People who sit for a long time or do the same things over and over again often have tight hips. When your hips get stiff they can hurt and make you stand up straight They can also make your lower back hurt. Yoga is a great way to relax and make your hips more flexible and able to move better. These 14 yoga poses will help you become more flexible by opening up your hips and stretching the muscles around them.
Kids’ Pose (Balasana)
Child’s Pose helps with hip flexibility because it stretches your lower back and hips and relaxes tight thigh muscles. This is a good pose for beginners to do to improve the movement of their hips.
How to do it: Start by kneeling down with your hands flat on the floor. Sit back slowly until your bottom is close to your heels then reach your arms out in front of you. Put your forehead on the floor and breathe deeply and slowly.
Pigeon Pose, or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana
Pigeon Pose is one of the best stretches for loosening the hip flexors and easing tension in the lower back and glutes.
How to do it: Get down on your hands and knees like you’re going to do a table. Put one knee in front of the other and behind the wrist that goes with it. Straighten the other leg behind you and slowly lower your hips toward the ground. Before you turn to the other side take a few deep breaths in this position.
Advantages This pose really opens up the hips and stretches the glutes, lower back and hip flexors.
Lizard Pose, or Utthan Pristhasana
Why opening the hips works Lizard Pose is a very deep stretch that focuses on the hip flexors and groin area to loosen tight hips.
How to do it: Begin in a high plank position and move one foot forward so that it lands outside of your hands. Drop your hips and keep your back leg straight Lowering your forearms to the floor will make the stretch deeper.
Pros This pose stretches the hamstrings in your groin and the hip flexors and it also makes you more flexible.
Baddha Konasana, or Butterfly Pose
Why it makes your hips more flexible Butterfly Pose loosens up your hips and makes your inner thighs and groin area less tight.
How to do it: To start sit down with the bottoms of your feet touching each other. Let your knees fall to the sides. Keep your feet together and push down gently to bring your knees closer to the ground. To get a deeper stretch you can hinge forward from your hips.
Good things It works the inner thigh muscles and groin area while making the hips more flexible and able to move.
Supta Baddha Konasana, or Reclining Bound Angle Pose
This version of Butterfly Pose helps your body relax and unwind while also gently stretching your hips.
How to do it: First lie flat on your back. Put the bottoms of your feet together and let your knees fall to the sides of your body. Put your arms next to your body with your palms up and take slow deep breaths.
Advantages It relaxes the rest of your lower body while stretching your hips and groin.
The Happy Baby Pose, or Ananda Balasana
Why it makes your hips more flexible The Happy Baby Pose opens up your hip joints and stretches your groin and inner thighs. It also helps the muscles in your lower back relax.
How to do it: First lie down on your back. Pull both knees up to your chest. While keeping your knees bent reach up and grab the outside edges of your feet with your hands. Keep your hips far apart and lightly push your knees down toward the ground.
What you get This pose stretches your hip flexors and inner thigh muscles and relaxes your lower back.
Low Lunge, or Anjaneyasana
Why it makes your hips more flexible Low Lunge is a great way to stretch the muscles in your hips and make your legs stronger.
How to do it: First stand up straight Put one foot in front of the other and bend your knee so that it makes a 90 degree angle. Put your knee on the floor behind you. While keeping your hips facing forward gently push them toward the front of your mat. If you raise both arms above your head you can stretch more deeply.
What it does This pose stretches the hamstrings and quadriceps and makes the hip flexors longer while strengthening the legs.
Crescent Lunge (Anjaneyasana)
Crescent Lunge is a variation of the Low Lunge that adds more stretch to the hip flexor muscles. It also helps improve balance and core stability.
How to do it: Stand up straight with your feet together. Take a big step forward with one foot and bend your front knee to lower yourself into a lunge. Keep your back leg straight and your heel off the ground. Straighten both arms up to the ceiling and gently push your hips forward.
Advantages This pose helps your hips move and bend more easily while strengthening all the leg muscles.
The Squat Pose (Malasana)
Why it helps your hips become more flexible The Crescent Lunge is a different version of the basic Low Lunge that stretches your hip flexor muscles more deeply.
How to do it Stand up straight and take a big step forward with one foot. While bending your front knee keep your back leg straight and lift your heel off the floor. Put your arms above your head and gently push your hips forward.
What you get This pose stretches your hip flexors makes your leg muscles stronger and makes your hips more flexible.
The seated forward bend, also known as paschimottanasana
Why it makes your hips more flexible This pose mainly targets the hamstrings but also loosens tight areas in the lower back and hips.
How to do it: Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Take a deep breath while sitting up straight and stretching your back. As you breathe out bend forward at the hips and reach for your feet with your hands while trying to keep your back straight.
Pros This stretch works your hamstrings and hips while easing tension in your lower back.
Lunge with a Twist (Parivrtta Anjaneyasana)
How it helps with hip flexibility This position stretches your lower back and works your hips and groin.
How to do it: Start with a low lunge. Put your hand on the ground next to your front leg Stretch your other arm straight up to the ceiling while turning your upper body toward your bent leg.
What you get Your hips become more open and flexible and your spine moves more easily.
Virabhadrasana II, or Warrior II
Why it makes your hips more flexible Warrior II strengthens the legs while opening the hips and chest.
What you get Stronger leg muscles better balance and improved hip flexibility.
Mandukasana, or pose for frogs
Why it helps your hips move more easily This pose works your legs and opens up the hips and chest at the same time.while keeping the back leg straight Put your arms out to the sides at shoulder height and look straight ahead.
What you get Stronger legs improved hip flexibility and better balance.
Bound Angle Pose, also known as Baddha Konasana
Butterfly Pose helps your hips move more freely. This sitting position stretches your groin and hips while making your inner thighs more flexible.
Start by sitting on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Put the bottoms of your feet together so they touch and let your knees fall to the sides. Press down gently with both hands on your feet to bring your knees closer to the ground.
This position opens up tight hips stretches the groin muscles and helps the inner thigh muscles become more flexible.
