If you’ve ever been to a yoga class where the teacher announced she has sequenced the entire flow around hip opening, then you’ve witnessed the sound of a collective “ugh” at the thought of it.
Why do we have such disdain for practicing poses that help to open the exact muscles that are the tightest? Usually it’s because the tightness and possible pain you feel in your hips bears a direct correlation to any emotional pain, anger, fear, anxiety, or depression you may be holding on to.
The hips not only support our physical weight, but have also been called the “emotional storage depot” of the body; most of us hold onto our pain there because we’d rather not deal with it.
The problem is that when we don’t face and express our feelings, they’re stored in the body and can cause an obstruction in energy circulation.
Suppressing emotions not only causes us emotional pain, but physical pain as well. Luckily, yoga can be used as a tool for release, and can bring about major relief.
Because I’m actually a huge lover of hip opening asanas, I love to teach deeper anatomy of them in my classes. Since you most likely can’t get to my class, I’ve made a video on the alignment in one of my favorite hip openers: pigeon pose.
If you have knee issues or are super tight, I also show a few modifications to make pigeon more accessible to your level of flexibility.
I hope you like the video and practice it often!
Have an amazing day!
XO
Danielle
