HIP OPENING WORKSHOP

​Why hip opening?

Physical benefits:

-Talk of lifestyle issues; sitting for long hours in front of screens leads to
tightness in hips and legs. Poor circulation.
-hips and legs form the foundation of the body alignment.
- Make our gait agile
- Improve circulation in the legs.
- To improve the posture.
- Improves daily functional ability like walking, running. Also enhances
performance in a variety of sports.
- To create more ease and enjoyment in your regular practice of asanas.
- Hips are linked to the lower back. so tightness in our hips/ pelvis lead to
stiffness and pain in the lower back. Tight hips put extra load on the
lower back asking for extra effort from the spine, causing back pain, Hip
opening will alleviate that.

-The mobility and openness of our hips are linked to all forward
bends. When our hips are tight, chances are that you will find
forward bending very challenging. Hip opening improves and brings
ease in our forward bends.

EMOTIONAL BENEFITS( subtle benefits)

-Hips are associated with the root ​chakra/mooladhara

- Seat of a lot of stored negative emotions. Infact the pelvis is like a

basement or a junk drawer . Any feeling we dont know what to do
with is junked there!​We keep throwing junk in it subconsciously
making it a storehouse of insecurity, fear, guilt etc.

By stretching and opening hips, we help to release a lot of the stuff we

are holding onto.

Hip opening helps releasing those unwanted emotions. And we

experience immense freedom not just physically but mentally and
emotionally as well. We experience an immediate release energetically!
Enough of talking. Now the doing!

A word of caution: Try not to push too much. Be gentle with yourself.
Use your breath. Allow it to move through the poses​.

PRACTICE

Surya Namaskar- 4 med paced, 1 long holding one, 3 slow stretching

ones ( with longer holding and focus on position no 4 and 9)

Longish relaxation.

LEG STRETCHING

- Single leg circling

- single leg hold
- Open the leg and stretch it sideways out ( Right leg stretched to right
hold and same on left)
- half happy baby pose
- toe to heart, to chin, to forehead, to top of head behind the head. Half
yoga nidra

DOUBLE LEG
- double leg raising: inhale both legs up. Take them wide apart and circle
down,( 12 times)
- split legs stretch hold
- happy baby pose. hold. Rock side to side
-

Relaxation

Dynamic bridge: Inhale lift hips up, abdomen up and chest up and lift
arms and stretch them behind your head. Exhale hips down arms down (
repeat 4 times. Hold the last one long)

Butterfly/ baddhakonansana / rocking the baby

Boat pose hold ( and then legs wide apart)

Wide legged seated forward bend with lateral stretches: Legs wide apart.
Toes pointed in. heels away. Lateral stretch to to right. Hold. Lateral (
sideways ) stretch to the left hold.
And then stretch arms up and bend forward and down. Hold and breathe.

Downward facing dog ( stretches): Come to inverted V position.

-leg lift, leg lift holds. Inhale right leg up as high, Then bend knee and
drop the right heel towards the left buttock. Look up at ceiling from your
right under arm and hold, Repeat on left.

-lizard: From inverted V: bring right foot forward outside the right foot.
Drop left knee down. Bring your palms, elbow and forearms on the mat (
as much as you can ) and then bring your head and chest down . Hold and
breathe. Repeat on left.

- malasana: : from the above bring right foot forward outside right foot.
And the left food forward outside. And then squat. Hands in prayer. Hold.

-ashwachalana to hamstring stretch@ 3 alt legs

Come rest in childs pose. Do the cat and cow stretch.

STANDING POSTURES

Standing split: From standing forward bend position lift right leg up
towards ceiling and hold and then left leg up and hold.

Legs wide apart forward bend with different arm variations.( hands on
ankles.flat on the mat in the middle. interlocked behind the back)

One balance ( right knee to chest. Then hold big toe and extend right leg
forward. Balancing on left leg) or you can do Natrajasana.

Relax in shavasana for a few breaths.

legs split seated forward bend ( if there is time)

inclined plane

Prep to KAPOTASANA
Depending on the class ability and time. Try the full ​SPLIT.

Final relaxation