Why Hip Function Matters
The hips are such an important area of the human body. When your hips move well, they enable efficient, powerful walking, running, and more. That’s where Yoga Therapy for Hips can come into play.
When you lack coordination, mobility, or control of hip movements, this can cause extra strain for your knees, ankles, and feet. Some people compensate for poor hip movement with extra movement of the pelvis or low back. Or they develop tight muscles in the area (including hips, back, abdominals, and hamstrings). Over time, this can contribute to pain or strain.
How to Support the Hips Through Movement
It’s important to have strong and coordinated muscles in the outer hips. Because most of our day-to-day activities have the legs in front of us or moving front to back, most people need movements that create balance by taking the legs out to the sides or adding rotation.
Hips often benefit from strengthening work, and using their full range of motion. Hip work should be easy and comfortable, and isolate the hips as much as possible. Many of the poses that I do with clients who have pain or strain in the lower body include these elements.
How Anantasana Supports Yoga Therapy for Hips
Anantasana, or Vishnu’s Couch Pose, is good position to explore yoga therapy for hips and hip movement. The more conventional approach to this pose (pictured above) also includes movement in the neck, shoulders, ribs, spine, and pelvis. My approach is to remove some of these elements, with the goal of isolating and strengthening hip movement patterns.
Learn This Hip-Focused Yoga Therapy Pose
To learn a hip-focused approach to this yoga pose, watch the video below. You can find more videos on my YouTube channel here. Or join me for a personalized yoga session or check out my upcoming classes. Whether you’re new to yoga or deepening your practice, there’s a space for you here. Click here to connect or schedule your session
