Hip Opener and Tension Tamer - 22 Minutes

This class provides a series of yogic forms to help open hips and surrounding areas and help alleviate tension and tightness. This session is appropriate for all levels of practitioners. Modifications and suggestions for adaptation will be offered. This class can be helpful when short on time but a tension tamer is needed.

Transcript

Hello, My name is Kathy. Welcome to my class. Today we're going to be doing a short hip opening class. So this is appropriate for any level. I'll be giving some options. And as always, Please listen to your body and what feels good to you. And if anything I'm offering or suggesting does not feel good to you, Please modify or don't do it or do something else. So I invite you to begin by just finding a comfortable spot on your mat. Making sure you're sitting up nice and tall. The back of the neck is long. Head is reaching up. And then if it feels comfortable for you, Just allowing your eyes to come closed as we take three deep breaths together. To just fully land into our spades and onto our mat and prepare ourselves to practice. So we'll be inhaling through our nose so taking a nice big inhale through your nose opening up and releasing as you exhale through your mouth. We'll do that two more times. And with each fret, Just allowing yourself to land more fully into this space and onto your mat. Inhaling through your nose. Opening your mouth and exhaling through your mouth. We'll do that one last time. Nice big inhale. Opening your mouth. And exhaling. Hear the song. We're going to begin in the seated position the first thing we're going to do is just do a seated forward fold So whichever leg you have in front is beautiful. And then I just invite you to slowly walk your hands forward. However, Far feels comfortable for you. Maybe you only make it this far. That's beautiful. Maybe some of you can make it all the way down. So just moving forward. Bars is comfortable for you. And we're going to pause here. For a few. Probably about 20 seconds. We'll be holding each position for maybe 20 to 30 seconds. Some of them we might hold a little bit longer. Keeping your spine nice and long here, Keeping the back of the neck long so your gaze should be looking down at the floor. Making sure you continue to breathe. We don't ever want to hold our grasp. And then I'm going to invite you to slowly walk your hands over to the left hand side. Keeping that right hip knife and heavy and glued to the mat Again, We're going to hold this, Pop this shake here for just a few seconds. Letting some opening of the side body happen. That's always a great way to help get the hips open as well. We need to open the muscles around the hip. As well as the hips. Then inviting you to slowly walk your hands over to the right hand side. This time you want to make sure you keep that left hand nice and glued down to the mat, Reaching out through this left hand. You're going to notice some sensation perhaps on the luck side of the body. We'll hold this for about 10 more seconds. And then slowly walking our hands back to the center using our hands. Push ourselves back up into the seated position. Next we're going to move into a butterfly position. And so we're going to want to bring the soles of our feet together. And I know the common way to come into this shape or form is a lot of people just pull their leg towards them. And that's great. That's what you want to do. But I do want to show you an alternative way that I learned from Doug Keller. And I just find this such an amazing. Modification to come into this post. So taking your hands and placing them behind you. You're gonna gently lift up your hips and shift your hips forward. And I don't know if you noticed what happened when I did that, But my feet automatically bookended open and my knees dropped down. So what this actually does is it allows your femur bone and your hips to interact. A little bit more friendly than when you just pull your legs towards you so However you'd like to get into the butterfly physician, I did just want to show you that alternative message. Ahead and get into your butterfly shape once you're in it you can go ahead and grab the ankles like we normally do making sure we're sitting up nice and tall here maybe you want to flutter your butterfly wings a little bit Maybe you want to if you did, If you did try this new method, Maybe you want to keep your hands behind you. And maybe you want to walk your hands forward here a little bit like we did in the seated. Shape when we had our legs crossed you can also do this in butterfly so there's some options Whichever one's feeling best for you today, I invite you to do. Some days, You know, Some days I need to fold forward. Some days I want to just keep my hands behind me. I do find that every time it crosses, My body shows up differently to the mat. So again, Encouraging you to always listen to your own body and your own mind and doing what feels best for you. Okay, We're going to go ahead and release out of this shape. So bring your knees around. We're going to come into a tabletop shake. So bringing your knees underneath your hips about hip width apart. Your hands are going to be underneath your shoulders. Fingertips are going to be spread wide here, Pushing down into the mat a little bit. Can be curled if you'd like, But I recommend that you keep them flat. Just some options here. We're going to be in tabletop quite a bit. So if this becomes, Starts to become too much, You can always. Make a fist out of your hands and come up onto your fist to relieve that tension in your wrist. And this will actually help strengthen your wrist. You can always come down on your forearms. Or if you just need a break from tabletop, You can always sit back onto your heels. Just take a break and the added bonus with this is you get a little stretch on top of those legs and the copper sucks as well So coming back into tabletop. We're going to move through three series of cat cows. So as we intel, We're going to allow our belly to drop down as we lift our head and our tailbone up towards the sky. I've been here for a few breaths. And then on your next inhale we're going to shift as we drop our head and our tailbone down towards the mat rounding the back really pulling our abs up into our spine. Then as we inhale again on our next inhale and we want to move back into cow we're going to move as we lift our heads our tailbone up stomach is going to drop down towards the mat. You can move through these at your own case. You don't have to stay at PayPal going. I do encourage you to move with your breath. I like to inhale as I'm shifting and exhale as I'm landing into the final shape. Then finishing up that cycle that you're in and returning back to your neutral table pop. We're going to move into lizard pose from here. So I'm going to invite you to maybe scoot your left hand in just a little bit as you bring your left foot forward. And I always like to remind people that we want to make sure that we stay in proper alignment here. So usually when I bring my foot forward, I have my knee a little bit behind my foot and my ankle. So when I do shift my weight and my hips forward. That my knee stays in alignment and it's either slightly behind that ankle or right above it. We don't ever want to going out over our foot. So we're going to heel toe that foot now just a little bit so it's off the edge of the mat to move into lizard. We're going to take a nice big inhale and as we exhale we're going to allow our hips to come forward I'm going to put my hands out of the way so you can see. And then this is, We're going to really feel this in this back leg in this right hip flexor region. Now for some people staying up on your hands might be what needs to happen here. If you're bustable enough, You can also come down onto your forearms. I really like, I'm pretty tight so I definitely as soon as I did that I noticed that on my inner left side. Pretty good. So what I usually do when I feel tension like that is not pain, But it's definitely there's some tightness there is I'll just take my breath and I'll breathe into it. And really actively concentrate on allowing that tension to ease up a little bit. And if it's too much, Obviously you can always come back up onto your arms. You can come out of a little bit, Not be so forward with your hips. Just some options that you can try. We're going to move back into our tabletop from here so swinging that left knee back by your right knee returning to your tabletop We're going to switch over to the right side to do our lizard. I'm going to move my right hand in just a little bit as I swing my right foot up. Front of my hand and then I'm going to heel toe that foot out to the edge of the mat. I'm going to take a nice big inhale and then I'm going to exhale as I allow my hips to sink forward. Again, The same options on this side. Maybe you want to just keep up on your hands like this because this feels perfect. Maybe you'd like to move a little bit deeper into it. You can bring your down onto your forearms And then continuing to breathe as we just pause and hold this shake. For about 20 more seconds. Remember, If you feel any tightness that you need to breathe into your breath, It's a great way. To move energy and to move tension you can mentally envision your breath going to that spot and then as you exhale that spot releasing and that tension just floating out on your breath we're going to move out of that shape so we're going to come back into tabletop And maybe here, Let's just reset a little bit. Let's just shift our hips back and forth. Then coming back to center we're going to now move into a low lunge so again we're going to bring our left foot forward this time our foot is going to go in between our hands being mindful also again this time that we're going to when we step forward we want that knee to be a little bit behind the foot and the ankle Nice big inhale and if we exhale, Allowing those hips to sink forward. And then perhaps on your next inhale, You bring your hands up to your knees. Maybe you'd like to have your hands on your hips. Or perhaps you'd like to have them above your head. Remembering that options are just that and one is not better than the other. We're going to pause here for about 20 more seconds. If at any time it's becoming too intense, Feel free to. Lessen how much you're forward, Bring your hands down or just come out of the shape altogether. Your next inhale bringing your hands down framing that left foot shifting your hips back a little bit to allow that weight to come off that left foot and swing that left foot back by your right knee Taking a cleansing breath as we pause in between sides. And then inhaling as we shift that right foot forward in between our hands. Exhaling as we allow that hip to come forward perhaps inhaling and lifting our hands up to our knee above our head or hands can remain on the mat. And then just remembering to breathe and using your breath. If you need to, To help release any tension. Focusing on your breath to help you remain centered within your mind and your body. About five seconds to go. Then on your next inhale inviting you to place your hand back down on each side of that foot shifting your weight back a little bit taking the weight off that right foot bringing that right knee back towards your left knee I'm not going to invite you to shift your knees out nice and wide. Did you bring your toes together on the mat? We're going to move into a wide-legged child's pose. So allowing your hips to sink back and land onto your feet. Hands are going to reach forward and forehead is going to come down onto the mat. Now, If that's a challenge for you, You can always keep up on your hands. You can always come on your forearms. Your hips might be up here and not down here. Wherever you land today is perfectly wonderful. Hmm. I'm just pausing here. Taking your breaths. Being grateful for our bodies that allow us to do these. Classes and practice and move in ways that we do. Our bodies are amazing. Then on your next inhale. Using your hands. To push you back up. We're going to bring our knees together. We're gonna pause here for just a minute. Maybe you wanna bring your hands in front of your heart. Just take a minute to be grateful for your body And then I'm going to invite you back into the tabletop shape again as we prepare to move into pigeon. So. . . We'll only be here a minute, But. . . We're going to move back into tabletop. And then we're going to bring that left knee forward we're going to bring that leg So if parallel-ish. To the short edge of the mat. Now for me, It's very hard for me to have my leg parallel. I've got very tight hips. So mine's going to be a little bit at a diagonal. Some people can have their legs parallel and shoot this other leg back. No problem. So deciding which seal is best for you. And then allowing that back leg could come out behind you. Now, If this is like, There's no way that's happening because pigeon is a pretty deep, Enhanced. . . An option that you could do Those of you that are in pigeon, Just hang out there for a few. This is the option. You can have your front knee bent at a 90 degree angle with your leg out, Then your back leg at a 90 degree angle with your foot out. And this is an option to the deep old pigeon. And if this feels pretty good here, You can also come forward. And auto option while you're in Pidget. You can either stay up on your hands Or you can come down on your forearms. Going to have a cold this for 15 more seconds again using your breath You're really feeling constriction or tightness anywhere. Breathing into that space. And as you exhale, Envisioning that tension just floating out on your breath. We're going to begin to come out of this. So if you were down on your forearms, Lifting yourself back up. Rolling your hips over so you come off that front leg bringing your knee in Let's just bring our knees together in front of us for a minute to reset between sides. Feet are flat on the floor, Knees are about hip-width apart, And let's just do some windshield wipers. So just allowing your knees to fall down side to side. As we reset. Prepare to move into pigeon on the other side. So, Returning to your tabletop. I'm gonna flip around. You don't have to just want to kind of keep going towards the camera for you So tabletop. And then we're going to bring this time. We're going to bring the right knee forward. We're going to decide how. Parallel we want the front leg. And then we're going to let the left leg slide out behind us. And then we're going to decide do we want to stay up? Do we want to come down on our forearms? Are we able to come all the way down? What feels good to our body today and then option always of course come into the modified shape where you bend that front leg at a 90 degree angle. You vent your back leg at a 90 degree angle. You sit up nice and tall and then if it's available to you, You can lean over. Choosing which shape you'd like to spend some time in We'll hang out here. Do about 10 more seconds. And then preparing to come out. If you were down on your forearms, You're completely down using your hands to push yourself back up. Rolling back off the mat or i'm sorry rolling back off your hip Then bringing your knees. Flat on the floor. We're going to turn to our side here. We're going to lay flat on our back. I invite you to grab your knees and just bring them into your chest for a little reset. That was probably, Pigeon can be pretty intense. Maybe rolling your ankles a little bit. Perhaps you want to roll back and forth on your back. The last shape that I'm going to invite you into today is going to be a happy baby. So grabbing the outside of your foot. And then bringing your feet, You want to pull your feet down. Your knees are coming down beside your body. Our feet aren't going out. They're coming straight down towards the mat. Some people like to roll back and forth in their happy baby. That's an option. Where you can just stay static in the center. Then releasing out of that shade just let go of your feet let your feet come back down to the mat We're going to just pause for a brief minute in a final quiet time by allowing your legs to just fly down. Your feet can roll out as they want to. Hands by your side, Palms up towards the sky. We'll just stay here for a few breaths. Just enjoy. The sensation. That you're hopefully feeling and it's hopefully a good look. Then I'm going to invite you to return to a seated position. So maybe rolling your wrist and your ankles a little bit. Perhaps rolling onto your side, Bringing your knees in, Creating a pillow with your hands and pausing for just a minute. And then using your hands, Please, To push yourself back up. Into a seated position. And that completes our hip opening class. I am so grateful that you all joined me for this class today. And thank you for taking time to participate in some self-care. And I hope you are feeling wonderful and have the most amazing day, Whatever that looks like for you.