12 yoga exercises at home for flexible hips

There is no doubt that a sedentary life contributes to health problems such as obesity or osteoporosis, but that same passivity also has harmful effects on the hips and therefore on the spine and the rest of the bony structure by means of important muscles and ligaments.

Imagine, for a moment, that you break your arm and it is immobilized so that you cannot bend your elbow. When the cast is removed after a few weeks, the muscles, tendons, ligaments and even the skin around Of elbow they will have shortened, which will not let you stretch it again at will. To regain the range of motion you had, you will need weeks of stretching and rehabilitative exercises that allow you to flex the joint again.

The same goes for the hips. If we go days, months or entire years without stretching them properly, they atrophy, lose mobility and cause tension in other parts of the body. In the long run, this lack of mobility can lead to osteoarthritis or other serious bone and muscle injuries.

A junction zone that allows movement

The hips support the entire weight of the upper body and stabilize the relationship between the torso and the legs. In the pelvic area there is a meeting between the downward force of gravity and the upward force of response to contact with the ground.

From an anatomical point of view, the hips function as a “hinge” with the extremities and They facilitate three types of movement: flexion-extension, abduction-adduction and rotations.

Walking, sitting, getting up, standing, climbing stairs, kicking a ball, dancing or running are all actions possible thanks to the mobility of the hips.

The rotators: muscles that stabilize us and allow us to move forward

Numerous bones, muscles, and ligaments are attached to the hips. In fact, most hip movements are the natural consequence of actions originating in the legs or trunk.

An action as common as walking is possible thanks to a group of muscles called rotatorswhich work as one and They work to stabilize the pelvis and rotate the femur.

To know the state of these rotators, the trunk can be flexed forwards.either standing or sitting. Difficulty bringing the abdomen closer to the thighs may be due to short hamstring length, but it also has a lot to do with the rotators, and is seen frequently among beginners, especially men.

One of the most important rotators is the piriformis or piriformis muscle.which runs from the inside of the sacrum to the upper edge of the greater trochanter (on the upper, outer part of the femur).

When this muscle is tense, it presses on the sciatic nerve, causing pain. It radiates to the buttocks and down the leg to the sole of the foot. Sometimes the tension can even pull on the sacrum and affect the function of the sacroiliac joint (located between the sacrum and the pelvis) and unbalance the lower back.

Often what feels like lower back injuries are actually strains on the external rotators, which can be corrected by stretching these muscles.

Distend the pyramidal thanks to yoga

The practice of yoga, with its stretches, flexions, extensions and twists, is an excellent way to keep the hips tonedflexible and unlocked to compensate for a sedentary lifestyle and prevent its associated pain.

This Indian discipline was developed with an ultimate goal: that the student managed to stay hours and hours in the lotus position or padmasana (cross-legged on the floor) while meditating, for which agile, unblocked and very healthy hips are required.

yoga twistsespecially those that are carried out seated, such as Vakrasana (twisted pose) or Ardha matsyendrasana (half twisted pose), or those that are performed on the floor, such as Jathara parivratasana (twisted abdomen pose), are excellent for preventing shortening of the external rotators and articulating the hip.

When accompanied by conscious, deep breathing, these postures stretch the triquetrum as well as other hip musclesand allow them to be extended.

The flexor muscles: fundamental and “invisible”

Other actions, such as riding a bicycle, climbing stairs or getting up when lying down, are possible thanks to the flexor muscles, which are located at the front of the hips.

As with the rest of the muscles in the area, if they are not stretched properly they affect the position of the pelvis, which in turn affects the back, especially the lower back. Among this group of muscles, the most important is the iliopsoasmade up of two muscles that meet in the pelvis: the psoas and the iliacus.

To locate them it is useful Visualize the human body without internal organs. The psoas is inserted in the posterior part of the abdomen, at the height of the last dorsal, extends parallel to the spine through the lower back and reaches the pelvis. The iliacus inserts into the iliac crest, reaches the sacrum, and crosses the pelvic floor attached to the psoas.

Due to the difficulty of seeing and touching them, confusion about their location and action is frequent..

The practice of some yoga poses such as Dhanurasana (the bow), Kapotasana (the pigeon), Ardha mandalasana (alert pose), Anjaneyasana (the monkey) or any of its variants, They are very useful for stretching the iliopsoas muscle.and Navasana (the boat), to reinforce it.