Tight hip and groin muscles can cause back pain, so it’s important to stretch the muscles around your back, like your glutes, hips, and hamstrings, instead of just your lower back.
There is a yoga exercise that is the best way to relax tight muscles and get rid of stress. I am completely totally obsessed with it. It’s called frog pose.
Every time I bring it up in a session with a client, they groan. But if you have tightness in your lower body or sciatica symptoms, this might help. I use it with my clients, but I would suggest that anyone trying it for the first time check with a qualified medical professional if they have any health problems, are pregnant, or have been hurt, because what works for one person may not work for another.
How to do frog pose and four different ways to do it
- Get on your hands and knees and start in a table top position.
- Move your weight forward and slide your knees to the sides, bringing your inner knees close to the mat.
- Move your feet outward slowly until they are in line with your knees. The inside of your feet should be touching the mat or ground.
- Put your hands on the ground and gently push your hips back toward your feet.
- If you can, lower yourself down to your elbows and let your neck relax.
Frog pose is uncomfortable, looks a little weird, and can feel almost unbearable at times (what a sell), but it’s great for making your hips stronger. If the intensity is too much for you, bring your knees or ankles a little closer together to make your range of motion smaller. It shouldn’t hurt feel sharp, or pinch, most importantly.
Once you get the hang of static frog, give the other versions I show above a try. The first change you can make to your static frog is a “backbend” frog. This means that you rest on your hands and lean back a little to help stretch your lower back even more. It can be very hard so only move to a place where you can hold it for at least 30 seconds.
Frog pose is uncomfortable, looks a little strange, and can feel almost unbearable at times (what a sell)…
Next, we have a dynamic frog, which means moving the hips back and forth to add gentle movement to the pelvis. This makes frog more of a hip mobility exercise, but don’t push your hips too far, or you’ll hurt yourself.
Instead, breathe out as you push your hips back and reach your end range. Then, breathe in as you shift your weight forward to counter stretch the body.
The last one is my favourite: cat-cow frog. Cat-cow is a popular yoga pose that helps stretch the front and back of the body and move your back gently.
