Yoga for Hip Pain Relief

 Yoga is by far my favorite form of exercise. The rush of relaxation at the end of a session is enough to keep me coming back for more, but yoga has even more benefits! One of the most important things you can gain from yoga is pain relief. In an ideal world we would all have time for a full-length yoga class everyday and our joints would feel amazing. But we live in the real world. And not everyone is in love with yoga. For this reason, I am focusing on specific areas of pain and specific poses, or asanas, to help alleviate this pain. Please keep in mind that doing a full practice is more beneficial than simply repeating the same asanas.

Flexible hips help us to stay mobile. The following poses help alleviate hip pain by stretching out your hip joints.

Half Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)

Start in Downward Facing Dog. Sweep your right leg up into the air and then bring it down past your left leg. Bend your right knee in front of you and place it on the mat while extending your left knee out straight behind you. Square your hips toward the front of the room. Gently extend your arms forward and place your forehead on your mat. Keep breathing and stay in the asana for one minute.

To come out of the asana, gently rise your head, press up on your hands, and bring your right leg back into Downward Facing Dog.

Repeat on the left side.

Modification: Foot to Knee Pose*

If Half Pigeon places too much pressure on your knees, use Foot to Knee instead. Lie down on your back. Bring both knees up to your chest. Bend your right knee and let it rest on your left knee. Thread your right arm under the right leg and take your left arm outside your left leg and using both hands, grab the left knee and pull the knee toward your chest.

Repeat on the other side.

*Yoga also focuses on being in tune with your body. If you are not able to do a certain asana, there are often modifications. Listen to your body and do not put yourself in an asana that causes pain.