because our core is stabilizing. And then we'll circle it around nice and slow like a sloth. And we'll reverse, Take it around the other way, Reversing the direction. Yeah, Nice and controlled movement. Another round of breath. To guide your movement. And when that's complete, We'll send the leg long behind you, Pointing through the toe, Reaching it long, Breathe in. Exhale back down into tabletop And let's send the hands forward, Bring the forehead down, And we'll stretch that out in a puppy pose. Here we keep the hips up high. We reach the arms forward. Yeah, Forehead connects down to the earth. Feel your breath come back to your center. Full breath in. And out. On your next inhale, We'll come back up into the tabletop, Setting up for downward facing dog. So let's tuck the toes under. As you inhale, We lift the hips up, Send the top of the head down. Yeah, And then add some movement to your dog. Maybe bending one knee, Straightening the other, Taking your dog for a walk this morning. Maybe you come up onto tippy toes and send the heels down. You might add a nice bend in the knees. We think about lifting the hips towards the sky as we drop the head down. Maybe give the head a nod, No and yes. Now we're coming into a lizard lunge. So we're going to send that right leg up into the sky, Coming into a three-legged dog, Flexing the foot, Lifting up through the heel, Breathe in. And then as you exhale, We're gonna bring that leg forward, Bringing the foot to the outside of the right hand. Coming down on the back knee, We'll untuck the toes. Now you can stay up here on the hand. Or if you like, You can make your way all the way down to forearms. Or if you have blocks or pillows at home, You could add a block or pillow underneath the forearm. Now this is a deep hip stretch here. You might even come on to the knife edge of that right foot. You can stay in a static hole. Or maybe you add a little rocking side to side. Wherever you are, Release the neck, Let the head hang. No tension. And let's stay for three more rounds of breath. Releasing through the hips. Feeling this nice hip opener. Beautiful. One more big breath in. And big breath out. And then when you're ready, We gently make our way back up to the hands. Let's tuck the back toes under, Lift up off of the back toes. Heel. Send that right leg up in the air, Three-legged dog. Now we open the hip, Turning out at the hip and we'll circle the knee around, Releasing, Circling one way. And then circle it around the other way. On your inhale, Back into three-legged dog, Right leg high, Heel lifting up high. Exhale back into your downward facing dog. For the left side, We come into three-legged dog, Left foot up in the air, Foot flexed, Heel lifting up towards the sky. Breathe in. Exhale, We bring that left foot forward to the outside of the left hand. And we lower the back knee down, Untuck the back toes. I have my trusty buddy right here next to me on this left side. You can stay up on the hands or maybe you come all the way down to the forearms. Yeah. Now, If he did it on the first side, Maybe it comes to the outer left edge of this foot. Releasing down to the mat, Let the head hang. Beautiful. Maybe you add a little movement. Maybe you rock a little side to side. Let the head hang. Release. Feel your breath. Tune back in to yourself. This is your practice. Time for your self-care. Releasing the hips. One more breath in. And breath out. When you're ready, We'll make our way back up to the hands. Tuck your back toes under, Lift up off that back knee. Send that left leg back up into the air. Open the hips, Circle the knee out going one direction. And then we'll circle it going the other way. Come back into that three-legged dog. Lift that left leg high. Heel towards the sky. Breath in. Exhale, Downward facing dog. Inhale. And exhale. From here we're coming down to the knees and all the way back down to sitting on the mat. Nice comfortable seat. We'll bring our hands into our heart center. And we'll close out this practice by breathing together. Breath in. And breath out. The light and peace in me honors and thanks the light and peace in each of you. Thank you for sharing this practice with me today, And I hope to see you next time. Remember, I am Jenny, And have fun in your day and in your yoga. Bye-bye.