Yoga - inflexible hip joints?

Author

inflexible hip joints?

Paul H

2005-07-21, 8:54 am

I have been practicing yoga for around 2.5 months. I have noticed greatly
improved flexibility in my hamstrings, calves, back, etc.. but my hips are a
rigid as ever.

For example, I lie on my back and bring my knees up, keeping my feet flat
on the floor, I then put my left foot on my right upper thigh, I then bring
my right thigh toward my chest and grab my right knee and pull the right
knee further toward my chest. I can only pull my right knee in very slightly
because it becomes very uncomfortable in my left hip socket and groin (same
on the right if the pose is reversed).

So why are these joints/tendons/muscles/whatever being so stubborn when the
rest of my body has become so much stronger and more flexible? Is there any
poses I can practice that will loosen this area?

Paul

Don

2005-07-21, 11:50 am

Paul H wrote:
>
> I have been practicing yoga for around 2.5 months. I have noticed greatly
> improved flexibility in my hamstrings, calves, back, etc.. but my hips are a
> rigid as ever.
>
> For example, I lie on my back and bring my knees up, keeping my feet flat
> on the floor, I then put my left foot on my right upper thigh, I then bring
> my right thigh toward my chest and grab my right knee and pull the right
> knee further toward my chest. I can only pull my right knee in very slightly
> because it becomes very uncomfortable in my left hip socket and groin (same
> on the right if the pose is reversed).
>
> So why are these joints/tendons/muscles/whatever being so stubborn when the
> rest of my body has become so much stronger and more flexible? Is there any
> poses I can practice that will loosen this area?
>

Hi Paul,

A lot of people find this part of the body hard to open up. The posture
usually recommended is "The Butterfly" (baddha koNa:sana).

You did not mention your age or existing health conditions. You might
have arthritis in your hip joints, for example. Unusual discomfort in
the groin area could indicate an inguinal hernia. You might want to have
a thorough medical checkup, if it's been a long time since you've had
one.

Generally speaking, pain means that your body is trying to tell you
something, and you should listen to it. The general rule in hatha yoga
is that you "touch" the pain, but don't "go into" the pain. Respect your
body's limits, and don't expect to achieve a full range of movement
overnight. It sounds like you are making progress--what's the hurry?

--Don
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yogabare

Sevenhundred Elves

2005-07-21, 11:50 am

Paul H wrote:

> I have been practicing yoga for around 2.5 months. I have noticed greatly
> improved flexibility in my hamstrings, calves, back, etc.. but my hips are a
> rigid as ever.
>
> For example, I lie on my back and bring my knees up, keeping my feet flat
> on the floor, I then put my left foot on my right upper thigh, I then bring
> my right thigh toward my chest and grab my right knee and pull the right
> knee further toward my chest. I can only pull my right knee in very slightly
> because it becomes very uncomfortable in my left hip socket and groin (same
> on the right if the pose is reversed).
>
> So why are these joints/tendons/muscles/whatever being so stubborn when the
> rest of my body has become so much stronger and more flexible? Is there any
> poses I can practice that will loosen this area?
>
> Paul

Only 2.5 months is not very long.. keep it up. The reason why those
tendons and muscles are so very stubborn is simply that they are very
strong, and will resist unusual moves stronger than weaker muscles and
tendons. In time, they too, will become more elastic. Try doing it with
a feeling of relaxation and patience. Don't try so hard that you hurt
yourself.

S.

Stu

2005-07-21, 5:52 pm

On 2005-07-21 08:23:25 -0700, Sevenhundred Elves
<sevenhundred@elves.invalid> said:

> Paul H wrote:
>
>
> Only 2.5 months is not very long.. keep it up. The reason why those
> tendons and muscles are so very stubborn is simply that they are very
> strong, and will resist unusual moves stronger than weaker muscles and
> tendons. In time, they too, will become more elastic. Try doing it with
> a feeling of relaxation and patience. Don't try so hard that you hurt
> yourself.
>
> S.

The hips are made up of many muscles working in many different
directions. Take a look at an anatomy book. The femur has a big ball
on the end of it held in place by a mass of muscles allowing it to
rotate in nearly every direction. This joint is very different than
smaller joints in the body like the elbow or knee that has limited
movement. Every time we sit western style we are shortening up the
gluteus and piriformis muscles by crushing these muscles against a
chair. I have found in my own practice that stretching everyday may
only be enough to maintain flexibility until the next long car trip.
Very often those with back conditions over-compensate and cause
structure misalignment in the piriformis muscle.

There are two kinds of pain. One kind is the sharp jabbing kind that
we get when we damage something. This kind of pain does not go away
after the damage. An example of this is when we twist the knees and
pull a ligament. The other kind of pain is "uncomfortability", which
is really just sensation. When you are pulling the knee up and feel
uncomfortable, most likely that uncomfortability goes away when you
release the stretch. I would not worry about it, and try to hold the
stretch through the sensation. It is very difficult to cause any
damage in the hip socket as long as you keep your hips aligned to the
back bone. You can protect the knees by keeping them bent at 90
degrees.

There are many great sequences for opening the hips.

I just googled "hip opener yoga" and came up with thousands of pages.
Ask your yoga teacher to do a hip opener class.
--
~Stu

Paul H

2005-07-26, 9:05 am

Thanks to everyone who replied, very helpful info, I have been googling
away..

:O)