September 27, 2023 • 65 mins
So many of us suffer with hip flexors that feel stiff, tight, sore or even painful. it's not uncommon for me to encounter clients and students that are even plagued with a reduced range of motion and trouble fully extending the hip.
So it makes sense to just stretch right?
Though it seems plausable that lenghening what feels tight is the best course of action, the hip, the self are far to complicated to reduce this experience to just the state of our biological tissues.
So in this practice we will observe the biopsycosocial-spiritual nature of self. Rather than some stretches for the sensitive area, we will activate to release. In your practice, you will engage in myofascial release techniques, mobility drills and yes, yin yoga poses, to embed a profound sense of safety into the hips as well as a new confidence.
Props needed: Bolster, Blocks, Blanket
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Yin Yoga Podcast.
I'm your host, mandy Ryle, andI am thrilled to be able to
offer for you this week a podpractice which is all about the
front of your hip.
Sometimes we refer to this areaas the hip flexors, but of
(00:22):
course, it's much more than that.
It is a much more holisticexperience.
So, just like probably everyyoga teacher on the planet, I
often get requests for stretchesfor the hip flexors, for the
front of the hip.
This is an area which is oftenvery tight, can sometimes be
(00:45):
sore or even painful.
I have clients who, in fact,have some mobility restrictions
around even extending their hipbecause of some problems in this
area, and so I certainly dounderstand the compulsion to
stretch.
However, what I always try toimpart to my students and to my
(01:05):
clients is that your livedexperience in your body is more
than just the state of yourtissues.
The experience of the body isinfluenced by, yes, our biology,
but also our psychology, ourthoughts, our beliefs, our
feelings, our fears, ourmemories.
It is influenced by our socialsetting.
(01:27):
Our experience of our body alsohas a spiritual component, so
the biopsychosocial, spiritualmodel of experience is what I'm
trying to bring forth in thispractice.
I want to let you in on alittle bit of a secret.
(01:49):
I'm going to give away my tradesecret here, okay, so when we
have tightness accompanied bypain, what we need is not
stretching.
What we need is to provide aprofound sense of safety in the
area and a profound sense ofconfidence, fearlessness in the
(02:17):
area, and as far as I'mconcerned, there's really no
better way to do this than byactivating.
So that's what we'll do in thispractice you will activate to
release and you will find thisbeautiful awareness and this
safety and this confidence thatyou really need to feel better
in your hips.
So if you're someone who isstruggling here with the front
of your hips, you're going tolove this practice.
(02:39):
You should definitely save it.
But even if you're justsomebody who likes a practice
that feels really freaking great, you will enjoy this practice.
You will need to have a bolster, a couple of yoga blocks and a
blanket for this practice.
Earlier this month, I had theopportunity to do a masterclass
webinar all about sequencing.
(03:01):
I find that listeners to thispodcast whether you are a
student of VN and you love topractice at home on your own,
like with this podcast, oryou're a teacher of VN.
Finding that extra specialmagic in your sequences is not
easy, so I wanted to providesome really simple tips and
(03:23):
tools that you could use tocreate your next sequence and
make it really truly magical.
Obviously, the masterclass hasalready occurred.
However, the replay is stillavailable.
So if you would like access tothat replay, it's really simple
Just quickly scroll down intothese show notes for this show,
(03:47):
click the link for themasterclass webinar.
You'll have to then registerit's just your email and your
first name and then I'll send itright over, no strings attached
.
You'll have it in your inboxbefore you finish your practice.
Okay, thank you so much,everyone for being a listener to
the Yan Yoga podcast.
I really hope you enjoy thisspecial practice.
(04:16):
As you're facing the front ofyour mat, put your blanket on
the left, bolster on the rightblocks go behind that bolster,
and the blanket and the bolsterare kind of mid mat region.
We got it.
And now you're going to comedown to your belly with your
head toward the front of yourmat, head toward the front of
(04:39):
your mat.
So you're on your belly and asyou're coming down, you get to
establish how you'd like to restyour head.
Will you be on your forehead,will you be on your cheek, will
you rest your head on your palmsor right on the mat?
And this is kind of a difficultposition in some ways to start
(05:07):
in, I think.
So you have my permission tokind of fidget around and make
sure you're happy with the wayyour ribs are placed, your feet,
so that you can find some levelof contentment, and as you
(05:41):
begin to deepen the inhales andthe exhales just a little,
notice your back ribs, noticeyour back ribs, yeah, and then
(06:05):
maybe you'll change a littlesomething about the back ribs.
So, on the inhale, maybe you'lllet those ribs kind of float up
, expand, and the exhale isreally a very slow collapse
assisted by gravity.
(06:26):
Really, inhale, feel those ribswiden and expand, exhale, feel
that slow collapse assisted bygravity and perhaps resisted by
your will.
(06:46):
Right, you don't want the ribsto just fall, you want a slow
release.
(07:10):
And now transfer the attentionto the front of the pelvis, to
the front of the pelvis so, asyou breathe in, notice if
anything changes about itsposition as you breathe out,
notice if anything changes aboutits position or if everything
(07:38):
stays the same on the inhale,the exhale, in between all of it
, and you might also be awarethat things are not exactly the
same on the right and the left.
Maybe one hip feels heavier,wider, higher, and if that's
(08:12):
what you find, of course,there's no need whatsoever to
try to change it.
Just notice it.
Now I'd like for you to beginto rock your pelvis side to side
(08:41):
, just right and left, and letgo of the expectation that
you're going to get a lot ofmovement out of this.
In fact, something smallermight be better.
Something smaller might bebetter, and begin to establish a
tempo, almost like walkingright, how the pelvis kind of
(09:07):
tilt side to side when you walk,something like that.
So just a really quiet effort,but a whole lot of attention,
right, you might notice, indoing this without your legs
swinging.
That's actually pretty complex.
There's activity in the frontof the hip, back of the hip,
(09:33):
sides of the hip, activity inyour spine, other parts of your
legs, and the next time you'verocked over to that right side,
just stay.
Stay there and plant the palmof your left hand onto the mat
(09:58):
beside your chest and bring yourright leg a little closer to
your left leg, just for balancehere for a second, so that you
can bring your left knee andshin out onto the blanket which
I had you set a moment ago, andso it's going to look like a
half frog, right the left leg,like in a half frog.
Now keep your left knee andyour left toes turned out, but
(10:25):
send your heel toward that backleft corner of your mat.
So it's just going to gostraight back.
It's going to slide on thefloor on the blanket, and then
bring your left knee back to thehalf frog and then overshoot it
, bringing your left knee towardyour left elbow, and then let
that left arm rest If youhaven't already, it can just
(10:46):
rest and then re-extend the leftleg, sending the heel back, and
then, once again, you'll flexthe hip and overshoot it.
Pull the knee toward your elbow, so just sliding up and down,
(11:08):
maybe pausing briefly, with theknee really tucked up toward the
elbow, so that you can start tofeel a little warmth in the hip
flexor region, front of the hipregion.
Yeah, all, right, now the nexttime that knee is drawn up
(11:45):
toward your elbow, keep it thereand imagine that you're still
pulling the knee toward theelbow, still pulling it up,
although it stopped moving right, but the intent is still there
and you'll feel a little bit ofwarmth, maybe even that little
burn which is the hallmark ofmuscles working fatiguing.
(12:06):
That's what we want.
Okay, release that intent andjust bring the leg to a more
traditional half frog position,down a little bit, out a little,
if you'd like, and we'll take afew breaths in the half frog
Once again, just noticing thefront of the pelvis as you
breathe in and out.
Any changes to position,changes in experience,
(12:32):
sensations, okay.
(12:57):
So this next transition is alittle tricky.
So here's what we'll do.
I'm just going to laybreadcrumbs, I'm going to give
you one cue at a time and you'lljust execute one cue at a time
and we'll end up seamlessly,beautifully, in our next posture
(13:21):
.
Once again, you're going toplant the palm of the left hand
onto the mat beside your chest,send your right arm straight
forward toward the front andthen use that left hand to push
you onto your right side withyour head resting on your arm.
So you're just on your side,your knees still on the blanket.
(13:45):
Now draw your right knee underyour left knee so your two
thighs will be stacked.
Two thighs stacked, yes.
And then bring your right armout to the right and your left
arm out to the left as you rollyour heart open toward the
ceiling for your supine twist.
(14:12):
There's a couple of reallyimportant steps here that I'd
like for you to take.
Number one make sure that yourright shoulder blade is flat on
the mat.
It should not be wedged in anyway, because that'll really
inhibit your ability to use yourthoracic spine to rotate.
And then the other thing isthat your left knee may not be
on your right knee.
Your left knee may float up offof that right knee.
(14:35):
Mine does, for example.
Yeah, and before I really letyou settle in to your supine
(15:01):
twist, I'm going to have youdraw your left knee again, this
time up toward your chest.
So keep the knee pointed to theright, but kind of just flex
the hip, just practice flexingthe hip, that's all.
And then allow that left legjust to soften a back into the
twisted position, right, yeah,and then draw it in toward your
(15:24):
chest and then let it go, settleit over the right thigh again.
Let's do three more.
And even once you've found thatposition where the hip is
flexed completely, it's notmoving anymore I'd like for you
to maintain the intent of movingit just for a beat once it
(15:45):
comes up toward that chest.
We'll do one more, and thistime you're going to hold.
You're going to hold that thightowards your chest, you're
going to hold it there.
Maybe your hand needs to holdthe knee, maybe it doesn't.
Maybe you'll start to feel thatfatigue.
That's what we need and thenrest again.
(16:07):
And then you're supine twist.
So the left thigh just settledover the right thigh for a few
breaths and you might feel likeyou have a little bit more
rotation now.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Though we don't really like thatfeeling of muscle fatigue,
(16:32):
especially in yoga.
We really don't like it Instrength resistance training.
We love it.
It's a sign that we're workingthe right muscles, the right
groups of muscles.
But in this type of practice,think of it as a sign that your
(16:56):
body is perking up.
That's learning, that fatigueis learning.
We'll take one more breath inthe supine twist.
(17:51):
Roll back onto that right sideagain.
Plant the left palm again it'sabout the same position as been
in.
Press up to a side, sit.
You're going to be sitting onthat right hip, good.
Then turn your body completelytoward the back of your mat.
Send your left heel to thatback left corner of your mat,
(18:15):
with the sole of the right footagainst the inner right thigh or
the knee whatever works bestfor you.
Turn your heart, your eyestoward that left foot.
Keep your heart and your eyesturned toward the left foot, but
bring your hands back behindyou and lean into them.
Tilt your pelvis back.
(18:36):
It doesn't have to be neat andpretty like we like to do.
Tilt your pelvis back almostlike a little hunch position, if
that's okay for your shoulders.
If your pelvis tilted back andyour knee so soft, lift the left
leg a couple of inches awayfrom the floor.
(18:57):
I will tell you that mostpeople try to lift their leg
with their knee.
The knee can only extend theknee and then lower it back down
.
Rest.
It cannot flex your hip for you.
For that we'll need our hipflexors.
Go ahead, lift that leg.
If you're having trouble withit.
Know that you're in goodcompany.
This is really hard.
Lower it down.
(19:19):
Now let's try somethingdifferent.
Find that anterior tilt in yourpelvis, what we usually
associate with good posture,although that's not necessarily
true.
Then lift that left leg withthe anterior tilt and release
One more time with anterior tiltand release.
(19:40):
Then alternate between the twofor a few repetitions Tilting
back, lifting up soft knees,soft ankle, lower down, tilt
forward, lift the thigh, couplemore, one more of each.
One more of each Posterior,anterior.
(20:07):
Actually, do one more posterior.
Bring your time, one moreanterior this time.
Hold, it's going to burn, it'sgoing to feel warm, breathe,
breathe into that learning.
Then maintain the anterior tiltas the leg is lowered back to
(20:28):
the ground.
Lift up and fold over that leftleg.
Now I had you put your blocksback there earlier in the
practice, just in case you wantthem under your elbows.
But if you're just kind ofwanting a low-tech experience,
you don't have to use them.
Just let your head hang.
(20:51):
Don't worry about it beingbeautiful and perfect, just in
your imagination.
Imagine that you were going tolift that left leg and then
release it.
Do two more, just two more.
Imagine You'll notice that inimagining muscles do engage.
(21:14):
Your somatic nervous systemuses the same hardware to make a
plan and also to execute a plan.
The next time you are imaginingyour leg releasing, allow it to
soften, just extra, extra Melt,and feel that warmth
(21:40):
distributed, that learningexpanded.
You'll hold your half butterflyhere.
Let that neck be soft as well.
(22:10):
The jaw, the tongue.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
How important is that to keep above.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
One more breath in our half butterfly.
Press down into your hands torise up to vertical seated
position.
Nice, soft posture.
Maybe the eyes close, lean backinto your hands again.
(23:21):
Once again I'm just going tolay breadcrumbs.
So the next position you'll bein is not a familiar yin shape,
but we'll get there together, noproblem.
So you're going to bring thesole of the right foot flat, so
that kneecap is pointed up now,and then just take that right
(23:43):
foot and cross it over to theoutside of the left leg, so your
footprint is planted on theoutside of the left leg.
And then this is kind of funnyYou're just going to use that
right foot to sort of nudge yourleft leg more to the center of
your mat.
So you kind of heel toe yourfoot and almost passively
nudging your left leg more tothe right.
(24:07):
A couple more times, try it,use your foot to do it.
That's the skill we want tolearn here before we transition.
And then lean more into the lefthand, look past your left
shoulder back toward the frontof your mat and roll onto your
left side with your left leglong and your right foot against
(24:28):
the left thigh.
Yep, so nothing about the legschanges.
You just lay down on your sideagain and support your head if
you need to, okay, and then seeif maybe you might want to nudge
.
Now that you're on your side,nudge your left leg even further
toward the center of the mat,using your right foot to just
(24:49):
passively extend your hip foryou right.
Just nudge, nudge, nudge, evena little bit more.
So do, do, do, do, do, do, do.
Yep, exactly.
And it kind of holds it in place, does it not?
Now, the bottom knee, that leftknee, bend it.
Bend that bottom knee, bringyour heel toward your rear end,
(25:11):
roll your heart open now to thesky.
Roll your heart open and see ifmaybe it's possible for you to
maybe do a little almost like abanana shape with your upper
body so that the right hand cancatch that left foot and you may
need to use your left foot tonudge your knee back even a
little bit more, finding areally nice extension Right.
(25:34):
Use this foot to kind of do, do, do, do, do, do, yes, and then
it's a nice back bend.
Yeah, you got it.
That's all you need, and if youcan't catch your foot, it's
totally fine.
It's totally fine.
Sometimes people will use like amat strap or something to grab
it to your left arm.
Just reach out to the left.
We're not using it right now.
(25:55):
Keep your right shoulder bladenear the floor, probably not
touching, but maybe.
But use the left ankle pressinginto excuse me, the right ankle
, pressing into the left thighto stack your right hip over
(26:16):
your left hip.
Keep your shoulders on thefloor.
Work to stack your right hiponto your left hip and then
bring your right hip back down,like it wants to touch the floor
.
It may not touch, though, andthen, once again, you're going
to kind of pull back with thatright heel, try to stack your
right hip onto your left hip andthen bring your right hip back
down, maybe with a littlepushing of the sole of that
(26:37):
right foot.
We're going to do a few more ofthose.
Obviously it's individual, butI think this feels really so
good.
I'm going to give you a fewmore of those.
Stacking the hip yeah, and don'tmake it too complicated right
Holding the foot, if you can,continuing to hold that foot.
(27:00):
Stacking the hip, becausethat's part of it.
You know, we always talk aboutstretching the hip flexors, and
when we think about stretching,we always think about stretching
from origin to insertion andotherwise lengthwise, which
makes sense because that's thedirection, sort of, of the
muscle fibers.
But this muscle, the primarymuscle that we're working, the
(27:25):
psoas, is not flat.
It presents circumferentially,sort of like a I hate to do this
, but like a pork tenderloin.
Okay, so you're sort of rollingthe right hip onto the left hip
and you're bringing it back.
Think about how you're sort ofjust rotating, twisting that
(27:47):
psoas, yeah, not from a deeperstretch to provide hydration,
positive input.
Do one more.
And the next time your righthip is stacked onto your left
hip, you shall hold.
Right hip stacked onto left hip, you shall hold.
Maybe overshoot it a little bitand kick that right foot out
(28:10):
onto the bolster which I hadjust set at the beginning of
your practice.
Rest the ankle on that bolsterand if your leg is sliding away,
try rolling even more onto yourside.
And if you can't hold your footand be on your side, that's
okay.
You don't have to hold yourfoot.
Yeah, for cat pulling its tail.
(28:30):
You got it.
This is it.
Yes, and you could even restyour arm.
Yes, yeah, that's it.
That's it.
That's the pose.
It's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Yeah, good job, guys, let's set yours up for
tonight's lessonE.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
We'll just take one more breath and cat pulling its
tail.
You'll release your tail ifyou're still holding it.
Roll back again onto that leftside, press into the right hand
(29:59):
this time and come to a brieftabletop, a brief all fours.
And this is really just abouthousekeeping.
We just need to switch ourprops.
So we're just going to bringthe bolster to the left and the
blanket to the right and thenyou're going to find your way
back onto your belly, rest onyour belly again and even as
(30:23):
you're still arriving on yourbelly, just kind of rocking your
hips side to side and noticingif it feels the same as before,
maybe a little different,exactly the same.
Yeah, it's hard.
(30:46):
Right.
Now, get that tempo, thatwalking tempo right.
And when you start to get thatwalking tempo, you might feel
how much your glutes areinvolved right.
Next time you rock to the left,plant the palm of the right
(31:17):
hand, bring your left leg alittle bit closer to the midline
of the mat just to make iteasier for you to balance, and
then you're going to pop thatright knee onto your blanket.
Try to have the blanket underyour ankle as well, if you can,
so you're in basically a halffrog right and then keep your
(31:40):
right knee and your toes turnedout as you send your heel back,
yeah, and if you have to turnyour knee down to get your heel
all the way back, then you'regoing too far.
Yeah.
And then draw the knee uptoward your shoulder, go ahead
and rest that right arm.
(32:01):
Now Rest that right arm and ifyou want, you can kind of like
point the elbow down toward thedirection of the knee so you
have something to aim for andthen re-extend.
So we'll do a few and each timeI'd like for you to try to just
give a little bit of a pausewith your hip in that flexed
(32:24):
position.
You know I love yin but I alsoreally love strength.
I'm a strength specialist andyou know we have exercises for
(32:48):
the whole lower body.
We've got exercises for theglutes and the hamstrings and
the calves, ankles, feet, quads.
We don't really have anythingfor the hip flexors.
Like there's no machines at thegym for your hip flexors right.
Next time that knee is drawn up, I'm going to have you hold,
(33:12):
pretend that the knee is stillmoving.
Like just this level of intentKnee is still moving.
For three, keep pulling two, oneand then let the leg, come back
to a more traditional half frogposition, rest for a few
breaths and just feel that nicewarmth, that learning.
(33:35):
Okay, we're done here.
One more breath and half frog,so you'll plant the palm of the
(34:29):
right hand beside your chest,the left arm.
You'll reach forward all theway out, reach forward, yeah.
And then push down into thatright hand, roll onto your side.
Your head just rolls up ontoyour arm, Good.
(34:50):
And then draw your bottom kneeunder your top knee, so left
knee draws under right knee, sothe thighs are stacked at this
point, yes.
And then reach your left armout to the left as you open your
chest into your supine twist,into your supine twist, and your
knee will probably lift.
(35:11):
The top knee will probably lift, yeah, okay, pull your hand
just a little bit there and Ithink, if the feet come out an
inch, yeah, good, the top knee,keep it pointed, Keep it pointed
(35:38):
to the left, but pull that kneetowards your heart, yeah.
And then bring the knee andjust stack it over the left knee
again.
Yeah, we're going to do that.
Let's do five more.
So pull it in.
Yeah, remember, we're teaching.
We are teaching our hip flexors.
(36:00):
Now.
Stretching also teaches yourhip flexors, of course, but it
can't always be aboutflexibility, right, mobility is
also about strength, somaticawareness skill, neuromuscular
skill.
That's learning.
(36:21):
We'll do two more.
We got a little pause with theknee all drawn in in that flex
position, or the thigh, I shouldsay.
And this last time I'm going tohave you just hold with the
thigh or the hip flexors flexed,flexing the hip, and you'll
hold as if the knee is stillmoving.
The knee is still moving forthree, two, one and then just
(36:49):
rest.
Just rest in your pose, relax.
You might even find that yoursupine twist feels a little
gentler now.
Yeah, if you haven't already,just check on that left shoulder
blade, make sure it's fullyflat.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Good.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
When there are issues with the hip flexors, that
feeling of discomfort, stiffness, tightness, weakness we feel
strongly compelled to stretch.
(38:06):
The subjective feeling of thatexperience for some reason
compels us to stretch, butunfortunately we don't actually
possess any sensory anatomycapable of telling us what we
(38:34):
need.
So sometimes we get signalsthat are not so helpful, because
quite often stretching doesn'treally help right.
Instead we need to engage insome really deep and patient
learning like this.
Let's take one more breath inSupine twist, you'll roll back
(39:23):
onto your left side.
You'll plant that right hand.
Just follow the butt crumbs,help yourself up to that side,
sit on that left hip and thenturn your body fully to the back
(39:43):
of your mat.
Turn your body fully to theback of your mat, extend your
right heel out toward that rightback corner, solo the left foot
somewhere along that inner leftthigh, turn your heart, your
eyes towards your right foot andthen lean back into your hands.
Tilt your pelvis back to start,and the knee, the ankle, so
(40:06):
soft, so gentle as you lift theleg a couple of inches away, yes
, and then release and then tiltyour pelvis forward.
Anterior lift, release, keepalternating.
Lift just a beat at the top,release, keep alternating that
(40:33):
pelvic tilt and try using yourbreath.
You know when it gets hard wehold the breath.
But if we're trying torecondition these tissues to be
more compliant, we should trainthem with the right attitude,
(40:55):
right An attitude of contentment.
So use your breath tofacilitate that contentment.
Next time you are in theanterior tilt and you lift your
leg, you will remain for three,two, one.
(41:21):
You'll release the leg to thefloor.
You'll lift up tall before youfold over that right leg, any
amount.
Fold over that right leg.
Use your props if you'd like.
If you decide to use yourbolster, it's fine.
It's just going to need to goback to that spot on the right
when you finish.
And then, just in yourimagination, three times only,
(41:47):
feeling as if you're going tolift that leg and then release
it three times only, and thenyou're just resting in your half
(42:13):
butterfly.
Try to keep that neck soft,throat soft, the eyes soft, and
(43:04):
then you're just resting in yourhalf butterfly.
Just one more breath.
(43:41):
Use your hands to help you riseback up.
Sit tall, soft, soft, and thenlean back into your hands again.
Bring the sole of the left footflat with the kneecap pointed
(44:05):
up now, yes, and then cross theankle to the outside of the
right leg.
Breadcrumbs here, right.
Now use that left foot to nudgeyour right leg to the center.
You've got fair amount of rangeof motion here for that, you
know, okay.
And then, once you're happy thatyou've sort of figured that
(44:26):
skill out here, where it'seasier, you're going to lean
into your right hand, look backtoward the front of your mat
again and then come to lay onyour right side with your legs
still in this funky position.
You're on your side, you're onyour side, good.
And then once again use thatleft foot to nudge your right
thigh back toward the other edgeof your mat.
(44:48):
Nudge so that essentiallyyou're passively extending your
hip.
You know, perfect, well done.
Now bend the bottom knee thatright knee is, if you want to
bring your heel to your butt andthen roll your heart open.
Roll your heart open, reachthat right arm out to the right
(45:10):
we don't need it to be upoverhead anymore and then find
almost like a little banana,like a really gentle arch to the
left to see if maybe your lefthand can find your right foot.
Yes, good.
And then we're going to keepthe hand on the foot.
The shoulder is relativelystable.
It's all about bringing theleft hip over the right hip and
(45:34):
if you can keep holding yourfoot, go ahead.
If you can't hold it, it's fine, you know.
So try to use that left ankle,kind of pushing into that right
thigh, to stack your left hipover your right hip any amount,
and then maybe you'll push downinto the sole of the foot to
bring your left hip back to themat.
You try, yes, and that I justthink it feels so lovely.
(45:57):
Right, it's a little bit of astretch.
So we've got a little bit oftraction on hip flexors, but I
love this idea that we can kindof roll them.
Yeah, because tissues can hurtfor thousands of reasons which
(46:20):
have nothing to do withtightness.
But we do know that people tendto feel a little bit more
compliant, a little softer, alittle more release when tissues
are well hydrated, which iswhat this is for.
Let's do two more.
(46:49):
You guys are good, you got itStacking and we can keep that
foot flat on the floor.
It doesn't need to move around.
And then let's see Next timeyou have your left hip stacked
over your right hip, you stayand then kick your left foot out
(47:15):
onto the bolster which we set awhile back.
If you're still holding yourfoot, great.
If you got to let go of it now,that's fine too.
If you find that your foot issliding, sliding, sliding
because it likes to do that andcat pulling its tail, try to be
more assertively onto your rightside.
The more you can get onto thatright side, the more your leg
(47:35):
will stay put, so you don't feellike you're having to hold it
the whole time For cat pullingits tail.
Yeah, yeah, and even here, aflat right shoulder blade could
be really helpful.
Yes, right, a flat rightshoulder blade.
(47:59):
It just like the world justtransforms itself once that
shoulder blade is flat againstthe mat.
I think it's pivotal.
Yes, okay, we'll make this thefinal breath and cat pulling its
(49:01):
tail, and then you'll roll backonto your right side.
Let go of your tail if you'restill holding it.
Roll back onto your side andthen up to all fours.
Up to all fours, your headtoward the front and your all
(49:23):
fours and your hands a littlemore forward than they would
usually be in a tabletop, andthen lean forward so your
shoulders are over those hands,your butt is forward from your
knees, and then draw your lefthip under, like your left side,
only wants to do the cat Right.
(49:46):
Your right hip is also doing it, by the way, but we're going to
focus on the left hip.
Then arc your left hip out tothe left, just kind of round it
off to the left as your hipmoves over your knee and here
you're tilting your pelvis.
So your left hip thinks it's inthe cow.
Arc to the left as you comeforward, shoulders over hands,
(50:12):
tuck that left hip.
There's your cat right, thenarc to the left and as you go
you're going to find that cowshape.
You want to touch the front ofyour hip to your thigh, go out
to the left.
This is where you want toextend your hip as much as you
can.
(50:33):
Let's do two more.
So we're going to go back tothat Cow, really flexing the hip
, and then we're going to goback to the cat, really
extending the hip.
Stay in the cat, walk both knees, then to the right so that you
can bring your left hip downagain into a side sit, this time
(50:55):
facing the side of your mat,and then roll onto your left
side.
You could support your headwith your left arm or you can
drag your blanket under yourhead because we don't need it
off to the side anymore.
So your knees are stacked andthen lift your right foot away
(51:15):
from your left foot, likethere's a block between your
feet, like there's just a blockbetween yes, and then maintain
this space as if the block isstill there, but point your
right knee up to the ceiling.
So maintain the space as ifyour right foot is still sort of
on that block, but point yourright knee to the ceiling and
then keep the block space, butbring your right knee back down,
(51:37):
maybe to touch your left knee,maybe not Keep the block space.
Lift, point the knee to theceiling.
So a little rotation, right?
Oh, that's hard right.
And then back down, do a couplemore.
Yes, it's fabulous.
(51:58):
Last one, and this time holdwith your knee pointed up you
can do it.
And then bring your foot flat tothe mat, roll yourself so
you're almost flat on your back,with your left thigh still flat
(52:23):
, though, no, so not quite rightLeft thigh still relaxed on the
floor.
And then let's do this Justpush down into that right foot,
like your right leg wants to doa bridge pose.
Your left side, though, is justheavy, passive.
Keep pushing down, down downinto that right foot.
Maybe you can lift your righthip, maybe you can push hard
(52:44):
enough that your left, passive,heavy hip lifts away from the
floor as well.
What do you think?
Can you pick up that left side,even though it's not helping at
all, and try to find anextension in your hip?
That means your hip crease nolonger at an angle, but flat,
try, try, try, try, try, perfect.
(53:05):
And then release, roll to yourside and back to tabletop.
That was good, good job, guys.
Your hands farther forward thanyour typical off-orse Shoulders
, over wrists, look your righthip under.
(53:27):
So we're just working with theright, but the left side is
going to come along, of course,and arc out to the right and, as
your hip moves over the knee,find the cow.
It's not any cow, though.
I want you to really try tobring the front of your pelvis
toward the front of your thigh.
Use those hip flexors in ashortened position, arc out to
the right and find the cat.
(53:48):
So we're finding a lengthenedposition for hip flexors, but
they're still working prettyhard.
Do you feel that that's what wewant?
That's that eccentriccontraction which tendons and
muscles alike really seem toenjoy.
Find that cat, or, excuse me,the cow with the flexion and
then still activated in the hipflexors, but extended for the
(54:12):
cat.
One more cow, back to the cat.
Stay.
And then let's walk both kneesto the left so you can come to
the right hip for a side sit andthen all the way down onto your
(54:34):
right side.
Make sure your head issupported there, and we'll put
that imaginary block between thefeet, and then you'll lift the
knee, point it at the sky yeah,and if your hip slides back a
lot, you might be trying to dotoo much range of motion.
(54:56):
And then we'll tap the leftknee onto the right knee or
close the intent.
Keep that block space, lift theknee.
Try not to rock the hips openthough, which means your range
of motion may be minimal andslightly unsatisfying.
Tap the knee down, keep theblock space.
Lift the knee without openingthe hip.
(55:16):
Yes, it's really hard, boy.
It's activating, is it not?
Do two more, so activating,right?
We forget that the hip is asystem.
It's not just discreet musclesthat we like have a lot of
antagonism toward.
It is a system.
Last time knee points up, blockspace maintained.
(55:39):
Try not to open the hips.
Breathe and hold for three, two,one.
Put that left foot on the mat.
Roll your butt onto the floor,but keep your right thigh open
and flat.
Right thigh open and flat.
Push down into that left foot.
So make sure the left foot islike in a bridge.
(56:00):
Your left leg is like we'redoing bridge right and your
right leg is in the halfbutterfly.
Push down into that left foot.
Tell, maybe you can lift theleft hip, maybe you can push
down hard enough that the righthip, even though it's passive,
not doing a gosh darn thing,that lazy hip is going to lift
as well.
And try to reduce the amount ofangle of your left hip so you
(56:24):
are as extended as possible,maybe fully extended.
Hold for three, two and one,and then you're all the way onto
your back, so you'll probablyhave to shimmy yourself back to
the center of your mat.
Make sure that your blanketisn't too thick.
Now Bring your feet flat, walkyour feet together and let your
(56:55):
two knees open up.
Two knees open up, yeah.
Bring your hands to the frontof your pelvis, kind of like you
want to rest them on your thehip creases.
The hip flexors are notconfined to the hip creases, but
(57:18):
that is the place where we tendto experience them the most.
So your hip flexors and yourcapacity to flex your hips
actually starts in your lumbarspine.
It goes past these hip creasesall the way down the thigh, even
to the lower leg bone, right,all of these required for good
(57:39):
hip flexion.
Use your breath now.
Breathe into those hands on thehip creases, so feel an
inhalation of the hip creasesand then exhale from the hip
creases, exhale them.
Do a couple more breaths likethat, yeah.
(58:28):
And then, one leg at a time,send your heels out to those
corners, those back corners.
If you'd like, you could takeyour bolster under your thighs.
That's what I would dopersonally, just to find a
little softness in the front ofthe pelvis.
But if that doesn't appeal toyou, no need, you don't have to.
(58:53):
And with your thighs restingeither on the floor or on that
bolster, just gently rock yourhips side to side, side to side,
and be satisfied, content withvery little range of motion.
Yeah, very little range ofmotion.
It's just a tiny movement, yeah, and the movement gets tinier
(59:25):
and tinier and tinier until it'sjust a little bit in the middle
, right, like a coin that's beenspinning, and it slows down,
kind of rocks, in that verysmall area, until it lays flat.
One more time, breathe into thefront of your pelvis, inhale it
(59:53):
and then, as you exhale it,allow the body just to let go,
surrender into those props foryour shavasana.
Right, it's time to deepen thebreath, time to restore movement
(01:03:11):
to the body, small movements atfirst, and when you're ready,
you'll roll onto the side ofyour choice and you'll rest,
(01:03:39):
roll into your hands and rise upto your seat, press your palms
together in front of your heart,bow your head.
Thank you so much for sharingyour practice with me today.
Welcome to the Yin Yoga Podcast.
I'm your host, mandy Ryle, andI am thrilled to be able to
offer for you this week a podpractice which is all about the
front of your hip.
Sometimes we refer to this areaas the hip flexors, but of
(00:22):
course, it's much more than that.
It is a much more holisticexperience.
So, just like probably everyyoga teacher on the planet, I
often get requests for stretchesfor the hip flexors, for the
front of the hip.
This is an area which is oftenvery tight, can sometimes be
(00:45):
sore or even painful.
I have clients who, in fact,have some mobility restrictions
around even extending their hipbecause of some problems in this
area, and so I certainly dounderstand the compulsion to
stretch.
However, what I always try toimpart to my students and to my
(01:05):
clients is that your livedexperience in your body is more
than just the state of yourtissues.
The experience of the body isinfluenced by, yes, our biology,
but also our psychology, ourthoughts, our beliefs, our
feelings, our fears, ourmemories.
It is influenced by our socialsetting.
(01:27):
Our experience of our body alsohas a spiritual component, so
the biopsychosocial, spiritualmodel of experience is what I'm
trying to bring forth in thispractice.
I want to let you in on alittle bit of a secret.
(01:49):
I'm going to give away my tradesecret here, okay, so when we
have tightness accompanied bypain, what we need is not
stretching.
What we need is to provide aprofound sense of safety in the
area and a profound sense ofconfidence, fearlessness in the
(02:17):
area, and as far as I'mconcerned, there's really no
better way to do this than byactivating.
So that's what we'll do in thispractice you will activate to
release and you will find thisbeautiful awareness and this
safety and this confidence thatyou really need to feel better
in your hips.
So if you're someone who isstruggling here with the front
of your hips, you're going tolove this practice.
(02:39):
You should definitely save it.
But even if you're justsomebody who likes a practice
that feels really freaking great, you will enjoy this practice.
You will need to have a bolster, a couple of yoga blocks and a
blanket for this practice.
Earlier this month, I had theopportunity to do a masterclass
webinar all about sequencing.
(03:01):
I find that listeners to thispodcast whether you are a
student of VN and you love topractice at home on your own,
like with this podcast, oryou're a teacher of VN.
Finding that extra specialmagic in your sequences is not
easy, so I wanted to providesome really simple tips and
(03:23):
tools that you could use tocreate your next sequence and
make it really truly magical.
Obviously, the masterclass hasalready occurred.
However, the replay is stillavailable.
So if you would like access tothat replay, it's really simple
Just quickly scroll down intothese show notes for this show,
(03:47):
click the link for themasterclass webinar.
You'll have to then registerit's just your email and your
first name and then I'll send itright over, no strings attached
.
You'll have it in your inboxbefore you finish your practice.
Okay, thank you so much,everyone for being a listener to
the Yan Yoga podcast.
I really hope you enjoy thisspecial practice.
(04:16):
As you're facing the front ofyour mat, put your blanket on
the left, bolster on the rightblocks go behind that bolster,
and the blanket and the bolsterare kind of mid mat region.
We got it.
And now you're going to comedown to your belly with your
head toward the front of yourmat, head toward the front of
(04:39):
your mat.
So you're on your belly and asyou're coming down, you get to
establish how you'd like to restyour head.
Will you be on your forehead,will you be on your cheek, will
you rest your head on your palmsor right on the mat?
And this is kind of a difficultposition in some ways to start
(05:07):
in, I think.
So you have my permission tokind of fidget around and make
sure you're happy with the wayyour ribs are placed, your feet,
so that you can find some levelof contentment, and as you
(05:41):
begin to deepen the inhales andthe exhales just a little,
notice your back ribs, noticeyour back ribs, yeah, and then
(06:05):
maybe you'll change a littlesomething about the back ribs.
So, on the inhale, maybe you'lllet those ribs kind of float up
, expand, and the exhale isreally a very slow collapse
assisted by gravity.
(06:26):
Really, inhale, feel those ribswiden and expand, exhale, feel
that slow collapse assisted bygravity and perhaps resisted by
your will.
(06:46):
Right, you don't want the ribsto just fall, you want a slow
release.
(07:10):
And now transfer the attentionto the front of the pelvis, to
the front of the pelvis so, asyou breathe in, notice if
anything changes about itsposition as you breathe out,
notice if anything changes aboutits position or if everything
(07:38):
stays the same on the inhale,the exhale, in between all of it
, and you might also be awarethat things are not exactly the
same on the right and the left.
Maybe one hip feels heavier,wider, higher, and if that's
(08:12):
what you find, of course,there's no need whatsoever to
try to change it.
Just notice it.
Now I'd like for you to beginto rock your pelvis side to side
(08:41):
, just right and left, and letgo of the expectation that
you're going to get a lot ofmovement out of this.
In fact, something smallermight be better.
Something smaller might bebetter, and begin to establish a
tempo, almost like walkingright, how the pelvis kind of
(09:07):
tilt side to side when you walk,something like that.
So just a really quiet effort,but a whole lot of attention,
right, you might notice, indoing this without your legs
swinging.
That's actually pretty complex.
There's activity in the frontof the hip, back of the hip,
(09:33):
sides of the hip, activity inyour spine, other parts of your
legs, and the next time you'verocked over to that right side,
just stay.
Stay there and plant the palmof your left hand onto the mat
(09:58):
beside your chest and bring yourright leg a little closer to
your left leg, just for balancehere for a second, so that you
can bring your left knee andshin out onto the blanket which
I had you set a moment ago, andso it's going to look like a
half frog, right the left leg,like in a half frog.
Now keep your left knee andyour left toes turned out, but
(10:25):
send your heel toward that backleft corner of your mat.
So it's just going to gostraight back.
It's going to slide on thefloor on the blanket, and then
bring your left knee back to thehalf frog and then overshoot it
, bringing your left knee towardyour left elbow, and then let
that left arm rest If youhaven't already, it can just
(10:46):
rest and then re-extend the leftleg, sending the heel back, and
then, once again, you'll flexthe hip and overshoot it.
Pull the knee toward your elbow, so just sliding up and down,
(11:08):
maybe pausing briefly, with theknee really tucked up toward the
elbow, so that you can start tofeel a little warmth in the hip
flexor region, front of the hipregion.
Yeah, all, right, now the nexttime that knee is drawn up
(11:45):
toward your elbow, keep it thereand imagine that you're still
pulling the knee toward theelbow, still pulling it up,
although it stopped moving right, but the intent is still there
and you'll feel a little bit ofwarmth, maybe even that little
burn which is the hallmark ofmuscles working fatiguing.
(12:06):
That's what we want.
Okay, release that intent andjust bring the leg to a more
traditional half frog position,down a little bit, out a little,
if you'd like, and we'll take afew breaths in the half frog
Once again, just noticing thefront of the pelvis as you
breathe in and out.
Any changes to position,changes in experience,
(12:32):
sensations, okay.
(12:57):
So this next transition is alittle tricky.
So here's what we'll do.
I'm just going to laybreadcrumbs, I'm going to give
you one cue at a time and you'lljust execute one cue at a time
and we'll end up seamlessly,beautifully, in our next posture
(13:21):
.
Once again, you're going toplant the palm of the left hand
onto the mat beside your chest,send your right arm straight
forward toward the front andthen use that left hand to push
you onto your right side withyour head resting on your arm.
So you're just on your side,your knees still on the blanket.
(13:45):
Now draw your right knee underyour left knee so your two
thighs will be stacked.
Two thighs stacked, yes.
And then bring your right armout to the right and your left
arm out to the left as you rollyour heart open toward the
ceiling for your supine twist.
(14:12):
There's a couple of reallyimportant steps here that I'd
like for you to take.
Number one make sure that yourright shoulder blade is flat on
the mat.
It should not be wedged in anyway, because that'll really
inhibit your ability to use yourthoracic spine to rotate.
And then the other thing isthat your left knee may not be
on your right knee.
Your left knee may float up offof that right knee.
(14:35):
Mine does, for example.
Yeah, and before I really letyou settle in to your supine
(15:01):
twist, I'm going to have youdraw your left knee again, this
time up toward your chest.
So keep the knee pointed to theright, but kind of just flex
the hip, just practice flexingthe hip, that's all.
And then allow that left legjust to soften a back into the
twisted position, right, yeah,and then draw it in toward your
(15:24):
chest and then let it go, settleit over the right thigh again.
Let's do three more.
And even once you've found thatposition where the hip is
flexed completely, it's notmoving anymore I'd like for you
to maintain the intent of movingit just for a beat once it
(15:45):
comes up toward that chest.
We'll do one more, and thistime you're going to hold.
You're going to hold that thightowards your chest, you're
going to hold it there.
Maybe your hand needs to holdthe knee, maybe it doesn't.
Maybe you'll start to feel thatfatigue.
That's what we need and thenrest again.
(16:07):
And then you're supine twist.
So the left thigh just settledover the right thigh for a few
breaths and you might feel likeyou have a little bit more
rotation now.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Though we don't really like thatfeeling of muscle fatigue,
(16:32):
especially in yoga.
We really don't like it Instrength resistance training.
We love it.
It's a sign that we're workingthe right muscles, the right
groups of muscles.
But in this type of practice,think of it as a sign that your
(16:56):
body is perking up.
That's learning, that fatigueis learning.
We'll take one more breath inthe supine twist.
(17:51):
Roll back onto that right sideagain.
Plant the left palm again it'sabout the same position as been
in.
Press up to a side, sit.
You're going to be sitting onthat right hip, good.
Then turn your body completelytoward the back of your mat.
Send your left heel to thatback left corner of your mat,
(18:15):
with the sole of the right footagainst the inner right thigh or
the knee whatever works bestfor you.
Turn your heart, your eyestoward that left foot.
Keep your heart and your eyesturned toward the left foot, but
bring your hands back behindyou and lean into them.
Tilt your pelvis back.
(18:36):
It doesn't have to be neat andpretty like we like to do.
Tilt your pelvis back almostlike a little hunch position, if
that's okay for your shoulders.
If your pelvis tilted back andyour knee so soft, lift the left
leg a couple of inches awayfrom the floor.
(18:57):
I will tell you that mostpeople try to lift their leg
with their knee.
The knee can only extend theknee and then lower it back down
.
Rest.
It cannot flex your hip for you.
For that we'll need our hipflexors.
Go ahead, lift that leg.
If you're having trouble withit.
Know that you're in goodcompany.
This is really hard.
Lower it down.
(19:19):
Now let's try somethingdifferent.
Find that anterior tilt in yourpelvis, what we usually
associate with good posture,although that's not necessarily
true.
Then lift that left leg withthe anterior tilt and release
One more time with anterior tiltand release.
(19:40):
Then alternate between the twofor a few repetitions Tilting
back, lifting up soft knees,soft ankle, lower down, tilt
forward, lift the thigh, couplemore, one more of each.
One more of each Posterior,anterior.
(20:07):
Actually, do one more posterior.
Bring your time, one moreanterior this time.
Hold, it's going to burn, it'sgoing to feel warm, breathe,
breathe into that learning.
Then maintain the anterior tiltas the leg is lowered back to
(20:28):
the ground.
Lift up and fold over that leftleg.
Now I had you put your blocksback there earlier in the
practice, just in case you wantthem under your elbows.
But if you're just kind ofwanting a low-tech experience,
you don't have to use them.
Just let your head hang.
(20:51):
Don't worry about it beingbeautiful and perfect, just in
your imagination.
Imagine that you were going tolift that left leg and then
release it.
Do two more, just two more.
Imagine You'll notice that inimagining muscles do engage.
(21:14):
Your somatic nervous systemuses the same hardware to make a
plan and also to execute a plan.
The next time you are imaginingyour leg releasing, allow it to
soften, just extra, extra Melt,and feel that warmth
(21:40):
distributed, that learningexpanded.
You'll hold your half butterflyhere.
Let that neck be soft as well.
(22:10):
The jaw, the tongue.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
How important is that to keep above.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
One more breath in our half butterfly.
Press down into your hands torise up to vertical seated
position.
Nice, soft posture.
Maybe the eyes close, lean backinto your hands again.
(23:21):
Once again I'm just going tolay breadcrumbs.
So the next position you'll bein is not a familiar yin shape,
but we'll get there together, noproblem.
So you're going to bring thesole of the right foot flat, so
that kneecap is pointed up now,and then just take that right
(23:43):
foot and cross it over to theoutside of the left leg, so your
footprint is planted on theoutside of the left leg.
And then this is kind of funnyYou're just going to use that
right foot to sort of nudge yourleft leg more to the center of
your mat.
So you kind of heel toe yourfoot and almost passively
nudging your left leg more tothe right.
(24:07):
A couple more times, try it,use your foot to do it.
That's the skill we want tolearn here before we transition.
And then lean more into the lefthand, look past your left
shoulder back toward the frontof your mat and roll onto your
left side with your left leglong and your right foot against
(24:28):
the left thigh.
Yep, so nothing about the legschanges.
You just lay down on your sideagain and support your head if
you need to, okay, and then seeif maybe you might want to nudge
.
Now that you're on your side,nudge your left leg even further
toward the center of the mat,using your right foot to just
(24:49):
passively extend your hip foryou right.
Just nudge, nudge, nudge, evena little bit more.
So do, do, do, do, do, do, do.
Yep, exactly.
And it kind of holds it in place, does it not?
Now, the bottom knee, that leftknee, bend it.
Bend that bottom knee, bringyour heel toward your rear end,
(25:11):
roll your heart open now to thesky.
Roll your heart open and see ifmaybe it's possible for you to
maybe do a little almost like abanana shape with your upper
body so that the right hand cancatch that left foot and you may
need to use your left foot tonudge your knee back even a
little bit more, finding areally nice extension Right.
(25:34):
Use this foot to kind of do, do, do, do, do, do, yes, and then
it's a nice back bend.
Yeah, you got it.
That's all you need, and if youcan't catch your foot, it's
totally fine.
It's totally fine.
Sometimes people will use like amat strap or something to grab
it to your left arm.
Just reach out to the left.
We're not using it right now.
(25:55):
Keep your right shoulder bladenear the floor, probably not
touching, but maybe.
But use the left ankle pressinginto excuse me, the right ankle
, pressing into the left thighto stack your right hip over
(26:16):
your left hip.
Keep your shoulders on thefloor.
Work to stack your right hiponto your left hip and then
bring your right hip back down,like it wants to touch the floor
.
It may not touch, though, andthen, once again, you're going
to kind of pull back with thatright heel, try to stack your
right hip onto your left hip andthen bring your right hip back
down, maybe with a littlepushing of the sole of that
(26:37):
right foot.
We're going to do a few more ofthose.
Obviously it's individual, butI think this feels really so
good.
I'm going to give you a fewmore of those.
Stacking the hip yeah, and don'tmake it too complicated right
Holding the foot, if you can,continuing to hold that foot.
(27:00):
Stacking the hip, becausethat's part of it.
You know, we always talk aboutstretching the hip flexors, and
when we think about stretching,we always think about stretching
from origin to insertion andotherwise lengthwise, which
makes sense because that's thedirection, sort of, of the
muscle fibers.
But this muscle, the primarymuscle that we're working, the
(27:25):
psoas, is not flat.
It presents circumferentially,sort of like a I hate to do this
, but like a pork tenderloin.
Okay, so you're sort of rollingthe right hip onto the left hip
and you're bringing it back.
Think about how you're sort ofjust rotating, twisting that
(27:47):
psoas, yeah, not from a deeperstretch to provide hydration,
positive input.
Do one more.
And the next time your righthip is stacked onto your left
hip, you shall hold.
Right hip stacked onto left hip, you shall hold.
Maybe overshoot it a little bitand kick that right foot out
(28:10):
onto the bolster which I hadjust set at the beginning of
your practice.
Rest the ankle on that bolsterand if your leg is sliding away,
try rolling even more onto yourside.
And if you can't hold your footand be on your side, that's
okay.
You don't have to hold yourfoot.
Yeah, for cat pulling its tail.
(28:30):
You got it.
This is it.
Yes, and you could even restyour arm.
Yes, yeah, that's it.
That's it.
That's the pose.
It's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Yeah, good job, guys, let's set yours up for
tonight's lessonE.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
We'll just take one more breath and cat pulling its
tail.
You'll release your tail ifyou're still holding it.
Roll back again onto that leftside, press into the right hand
(29:59):
this time and come to a brieftabletop, a brief all fours.
And this is really just abouthousekeeping.
We just need to switch ourprops.
So we're just going to bringthe bolster to the left and the
blanket to the right and thenyou're going to find your way
back onto your belly, rest onyour belly again and even as
(30:23):
you're still arriving on yourbelly, just kind of rocking your
hips side to side and noticingif it feels the same as before,
maybe a little different,exactly the same.
Yeah, it's hard.
(30:46):
Right.
Now, get that tempo, thatwalking tempo right.
And when you start to get thatwalking tempo, you might feel
how much your glutes areinvolved right.
Next time you rock to the left,plant the palm of the right
(31:17):
hand, bring your left leg alittle bit closer to the midline
of the mat just to make iteasier for you to balance, and
then you're going to pop thatright knee onto your blanket.
Try to have the blanket underyour ankle as well, if you can,
so you're in basically a halffrog right and then keep your
(31:40):
right knee and your toes turnedout as you send your heel back,
yeah, and if you have to turnyour knee down to get your heel
all the way back, then you'regoing too far.
Yeah.
And then draw the knee uptoward your shoulder, go ahead
and rest that right arm.
(32:01):
Now Rest that right arm and ifyou want, you can kind of like
point the elbow down toward thedirection of the knee so you
have something to aim for andthen re-extend.
So we'll do a few and each timeI'd like for you to try to just
give a little bit of a pausewith your hip in that flexed
(32:24):
position.
You know I love yin but I alsoreally love strength.
I'm a strength specialist andyou know we have exercises for
(32:48):
the whole lower body.
We've got exercises for theglutes and the hamstrings and
the calves, ankles, feet, quads.
We don't really have anythingfor the hip flexors.
Like there's no machines at thegym for your hip flexors right.
Next time that knee is drawn up, I'm going to have you hold,
(33:12):
pretend that the knee is stillmoving.
Like just this level of intentKnee is still moving.
For three, keep pulling two, oneand then let the leg, come back
to a more traditional half frogposition, rest for a few
breaths and just feel that nicewarmth, that learning.
(33:35):
Okay, we're done here.
One more breath and half frog,so you'll plant the palm of the
(34:29):
right hand beside your chest,the left arm.
You'll reach forward all theway out, reach forward, yeah.
And then push down into thatright hand, roll onto your side.
Your head just rolls up ontoyour arm, Good.
(34:50):
And then draw your bottom kneeunder your top knee, so left
knee draws under right knee, sothe thighs are stacked at this
point, yes.
And then reach your left armout to the left as you open your
chest into your supine twist,into your supine twist, and your
knee will probably lift.
(35:11):
The top knee will probably lift, yeah, okay, pull your hand
just a little bit there and Ithink, if the feet come out an
inch, yeah, good, the top knee,keep it pointed, Keep it pointed
(35:38):
to the left, but pull that kneetowards your heart, yeah.
And then bring the knee andjust stack it over the left knee
again.
Yeah, we're going to do that.
Let's do five more.
So pull it in.
Yeah, remember, we're teaching.
We are teaching our hip flexors.
(36:00):
Now.
Stretching also teaches yourhip flexors, of course, but it
can't always be aboutflexibility, right, mobility is
also about strength, somaticawareness skill, neuromuscular
skill.
That's learning.
(36:21):
We'll do two more.
We got a little pause with theknee all drawn in in that flex
position, or the thigh, I shouldsay.
And this last time I'm going tohave you just hold with the
thigh or the hip flexors flexed,flexing the hip, and you'll
hold as if the knee is stillmoving.
The knee is still moving forthree, two, one and then just
(36:49):
rest.
Just rest in your pose, relax.
You might even find that yoursupine twist feels a little
gentler now.
Yeah, if you haven't already,just check on that left shoulder
blade, make sure it's fullyflat.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Good.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
When there are issues with the hip flexors, that
feeling of discomfort, stiffness, tightness, weakness we feel
strongly compelled to stretch.
(38:06):
The subjective feeling of thatexperience for some reason
compels us to stretch, butunfortunately we don't actually
possess any sensory anatomycapable of telling us what we
(38:34):
need.
So sometimes we get signalsthat are not so helpful, because
quite often stretching doesn'treally help right.
Instead we need to engage insome really deep and patient
learning like this.
Let's take one more breath inSupine twist, you'll roll back
(39:23):
onto your left side.
You'll plant that right hand.
Just follow the butt crumbs,help yourself up to that side,
sit on that left hip and thenturn your body fully to the back
(39:43):
of your mat.
Turn your body fully to theback of your mat, extend your
right heel out toward that rightback corner, solo the left foot
somewhere along that inner leftthigh, turn your heart, your
eyes towards your right foot andthen lean back into your hands.
Tilt your pelvis back to start,and the knee, the ankle, so
(40:06):
soft, so gentle as you lift theleg a couple of inches away, yes
, and then release and then tiltyour pelvis forward.
Anterior lift, release, keepalternating.
Lift just a beat at the top,release, keep alternating that
(40:33):
pelvic tilt and try using yourbreath.
You know when it gets hard wehold the breath.
But if we're trying torecondition these tissues to be
more compliant, we should trainthem with the right attitude,
(40:55):
right An attitude of contentment.
So use your breath tofacilitate that contentment.
Next time you are in theanterior tilt and you lift your
leg, you will remain for three,two, one.
(41:21):
You'll release the leg to thefloor.
You'll lift up tall before youfold over that right leg, any
amount.
Fold over that right leg.
Use your props if you'd like.
If you decide to use yourbolster, it's fine.
It's just going to need to goback to that spot on the right
when you finish.
And then, just in yourimagination, three times only,
(41:47):
feeling as if you're going tolift that leg and then release
it three times only, and thenyou're just resting in your half
(42:13):
butterfly.
Try to keep that neck soft,throat soft, the eyes soft, and
(43:04):
then you're just resting in yourhalf butterfly.
Just one more breath.
(43:41):
Use your hands to help you riseback up.
Sit tall, soft, soft, and thenlean back into your hands again.
Bring the sole of the left footflat with the kneecap pointed
(44:05):
up now, yes, and then cross theankle to the outside of the
right leg.
Breadcrumbs here, right.
Now use that left foot to nudgeyour right leg to the center.
You've got fair amount of rangeof motion here for that, you
know, okay.
And then, once you're happy thatyou've sort of figured that
(44:26):
skill out here, where it'seasier, you're going to lean
into your right hand, look backtoward the front of your mat
again and then come to lay onyour right side with your legs
still in this funky position.
You're on your side, you're onyour side, good.
And then once again use thatleft foot to nudge your right
thigh back toward the other edgeof your mat.
(44:48):
Nudge so that essentiallyyou're passively extending your
hip.
You know, perfect, well done.
Now bend the bottom knee thatright knee is, if you want to
bring your heel to your butt andthen roll your heart open.
Roll your heart open, reachthat right arm out to the right
(45:10):
we don't need it to be upoverhead anymore and then find
almost like a little banana,like a really gentle arch to the
left to see if maybe your lefthand can find your right foot.
Yes, good.
And then we're going to keepthe hand on the foot.
The shoulder is relativelystable.
It's all about bringing theleft hip over the right hip and
(45:34):
if you can keep holding yourfoot, go ahead.
If you can't hold it, it's fine, you know.
So try to use that left ankle,kind of pushing into that right
thigh, to stack your left hipover your right hip any amount,
and then maybe you'll push downinto the sole of the foot to
bring your left hip back to themat.
You try, yes, and that I justthink it feels so lovely.
(45:57):
Right, it's a little bit of astretch.
So we've got a little bit oftraction on hip flexors, but I
love this idea that we can kindof roll them.
Yeah, because tissues can hurtfor thousands of reasons which
(46:20):
have nothing to do withtightness.
But we do know that people tendto feel a little bit more
compliant, a little softer, alittle more release when tissues
are well hydrated, which iswhat this is for.
Let's do two more.
(46:49):
You guys are good, you got itStacking and we can keep that
foot flat on the floor.
It doesn't need to move around.
And then let's see Next timeyou have your left hip stacked
over your right hip, you stayand then kick your left foot out
(47:15):
onto the bolster which we set awhile back.
If you're still holding yourfoot, great.
If you got to let go of it now,that's fine too.
If you find that your foot issliding, sliding, sliding
because it likes to do that andcat pulling its tail, try to be
more assertively onto your rightside.
The more you can get onto thatright side, the more your leg
(47:35):
will stay put, so you don't feellike you're having to hold it
the whole time For cat pullingits tail.
Yeah, yeah, and even here, aflat right shoulder blade could
be really helpful.
Yes, right, a flat rightshoulder blade.
(47:59):
It just like the world justtransforms itself once that
shoulder blade is flat againstthe mat.
I think it's pivotal.
Yes, okay, we'll make this thefinal breath and cat pulling its
(49:01):
tail, and then you'll roll backonto your right side.
Let go of your tail if you'restill holding it.
Roll back onto your side andthen up to all fours.
Up to all fours, your headtoward the front and your all
(49:23):
fours and your hands a littlemore forward than they would
usually be in a tabletop, andthen lean forward so your
shoulders are over those hands,your butt is forward from your
knees, and then draw your lefthip under, like your left side,
only wants to do the cat Right.
(49:46):
Your right hip is also doing it, by the way, but we're going to
focus on the left hip.
Then arc your left hip out tothe left, just kind of round it
off to the left as your hipmoves over your knee and here
you're tilting your pelvis.
So your left hip thinks it's inthe cow.
Arc to the left as you comeforward, shoulders over hands,
(50:12):
tuck that left hip.
There's your cat right, thenarc to the left and as you go
you're going to find that cowshape.
You want to touch the front ofyour hip to your thigh, go out
to the left.
This is where you want toextend your hip as much as you
can.
(50:33):
Let's do two more.
So we're going to go back tothat Cow, really flexing the hip
, and then we're going to goback to the cat, really
extending the hip.
Stay in the cat, walk both knees, then to the right so that you
can bring your left hip downagain into a side sit, this time
(50:55):
facing the side of your mat,and then roll onto your left
side.
You could support your headwith your left arm or you can
drag your blanket under yourhead because we don't need it
off to the side anymore.
So your knees are stacked andthen lift your right foot away
(51:15):
from your left foot, likethere's a block between your
feet, like there's just a blockbetween yes, and then maintain
this space as if the block isstill there, but point your
right knee up to the ceiling.
So maintain the space as ifyour right foot is still sort of
on that block, but point yourright knee to the ceiling and
then keep the block space, butbring your right knee back down,
(51:37):
maybe to touch your left knee,maybe not Keep the block space.
Lift, point the knee to theceiling.
So a little rotation, right?
Oh, that's hard right.
And then back down, do a couplemore.
Yes, it's fabulous.
(51:58):
Last one, and this time holdwith your knee pointed up you
can do it.
And then bring your foot flat tothe mat, roll yourself so
you're almost flat on your back,with your left thigh still flat
(52:23):
, though, no, so not quite rightLeft thigh still relaxed on the
floor.
And then let's do this Justpush down into that right foot,
like your right leg wants to doa bridge pose.
Your left side, though, is justheavy, passive.
Keep pushing down, down downinto that right foot.
Maybe you can lift your righthip, maybe you can push hard
(52:44):
enough that your left, passive,heavy hip lifts away from the
floor as well.
What do you think?
Can you pick up that left side,even though it's not helping at
all, and try to find anextension in your hip?
That means your hip crease nolonger at an angle, but flat,
try, try, try, try, try, perfect.
(53:05):
And then release, roll to yourside and back to tabletop.
That was good, good job, guys.
Your hands farther forward thanyour typical off-orse Shoulders
, over wrists, look your righthip under.
(53:27):
So we're just working with theright, but the left side is
going to come along, of course,and arc out to the right and, as
your hip moves over the knee,find the cow.
It's not any cow, though.
I want you to really try tobring the front of your pelvis
toward the front of your thigh.
Use those hip flexors in ashortened position, arc out to
the right and find the cat.
(53:48):
So we're finding a lengthenedposition for hip flexors, but
they're still working prettyhard.
Do you feel that that's what wewant?
That's that eccentriccontraction which tendons and
muscles alike really seem toenjoy.
Find that cat, or, excuse me,the cow with the flexion and
then still activated in the hipflexors, but extended for the
(54:12):
cat.
One more cow, back to the cat.
Stay.
And then let's walk both kneesto the left so you can come to
the right hip for a side sit andthen all the way down onto your
(54:34):
right side.
Make sure your head issupported there, and we'll put
that imaginary block between thefeet, and then you'll lift the
knee, point it at the sky yeah,and if your hip slides back a
lot, you might be trying to dotoo much range of motion.
(54:56):
And then we'll tap the leftknee onto the right knee or
close the intent.
Keep that block space, lift theknee.
Try not to rock the hips openthough, which means your range
of motion may be minimal andslightly unsatisfying.
Tap the knee down, keep theblock space.
Lift the knee without openingthe hip.
(55:16):
Yes, it's really hard, boy.
It's activating, is it not?
Do two more, so activating,right?
We forget that the hip is asystem.
It's not just discreet musclesthat we like have a lot of
antagonism toward.
It is a system.
Last time knee points up, blockspace maintained.
(55:39):
Try not to open the hips.
Breathe and hold for three, two,one.
Put that left foot on the mat.
Roll your butt onto the floor,but keep your right thigh open
and flat.
Right thigh open and flat.
Push down into that left foot.
So make sure the left foot islike in a bridge.
(56:00):
Your left leg is like we'redoing bridge right and your
right leg is in the halfbutterfly.
Push down into that left foot.
Tell, maybe you can lift theleft hip, maybe you can push
down hard enough that the righthip, even though it's passive,
not doing a gosh darn thing,that lazy hip is going to lift
as well.
And try to reduce the amount ofangle of your left hip so you
(56:24):
are as extended as possible,maybe fully extended.
Hold for three, two and one,and then you're all the way onto
your back, so you'll probablyhave to shimmy yourself back to
the center of your mat.
Make sure that your blanketisn't too thick.
Now Bring your feet flat, walkyour feet together and let your
(56:55):
two knees open up.
Two knees open up, yeah.
Bring your hands to the frontof your pelvis, kind of like you
want to rest them on your thehip creases.
The hip flexors are notconfined to the hip creases, but
(57:18):
that is the place where we tendto experience them the most.
So your hip flexors and yourcapacity to flex your hips
actually starts in your lumbarspine.
It goes past these hip creasesall the way down the thigh, even
to the lower leg bone, right,all of these required for good
(57:39):
hip flexion.
Use your breath now.
Breathe into those hands on thehip creases, so feel an
inhalation of the hip creasesand then exhale from the hip
creases, exhale them.
Do a couple more breaths likethat, yeah.
(58:28):
And then, one leg at a time,send your heels out to those
corners, those back corners.
If you'd like, you could takeyour bolster under your thighs.
That's what I would dopersonally, just to find a
little softness in the front ofthe pelvis.
But if that doesn't appeal toyou, no need, you don't have to.
(58:53):
And with your thighs restingeither on the floor or on that
bolster, just gently rock yourhips side to side, side to side,
and be satisfied, content withvery little range of motion.
Yeah, very little range ofmotion.
It's just a tiny movement, yeah, and the movement gets tinier
(59:25):
and tinier and tinier until it'sjust a little bit in the middle
, right, like a coin that's beenspinning, and it slows down,
kind of rocks, in that verysmall area, until it lays flat.
One more time, breathe into thefront of your pelvis, inhale it
(59:53):
and then, as you exhale it,allow the body just to let go,
surrender into those props foryour shavasana.
Right, it's time to deepen thebreath, time to restore movement
(01:03:11):
to the body, small movements atfirst, and when you're ready,
you'll roll onto the side ofyour choice and you'll rest,
(01:03:39):
roll into your hands and rise upto your seat, press your palms
together in front of your heart,bow your head.
Thank you so much for sharingyour practice with me today.
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