Ok so today's video is not the easiest stretch to incorporate into everyday life situations, but it is definitely a most worthwhile one to incorporate into your life as often as possible.
Though if you need suggestions, you could add it to your lying sequence, aka "still in bed" stretches ;)
Or if you are putting it all together, you could add it after the spinal rolls.
Our hips really need a lot more attention than they get in many cases.
I know I have said this before, but think about all the activities you do on a daily basis, and then think about the fact that there are 17 muscles that help the hip joint move in 6 directions…how many muscles/directions are you using?
It's funny how when you start thinking about something, you draw it into your world and notice it everywhere.
I've recently seen several kids squatting. I have a friend who is a big advocate for the squat. When you see kids doing it, it is just a natural position they move into with ease. I witnessed my friend's daughter doing it several times as she moved around the house changing the things she was playing with. Another was a child playing on the floor at the post office waiting for his parents, and then the other evening I saw an asian mother and her young daughter squatting on the wall beside the foot path talking and watching the world go past. To all of them it looked so easy and natural.
It made me think about the way I sit and move my hips.
It might be because I have short legs and often can't touch the floor when seated, but I find that when I am seated on a chair I often have my legs crossed as if I were seated on the floor or one foot on the chair with the knee bent.
Besides begin told it was rude to sit this way, I was told as a child when I sat with the one leg up that it was a Nyonya thing to do. Nyonya is the name for chinese malaysians which my mother is. So maybe it's inherited and not just a vertically challenged thing to do ;)
This may help me with my flexibility in the hips but I am still working on my squat.
So today, I am offering you one of many hip stretches available to you.
This one in particular is said to aid in the relief of sciatica as it works on the piriformis muscle.
You may have encountered this in a different form in a yoga class, but I have chosen the lying variation as I find it easier to ensure you maintain the back flat on the floor, especially when you are starting out.
Any questions please email me or post them in the comments.
I hope you give this one a go.
And remember, no pain you gain. Warm up first and listen to your body!
Here's to your happy hips,
Tx
PS: it makes me think, that if we can maintain the flexibility of the hips and the health of all 17 muscles that connect to it, we might just be able to avoid hip issues, breaks, replacements in older age. What do you think?
Though if you need suggestions, you could add it to your lying sequence, aka "still in bed" stretches ;)
Or if you are putting it all together, you could add it after the spinal rolls.
Our hips really need a lot more attention than they get in many cases.
I know I have said this before, but think about all the activities you do on a daily basis, and then think about the fact that there are 17 muscles that help the hip joint move in 6 directions…how many muscles/directions are you using?
It's funny how when you start thinking about something, you draw it into your world and notice it everywhere.
I've recently seen several kids squatting. I have a friend who is a big advocate for the squat. When you see kids doing it, it is just a natural position they move into with ease. I witnessed my friend's daughter doing it several times as she moved around the house changing the things she was playing with. Another was a child playing on the floor at the post office waiting for his parents, and then the other evening I saw an asian mother and her young daughter squatting on the wall beside the foot path talking and watching the world go past. To all of them it looked so easy and natural.
It made me think about the way I sit and move my hips.
It might be because I have short legs and often can't touch the floor when seated, but I find that when I am seated on a chair I often have my legs crossed as if I were seated on the floor or one foot on the chair with the knee bent.
Besides begin told it was rude to sit this way, I was told as a child when I sat with the one leg up that it was a Nyonya thing to do. Nyonya is the name for chinese malaysians which my mother is. So maybe it's inherited and not just a vertically challenged thing to do ;)
This may help me with my flexibility in the hips but I am still working on my squat.
So today, I am offering you one of many hip stretches available to you.
This one in particular is said to aid in the relief of sciatica as it works on the piriformis muscle.
You may have encountered this in a different form in a yoga class, but I have chosen the lying variation as I find it easier to ensure you maintain the back flat on the floor, especially when you are starting out.
Any questions please email me or post them in the comments.
I hope you give this one a go.
And remember, no pain you gain. Warm up first and listen to your body!
Here's to your happy hips,
Tx
PS: it makes me think, that if we can maintain the flexibility of the hips and the health of all 17 muscles that connect to it, we might just be able to avoid hip issues, breaks, replacements in older age. What do you think?
