Somatic Release: Letting Go of Trauma in the Hips

Your hips have been holding on to stress, to fear, to the moments that made you clench and pull inward. This somatic movement practice moves through gentle hip shifts, windshield wiper releases, and grounding breathwork to help you soften what has been stored in your body and reclaim a sense of fluidity and ease. You will be guided with care, supported with props, and invited to go only as deep as feels safe. This is not about performance. This is about permission to feel, to release, and to come home to yourself.

Transcript

Hello there, Beautiful one. My name is Faith Hunter, And I'm delighted to bring you this. Movement yoga slash somatic practice that is going to assist you in releasing trauma from your hips. Now our hips hold a significant amount of tension, Emotion, Stress, Trauma, Especially in those moments when we move through something. Our hips immediately clench. So what I want you to think about is when you actually have experienced a moment of fear, Discomfort, Trauma, Shock, Pain, Sadness. What happens? And I just want you to think about it. You immediately squeeze. Inward. And the squeeze initially happens around the pelvic region. So as we move through this practice, I want you to take your time, Move mindfully. I have a couple of props here. So I'm sitting on a blanket right now. I have some blocks and I also have a bolster over to the side. If you want to grab some pillows before we get started, Just pause and then come right back and we'll begin to work on releasing trauma. From your hip. All right, Now that you have everything you need, Find a comfortable seated position. And again, I'm sitting on a blanket, Sit on a pillow, Anything that's going to provide you with a little support. And I want you to bring your palms together and give them first a nice little rub. Just generate a little heat, A little energy. And then I want you to place your hands right around your groins. You can also place your hands right below your navel so whichever location feels best for you. And once your hands go there, I want you to start to breathe deeply in and out of your nose. The eyes can remain open and you can gaze at a point out in front of you. You can also lightly soften your gaze or completely close your eyes. Do what feels best. I really want you to feel safe. In this moment. Allow the breath again to flow naturally in and out of your nose. And I just want to read you something too. Maybe inspire you in going deep into this hip work. I'm reading from my third book, The Return to You, A 52-week journal infused with mindful reflections and self-love affirmation. I'm reading from page 50. In the chapter that's about emotional wellness and resilience. Emotional wellness encompasses understanding, Accepting and managing our feelings with compassion and bravery. It's not about avoiding or suppressing emotions. But navigating them with grace and intelligence. When we are emotionally well. We are better equipped to handle stress. Connect with others, And make decisions that align with our deepest values. It's a state of being that allows us to experience life fully. With all of its complexities. And beauty. So again, Our hips hold a lot of emotion. And it's important for us to. Connect with those sensations. And as we connect with those sensations, We have the capacity to actually make space in our body. Because we're releasing them. In a very subtle and intentional. Take another deep breath in. Exhale slowly. I'm going to encourage you to keep your breath flowing in and out of your nose as we move through this practice. And I want you to bring your palms face down on your legs. And instead of feeling a spiral shift, I want you to just shift your right hip and then left hip forward here. Nice and easy. Just very subtle. You can barely even see me moving. But you're just kind of shifting your hips. And know that if you want to adjust your legs, Which might feel really nice, You can extend those legs out and just so right leg. And lessons. Right leg. And left leg. Again, The legs can stay crossed. Or you can extend. Whichever one works for you. And then what happens organically is you take the shifts from right to left. You also start to notice that your upper body starts to move. You find a little more movement, Even the pelvis starts to shift back. And forth. Almost like you're doing a spinal flexion, But it's very organic and intentional from right hip. To left hip. So you can feel that pelvis top. Kind of cup under. And then you feel the hips ride back. But I am shifting the weight from right to left. Then come back to center. Take another deep breath in. Axel. Alright, So I'm going to slide my blanket out the way. And you're going to place the soles of your feet on the mat. The hands can kind of just drop behind you. And then I want you to allow your knees to move from right to left so little windshield wipers. Slow and easy, Right and left. Again, You're still breathing deeply in and out of your nose. And if by now you're feeling comfortable and you want to close the eyes, I'm going to encourage you to close the eyes gently. Just kind of imagine. All of the stress, Pain. Frustration. Any of that trauma that you're holding on to, Your knees are shifting back and forth, Kind of like windshield wipers on a car. Kind of washing it away. Swiping it away as the rain hits the window. It is no longer sitting in your hips. It is no longer taking hold of you. It is no longer dictating. Your actions. And the way that you navigate and respond in the world. Alright, Come on back to center. Feel that. Maybe extend the legs out in front of you. Give your legs a nice little rub. And then we're going to come back. To bringing the knees bent, Soles of the feet together. Going to create a nice diamond shape with your legs and we're simply going to fold forward. Now this is where your bolster can support you with this. And also your block. So if you want that pillow, And that extra support, The knees are bent and you're gonna place the bolster. Right there and you just simply fold. You can also take your blog. Books or other pillows and place them right underneath your thighs so it's gonna do what's gonna work for you this is not about getting your head all the way down even if you don't have your props you can just simply fold forward and hang breaths are smooth and easy. And slowly lift your upper body. Take a deep breath in. Exhale out a big sigh. All right. Go in and place those props to the side. And we're going to take One more little movement. I want to make sure that you feel comfortable in this. So I'm going to encourage you to grab a towel or a blanket and you're going to place that underneath your knees. We're going to come onto all fours and find gentle organic movement. Alright, So wrists are underneath your shoulders, Knees are underneath your hips. And you're simply going to start by. . . Shifting those hips from right to left so just let them swing and the swings may be little right they may be tiny little like nothing big but you know if you're feeling good Or if you're feeling like you need to, Yeah, Let it all go. Just let them drip over. A little further And then what starts to happen. . . Your own body I want you to allow it definitely to happen is a little more movement so maybe you start to feel that pelvis tip up. And then you round the back and that pelvis kind of cups under a little more. And again, It's more organic. It's not quite a cat cow. Kind of your own shape and form and maybe even start to allow the hips to. Circle. Is you move around. But the focus, Of course, Is more in the hips. Enlists in the upper body. You will feel that shift and dip. Through the rib cage and the armpits. That's okay. Your head comes into play. Know that You definitely have my permission, And I encourage you to move in a way that feels good. So what may even start to happen is the hips may drift back and forth a little bit a few times. Nice and easy. And then when you come back to neutral, Right, So coming back onto all fours. Coming back in that space. Take another breath in. Exhale. And then ease your hips over to one side. Have a seat. Cross your legs in front of you in any way that feels comfortable. Take your hands, Rub them together one more time. And again, The hands can go around your groins or slightly below your navel. And that space right below your navel is your second chakra. And it governs the hips. And send any love. And a little more fluidity if you're feeling stuck. Prior to starting your practice. Think about any. Thing that's blocking you from being more fluid. More creative, More vibrant. So keeping your mind and those sensations that. . . Still may feel a little uncomfortable or tight. Or even if there's still a few bubbles of emotions running. And flowing to the top. Know that it is okay. Acknowledging it, Feeling it. And gathering the tools. To move through it all That is exactly it. What you've done today. Take a deep breath in. Exhale. As the hands fall. Resting on your legs. I just want to say. Thank you so much for joining me for this practice. And have a wonderful day. Stay spiritually fly.

Reviews

This video was absolutely amazing. I loved the hip movements. The region of my body from my navel to my knees has been an area that for decades, I have tried to numb, dissociate from, and ignore, because it is that area which I still associate with deeply rooted childhood trauma. I think this is one of the first times I have been able to freely move my hips without connecting that movement to something uncomfortable, and what in the past, I identified as "dirty." I felt freedom with this movement. This is a completely new concept for me. Thank you for creating this video. I'm going to go look for your book that you mentioned in this video.