Yoga poses for hip – opening 

Yoga poses for hips – openers facilitate flexibility and mobility in the hip joint. Opening up our hips can be helpful in our daily yoga practice as well as day to day activities, it enhances our ability to walk, maintain proper posture and stabilizes the spine. Here are some yoga poses curated for beginner practitioners as well as advanced practitioners.

Before you start practicing the asanas here are some pro tips to help your hip flexors open more efficiently – 

• Always warm up before practicing deep opening yoga stretches to make your body ready and activate your muscles. This will avoid injuries and sudden shock to your body.
• Use yoga support props like yoga belt and yoga bricks to achieve a desired pose slowly.
• Pair hip openers with other poses that target back, hamstrings, and quadriceps to improve overall flexibility and range of motion.
• Try to hold the poses for 30 seconds and gradually increase the endurance up to 1 minute. The more we hold a pose, the more our muscles strengthen and lengthens.
• Take deep breaths while holding a pose. Deep breathing reduces stress
• Listen to your body, don’t over exhaust it to avoid potential injuries.
• Give rest to your body, muscles need rest to repair themselves, heal and grow back stronger.

Yoga poses for hips – openers for beginners

1. Child Pose (Shashankasana)

Muscle Focus –  Hip flexors, adductors (inner thighs), gluteus, hamstrings, lower back, spine, can also loosen quads. 

• Kneel down
• Sit on your heels
• Spread your knees
• Raise your hands up and fold forward
• Rest your forehead on the mat
• Keep your elbows straight and active off the mat
• Hold for 30 seconds

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2. Butterfly (Titli Asana)

Muscle Focus –  Hip flexors, adductors, gluteus, groin (connects our lower abdomen to thighs) can also loosen hamstrings. 

• Sit in staff position, place your legs in front of you and hold your spine straight 
• Now, bend your knees,  joint your souls of the feet and bring it close to your pelvic
• Interlock your fingers, hold your feet and press your feet together 
• Now, keeping your spine straight and erect flap your knees like a butterfly
• Flap for 30 seconds

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3. Garland Pose (Malasan)

Muscle Focus –  Hip flexors, adductors, gluteus, groin, calves, ankles and can also stretch arches of feet if feets are pressed on the ground.

• Get in equal standing pose 
• Spread your legs hips width apart
• Tilt your toes out in 45 degree angle, heels towards one another
• Now, Join your hands and squat down 
• With your elbow push your knees back and try to open up your hips as much as possible until your comfortable
• Hold for 30 seconds

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4. Horse riding pose/ Low lunge  (Ashwa sanchalanasana)

Muscle Focus –  Quadriceps (front of our thighs), hip flexors, groin and ankles. 

• Get in equal standing pose 
• Now slowly forward fold
• Press your palms
• Take your one leg back, drop your knees, point your toes 
• Front leg should have knees and heels aligned in one line
• Straighten your spine 
• You can place your hands on the mat beside the front leg, on your hips or you can also join them above your head
• Hold for 30 seconds

5. Happy Baby Pose (Anand balasana)

Muscle Focus –  Hip – flexors, adductors, gluteus, calves and can also lightly stretch hamstrings, groin and lower back.

• Lay on your spine
• Bend your knees
• Bring your knees close to your chest
• With the help of your middle finger and index finger catch your first big toe
• Now, stretch your arms and legs wide and pull your toe away from you towards the ceiling, stretch as much as possible
• Hold for 30 seconds

6. Reclined bound angle pose (supta baddha konasana)

Muscle Focus – Hips, pelvic, groin, inner thighs also relaxes and gives a little stretch to hamstrings, chest and lower back. 

• Sit up straight with your legs extended in front of you
• Bend your knees
• Now, drop your knees out joining the soles of your feet
• Slowly, lay your back down on the mat keeping your feet joined
• You can place your hands on the side or interlock your fingers and place it under your head
• Relax and hold for 30 seconds

7. Reverse pigeon pose (Sucirandhrasana)

Muscle Focus –  Hip flexors, adductors, gluteus, hamstrings can also gently stretch lower back, chest and shoulders. 

• Lay on your back with knees bended
• Lift your feet, bring your one knee towards your chest 
• Place your ankle of the lifted leg on the knee on the other leg
• Now, with your hands hold your thigh of the leg you placed your ankle on and pull it towards your chest 
• Relax and hold for 30 seconds

8. One Legged King Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana)

Muscle Focus –  Hip flexors, adductors, gluteus, hamstrings of the leg extended backwards can also give a light stretch to lower back and shoulders. 

• Get into tabletop position 
• Extend your one leg back and the knee of other leg between the palms 
• Now, go as deep as you can into the pose keeping your spine straight 
• Once you have stretched your inner thighs as much as you can 
• Raise your hands up and fold forward
• Relax and hold for 30 seconds

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Advanced Yoga poses for hips opening yoga poses

1. High Lunge (Utthita Ashwa Sanchalanasana)

Muscle Focus –  Hip flexors, quadriceps (front of our thighs), glutes, core, hamstrings stretches groin and chest

groin and ankles. 

• Get in equal standing pose 
• Now slowly forward fold
• Press your palms
• Take your one leg back, drop your knees, point your toes 
• Front leg should have knees and heels aligned in one line
• Straighten your spine 
• Once comfortable in the posture lift your knee up of the leg behind
• You can place your hands on your hips, you can also join them above your head and you can also arch your back and look towards your hands joint above your head 
• Hold for 30 seconds

2. One Legged Downward Facing Dog Pose (Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Muscle Focus –  Hamstrings, hip flexors of extended leg, calves, core, shoulders stretches spine as well.

• Get into child pose
• Now, press your palms tuck your toes and lift your knees up
• Keep pushing your sitting bone up and higher
• When you are ready lift your one leg up and straight 
• Hold for 30 seconds

3. Lizard Pose (Uttana Pristhasana)

Muscle Focus –  Hip flexors, quadriceps, adductors, groin and inner thigh.

• From high lunge place both your palms side by side on the mat beside the forward leg
• Now, slowly get on your forearms, lower your hips and slide your back feet back.
• Keep your back straight, legs active and go deeper into the stretch as much as possible
• Hold for 30 seconds

4. Standing wide legged forward bend (Prasarita Padottanasana)

Muscle Focus –  Hamstrings, calves, lower back also stretches the spine. This pose indirectly helps in hip opening by increasing flexibility.

• Open your legs to 3 – 4 ft distance
• Turn your toes to 60 or 45 degree angle
• Slowly fold forward
• Keep your spine and legs straight
• With the help your index finger and middle finger try to catch your first big toe
• Pull your toe away from you, maintain the resistance between your toes and fingers and go deeper into the fold. 
• Hold the pose for 30 seconds

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5. Goddess Pose (Utkata Konasana)

Muscle Focus –  Quadriceps, adductors, core, glutes stretches groin, hip – flexors and inner thighs.

• Open your legs to 4 ft distance
• Turn your toes to 90 degrees heels facing each other
• Now, bend your knees and lower your hips until your thighs are parallel with the floor
• Hold the pose for 30 seconds

6. Frog Pose (Mandukasana)

Muscle Focus –  Hip flexors, adductors, groin stretches, inner thighs.

• Get on table top position
• Keeping your knees, heels and toes in line spread your legs as much as you can
• Now, rest your forearms and palms on the floor
• Go as deep as you can into the stretch
• Hold the pose for 30 seconds

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7. Wide angle Seated Forward Bend (Upavistha Konasana)

Muscle Focus –  Hamstrings, lower back, calves, stretches spine and hip flexors as well. This pose indirectly helps in hip opening by increasing flexibility.

• Sit with yours spine straight and legs in front of you
• Spread your legs as much as you can away from each other towards the sides 
• Keep your spine straight and with the help of your index finger and middle finger hold your toes 
• Keep pulling your toes away from you and keep going deeper into the fold
• Hold the pose for 30 seconds

8. Dancer Pose (Natraj Asana)

Muscle Focus –  Hamstrings, calves, core, shoulders. This pose indirectly helps in hip opening by increasing flexibility.

• Stand with both feet together
• Slowly bend your one knee and lift it up
• Now, grab the ankle of bent knee and bring the heel back towards your glutes
• Lean forward and lift the bent leg up
• Now, with your free hand hold the lifted leg up until you turn the elbow of other hand up and outwards
• Hold the lifted leg with the hands of raised elbow and balance
• Hold the pose for 30 seconds

Conclusion

Practicing hip opening asanas will not only open up your hip – flexors and strengthen it but also bring about emotional relaxation as our hip muscles hold stress, losing those tight muscles will release stored tension. Listen to your body and practice each asana with comfort avoiding over stretching or over exhaustion.