June 9, 2025 • 13 mins
Let’s discuss the issue of hip flexion in yoga.
- What is it?
- Is there too much?
- And what can you do about it.
Hip flexion is normal; You need to flex your hips to walk, sit down, and even curl up on the couch.
In this episode, I’ll share some ways you can create more intentional sequences with specific goals in mind. Plus, smart class language to help students understand the importance of their full range of hip movement so that they incorporate them in their daily movement.
Let’s get to it!
Click HERE to send me a text & let me know your thoughts on this episode!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Monica (00:00):
Let's discuss the issue of hip flexion in yoga.
What is it?
Is there too much and what canyou do about it?
Hip flexion is normal.
I mean, you have to flex yourhips to walk, sit down, and even
curl up on the couch.
In this episode, I'll share someways.
You can create more intentionalsequences with specific goals in
(00:23):
mind, plus smart class languageto help students understand the
importance of their full rangeof hip movement so that they
incorporate them in their dailymovement.
Welcome to the EssentialConversations for Yoga Teachers
Podcast with me.
I'm Monica Bright and I've beenteaching yoga and running my
(00:45):
yoga business for over a decade.
This is the podcast for you.
If you are a yoga teacher,you're looking for support.
You love to be in conversation,and you're a lifelong student.
In this podcast, I'll share withyou.
My life as a yoga teacher, thelessons I've learned, my process
(01:06):
for building my business andhelpful ideas, tools, strategies
and systems I use and you canuse so that your business
thrives.
We'll cover a diverse range oftopics that will help you,
whether you're just starting outor you've got years under your
belt and you wanna dive deep andset yourself up for success.
(01:30):
I am so glad you're here.
Listen, I don't take myself tooseriously, so expect to hear
some laughs along the way.
Now let's do this together.
Welcome back to the podcast.
I'm Monica, and I'm so gladyou're here.
Here is where we get real aboutyoga's role in helping students
(01:54):
with conditions and injuries andwhat you can do to help them
find relief while they're inyour classes.
Today I wanna discuss the issueof hip flexion in yoga.
What is it?
Is there too much and can you doanything about it?
Hip flexion is normal.
I mean, you have to flex yourhips to walk, sit down, and even
(02:17):
curl up on the couch.
The question I wanna tackle is,does this become a problem for
students with hip back andpostural issues?
And if so, how can we createsequences with intention and use
language that helps studentstake your teaching off the mat
(02:38):
and into their lives?
Let's start with what is hipflexion?
Flexion is when your thigh bone,the femur moves closer to your
torso.
Imagine yourself sitting,squatting, folding, forward,
lunging, or bringing your kneestowards your chest.
All of these movements involvehip flexion.
(03:01):
Now think about an averageVinyasa class or even a yin
style class.
Especially Vinyasa includes sunsalutations.
Numerous forward fold afterforward fold seated poses.
Many are variations of forwardbins, pigeon pose, the deep hip
(03:21):
flexion in the front leg, andeven downward facing dog.
Chair pose, warrior one, two,and three all involve hip
flexion.
So what's the problem?
Well, you should imagine yourstudents' lives outside of yoga
class.
Most people are already in hipflexion for most of the day.
(03:44):
Think sitting in cars, sittingat their desks.
Sitting on couches and maybesleeping in a fetal position.
What we're doing is reinforcingalready shortened hip flexors
yoga often adds more time inthis position without also
attempting to balance it Withhip extension, which is the
(04:07):
thigh moving behind the pelvis,Excessive hip flexion can
contribute to posturalimbalances like an anterior
pelvic tilt, which is when thefront of the pelvis tips down.
Low back compression andanterior pelvic tilt can lead to
compression of the discs betweenthe vertebrae, the lumbar spine.
(04:31):
Tighter, weak SOAs muscles.
The SOAs muscles attach at thelumbar spine and wrap around the
front of the pelvis and attachto the inside of the upper femur
bone.
It's the only muscle thatconnects the upper and lower
parts of the body.
And here's a fun fact.
Your brain cannot decipherbetween tightness and weakness,
(04:54):
so it sends the same signal,which is.
Tightness.
Then when students feel tight,they try to resolve it with
stretching when the resolutionshould be strengthening.
This is an understanding that weneed to have as yoga teachers,
especially if serving ourstudents' needs is more
(05:14):
important than sticking to asequence.
Finally, the glutes and theposterior chain take a backseat
when we focus our sequencesaround hip flexion.
Lots of students already walk inwith these issues and our
planned sequences canunintentionally reinforce this
pattern.
(05:35):
Excessive hip flexion alsolimits normal functional
movement in real life.
We need hip extension forwalking, climbing stairs and
stability.
However, we can be moreintentional with our sequencing
and our cues and teach studentsthe importance of hip extension
(05:56):
in their daily movement.
We can help students practicethe full spectrum of movement
that's appropriate for theirbodies.
Now, you know, I'm not going tobring up an issue and not offer
solutions for you.
I would never do that.
So let's shift into solutionmode.
You can still teach the yoga youlove.
(06:18):
Just become more intentionalabout bringing in more balance
between flexion, extension andother hip movements.
Here are some other solutions.
Okay, number one, add more hipextension to your sequences.
Hip extension is the opposite tohip flexion.
We need to intentionally bringit back in.
(06:41):
Try incorporating bridge posewith glute engagement locus
pose.
Crescent lunge.
I like to bend and straightenthe back leg to help with hip
extension.
How about a kneeling warrior,but a more active version, so it
is not the deepest lunge, whichis what most students are used
(07:03):
to.
And also I like prone leg liftsor BirdDog as prep for movement
and posterior chainstrengthening.
Speaking of posterior chainstrength, we can teach strength
in the glutes, the hamstrings,and the back extensors.
Think of these muscles as thebrakes and the stabilizers that
(07:25):
protect the hips and the lowback.
Include chair pose, but with acontrolled lowering.
Get creative by teachingmovements similar to deadlifts
with a yoga block.
Do tabletop leg lifts, locus orshaana variations like I
mentioned before, and functionaltransitions that ask the glutes
(07:48):
to activate.
The third thing you could do isbalance out your forward folding
as much as you can instead ofsequencing back to back forward
bends.
Alternate with neutral orextended poses, heart opening or
chest opening poses, as well asspine lengthening.
(08:08):
Transitions, even subtle shifts,like teaching half sun
salutations with a back bendbetween folds can help.
If you're teaching full sunsalutations, be sure to
emphasize either low cobra orupward facing dog.
Ask students to pause in theseshapes for a moment instead of
(08:28):
racing through them.
I've even replaced chaturangaswith tabletop and camel pose
with hands on the hips to invitemore hip extension into the
sequence.
The fourth thing you could doand I think is always valuable
is to bring awareness to dailymovement patterns.
(08:48):
Remind students that yoga isjust one part of their movement
diet.
If they're sitting most of theday, more hip flexion in yoga
probably is not going to helpbalance their body.
Encourage your students to takemovement breaks throughout the
day.
Invest in standing desks if theycan.
(09:10):
Walk more.
My sneaky way to get students towalk more is to tell them to
drink more water and they willhave to walk more because they
will have to use the bathroommore.
It's a win-win because we couldall stand to drink.
A little bit more water.
Anyway, invite your students tobecome more aware of glute
(09:30):
engagement during everyday taskswhile they're walking.
Especially, it'll make adifference when you talk about
these topics in your classes,the hope is that it sticks and
it empowers them to integratewhat they've learned into their
lifestyle.
Finally, use language thatbuilds awareness and not fear.
(09:52):
It's super important to avoidfear-based queuing like.
Tight hip flexors are bad, orthis pose will ruin your
posture.
We wanna stay away from that andinstead, invite awareness.
Notice how your hips feel inthis shape.
See if you can find both supportand spaciousness.
(10:16):
Or you could say this sequenceis intended to balance the
movement of the front of yourbody while we strengthen the
back of your body.
I wanna be clear that too muchhip flexion isn't inherently a
bad thing, but it becomes aproblem when it's the default,
especially in our culture thatalready sits too much and moves
(10:39):
too little.
Remember, as teachers, we don'tneed to fix our students.
We need to support functionalmovement.
Restore balance and offer moremovement options in class and
ask students to incorporatethese teachings into their daily
lives.
In your classes, think aboutintegrating more hip extension,
(11:01):
strengthening the posteriorchain, and approaching alignment
with curiosity instead ofrigidity, so that you can help
students build strength,mobility, and longevity in their
practice.
Now it's your turn to go out.
Have a look at your sequences,see what degree of hip flexion
(11:21):
you have in them and where youcan make some changes.
Understanding anatomy,biomechanics, and the effects
yoga Asana have on the bodyhelps you help your students.
It's so important for us to havethis conversation so that you
remember that students of allshapes, sizes, alignment, and
(11:42):
abilities come to your classesand you can serve them all.
You know that my goal is for youto love the yoga teaching life,
and it's important to understandmovement and the issues students
come to your classes with.
If you love this episode, let meknow.
Don't forget to download theebook sequencing for different
injuries.
(12:03):
The link is in the show notes Ipromise you, it will help you
form a foundation for teachingstudents with injuries and aging
bodies.
The information will also helpyou understand how to
accommodate students ofdifferent accessibilities, and
it'll be a great resource foryou to return to again and
again.
When you download the ebook,you'll be joining my newsletter.
(12:23):
That's just for yoga teachers.
I've got more exciting teachingscoming really soon, so I wanna
tell you all about them.
The link is in the show notesbelow, and I would love for you
to join it so we can always stayconnected.
if you wanna send me a quicktext message about your thoughts
on this episode, I've also addeda link in the show notes below.
(12:43):
I won't know your phone number.
It's just a neat addition to theplatform that I use that allows
for this new and super easy wayfor you to communicate with me.
Once you click on it, it willtake you to your messages, but
don't delete the code.
That's how your message will getto me, and I would love to know
your thoughts.
Subscribe to the podcast soyou're always in the know when a
(13:04):
new episode drops and share itwith another yoga teacher who
you think would love to be in onthese conversations.
Thank you for helping to spreadthe word about this podcast and
if you've been taking notes inyour journal as you listen to
these episodes, I'm so glad youare and I would love to hear
about it.
Alright.
now it's your turn to go out.
(13:25):
Have a look at your sequences,see what degree of hip flexion
you have in them and where youcan make some changes.
Alright, that's it for now.
Bye.
Let's discuss the issue of hip flexion in yoga.
What is it?
Is there too much and what canyou do about it?
Hip flexion is normal.
I mean, you have to flex yourhips to walk, sit down, and even
curl up on the couch.
In this episode, I'll share someways.
You can create more intentionalsequences with specific goals in
(00:23):
mind, plus smart class languageto help students understand the
importance of their full rangeof hip movement so that they
incorporate them in their dailymovement.
Welcome to the EssentialConversations for Yoga Teachers
Podcast with me.
I'm Monica Bright and I've beenteaching yoga and running my
(00:45):
yoga business for over a decade.
This is the podcast for you.
If you are a yoga teacher,you're looking for support.
You love to be in conversation,and you're a lifelong student.
In this podcast, I'll share withyou.
My life as a yoga teacher, thelessons I've learned, my process
(01:06):
for building my business andhelpful ideas, tools, strategies
and systems I use and you canuse so that your business
thrives.
We'll cover a diverse range oftopics that will help you,
whether you're just starting outor you've got years under your
belt and you wanna dive deep andset yourself up for success.
(01:30):
I am so glad you're here.
Listen, I don't take myself tooseriously, so expect to hear
some laughs along the way.
Now let's do this together.
Welcome back to the podcast.
I'm Monica, and I'm so gladyou're here.
Here is where we get real aboutyoga's role in helping students
(01:54):
with conditions and injuries andwhat you can do to help them
find relief while they're inyour classes.
Today I wanna discuss the issueof hip flexion in yoga.
What is it?
Is there too much and can you doanything about it?
Hip flexion is normal.
I mean, you have to flex yourhips to walk, sit down, and even
(02:17):
curl up on the couch.
The question I wanna tackle is,does this become a problem for
students with hip back andpostural issues?
And if so, how can we createsequences with intention and use
language that helps studentstake your teaching off the mat
(02:38):
and into their lives?
Let's start with what is hipflexion?
Flexion is when your thigh bone,the femur moves closer to your
torso.
Imagine yourself sitting,squatting, folding, forward,
lunging, or bringing your kneestowards your chest.
All of these movements involvehip flexion.
(03:01):
Now think about an averageVinyasa class or even a yin
style class.
Especially Vinyasa includes sunsalutations.
Numerous forward fold afterforward fold seated poses.
Many are variations of forwardbins, pigeon pose, the deep hip
(03:21):
flexion in the front leg, andeven downward facing dog.
Chair pose, warrior one, two,and three all involve hip
flexion.
So what's the problem?
Well, you should imagine yourstudents' lives outside of yoga
class.
Most people are already in hipflexion for most of the day.
(03:44):
Think sitting in cars, sittingat their desks.
Sitting on couches and maybesleeping in a fetal position.
What we're doing is reinforcingalready shortened hip flexors
yoga often adds more time inthis position without also
attempting to balance it Withhip extension, which is the
(04:07):
thigh moving behind the pelvis,Excessive hip flexion can
contribute to posturalimbalances like an anterior
pelvic tilt, which is when thefront of the pelvis tips down.
Low back compression andanterior pelvic tilt can lead to
compression of the discs betweenthe vertebrae, the lumbar spine.
(04:31):
Tighter, weak SOAs muscles.
The SOAs muscles attach at thelumbar spine and wrap around the
front of the pelvis and attachto the inside of the upper femur
bone.
It's the only muscle thatconnects the upper and lower
parts of the body.
And here's a fun fact.
Your brain cannot decipherbetween tightness and weakness,
(04:54):
so it sends the same signal,which is.
Tightness.
Then when students feel tight,they try to resolve it with
stretching when the resolutionshould be strengthening.
This is an understanding that weneed to have as yoga teachers,
especially if serving ourstudents' needs is more
(05:14):
important than sticking to asequence.
Finally, the glutes and theposterior chain take a backseat
when we focus our sequencesaround hip flexion.
Lots of students already walk inwith these issues and our
planned sequences canunintentionally reinforce this
pattern.
(05:35):
Excessive hip flexion alsolimits normal functional
movement in real life.
We need hip extension forwalking, climbing stairs and
stability.
However, we can be moreintentional with our sequencing
and our cues and teach studentsthe importance of hip extension
(05:56):
in their daily movement.
We can help students practicethe full spectrum of movement
that's appropriate for theirbodies.
Now, you know, I'm not going tobring up an issue and not offer
solutions for you.
I would never do that.
So let's shift into solutionmode.
You can still teach the yoga youlove.
(06:18):
Just become more intentionalabout bringing in more balance
between flexion, extension andother hip movements.
Here are some other solutions.
Okay, number one, add more hipextension to your sequences.
Hip extension is the opposite tohip flexion.
We need to intentionally bringit back in.
(06:41):
Try incorporating bridge posewith glute engagement locus
pose.
Crescent lunge.
I like to bend and straightenthe back leg to help with hip
extension.
How about a kneeling warrior,but a more active version, so it
is not the deepest lunge, whichis what most students are used
(07:03):
to.
And also I like prone leg liftsor BirdDog as prep for movement
and posterior chainstrengthening.
Speaking of posterior chainstrength, we can teach strength
in the glutes, the hamstrings,and the back extensors.
Think of these muscles as thebrakes and the stabilizers that
(07:25):
protect the hips and the lowback.
Include chair pose, but with acontrolled lowering.
Get creative by teachingmovements similar to deadlifts
with a yoga block.
Do tabletop leg lifts, locus orshaana variations like I
mentioned before, and functionaltransitions that ask the glutes
(07:48):
to activate.
The third thing you could do isbalance out your forward folding
as much as you can instead ofsequencing back to back forward
bends.
Alternate with neutral orextended poses, heart opening or
chest opening poses, as well asspine lengthening.
(08:08):
Transitions, even subtle shifts,like teaching half sun
salutations with a back bendbetween folds can help.
If you're teaching full sunsalutations, be sure to
emphasize either low cobra orupward facing dog.
Ask students to pause in theseshapes for a moment instead of
(08:28):
racing through them.
I've even replaced chaturangaswith tabletop and camel pose
with hands on the hips to invitemore hip extension into the
sequence.
The fourth thing you could doand I think is always valuable
is to bring awareness to dailymovement patterns.
(08:48):
Remind students that yoga isjust one part of their movement
diet.
If they're sitting most of theday, more hip flexion in yoga
probably is not going to helpbalance their body.
Encourage your students to takemovement breaks throughout the
day.
Invest in standing desks if theycan.
(09:10):
Walk more.
My sneaky way to get students towalk more is to tell them to
drink more water and they willhave to walk more because they
will have to use the bathroommore.
It's a win-win because we couldall stand to drink.
A little bit more water.
Anyway, invite your students tobecome more aware of glute
(09:30):
engagement during everyday taskswhile they're walking.
Especially, it'll make adifference when you talk about
these topics in your classes,the hope is that it sticks and
it empowers them to integratewhat they've learned into their
lifestyle.
Finally, use language thatbuilds awareness and not fear.
(09:52):
It's super important to avoidfear-based queuing like.
Tight hip flexors are bad, orthis pose will ruin your
posture.
We wanna stay away from that andinstead, invite awareness.
Notice how your hips feel inthis shape.
See if you can find both supportand spaciousness.
(10:16):
Or you could say this sequenceis intended to balance the
movement of the front of yourbody while we strengthen the
back of your body.
I wanna be clear that too muchhip flexion isn't inherently a
bad thing, but it becomes aproblem when it's the default,
especially in our culture thatalready sits too much and moves
(10:39):
too little.
Remember, as teachers, we don'tneed to fix our students.
We need to support functionalmovement.
Restore balance and offer moremovement options in class and
ask students to incorporatethese teachings into their daily
lives.
In your classes, think aboutintegrating more hip extension,
(11:01):
strengthening the posteriorchain, and approaching alignment
with curiosity instead ofrigidity, so that you can help
students build strength,mobility, and longevity in their
practice.
Now it's your turn to go out.
Have a look at your sequences,see what degree of hip flexion
(11:21):
you have in them and where youcan make some changes.
Understanding anatomy,biomechanics, and the effects
yoga Asana have on the bodyhelps you help your students.
It's so important for us to havethis conversation so that you
remember that students of allshapes, sizes, alignment, and
(11:42):
abilities come to your classesand you can serve them all.
You know that my goal is for youto love the yoga teaching life,
and it's important to understandmovement and the issues students
come to your classes with.
If you love this episode, let meknow.
Don't forget to download theebook sequencing for different
injuries.
(12:03):
The link is in the show notes Ipromise you, it will help you
form a foundation for teachingstudents with injuries and aging
bodies.
The information will also helpyou understand how to
accommodate students ofdifferent accessibilities, and
it'll be a great resource foryou to return to again and
again.
When you download the ebook,you'll be joining my newsletter.
(12:23):
That's just for yoga teachers.
I've got more exciting teachingscoming really soon, so I wanna
tell you all about them.
The link is in the show notesbelow, and I would love for you
to join it so we can always stayconnected.
if you wanna send me a quicktext message about your thoughts
on this episode, I've also addeda link in the show notes below.
(12:43):
I won't know your phone number.
It's just a neat addition to theplatform that I use that allows
for this new and super easy wayfor you to communicate with me.
Once you click on it, it willtake you to your messages, but
don't delete the code.
That's how your message will getto me, and I would love to know
your thoughts.
Subscribe to the podcast soyou're always in the know when a
(13:04):
new episode drops and share itwith another yoga teacher who
you think would love to be in onthese conversations.
Thank you for helping to spreadthe word about this podcast and
if you've been taking notes inyour journal as you listen to
these episodes, I'm so glad youare and I would love to hear
about it.
Alright.
now it's your turn to go out.
(13:25):
Have a look at your sequences,see what degree of hip flexion
you have in them and where youcan make some changes.
Alright, that's it for now.
Bye.
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