Yoga Poses for Hip Pain

How Yoga Poses for Hip Pain

Severe winter conditions always mean joint stiffness and pain. Yoga is a non-invasive and safe way to keep them flexible. The best part is that the exercises are easy and almost anyone can do them. It is also good for BP and heart patients.

The thing to keep in mind is to maintain your awareness of the different joints you are exercising and imagining. Through this method, you can collect all the pranic energy within you and direct it to different joints as you exercise each of them, from the toes to the head. Most of these exercises are best done with the eyes closed so that you can internalize, feel, and be aware of the effect of the various movements on the bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, etc. Also, you may feel stiffness, and tension in the joints from your toes to your head as you exercise each part. A clear effect can be felt in the movement of the shoulder and neck, which are prone to accumulate mental and physical stress. Moreover, with our current lifestyle and the use of mobiles and laptops, all the joints and muscles of the upper body are under stress.

The exercises below will protect you from any knee problems till old age. Hip joint movements and the butterfly pose are also good for maintaining healthy prostration, kidney, and mood-elevating practices.

On some days, these exercises can be synchronized with slow breathing and slow body movements. It also slows down the mind, it calms the mind. It is further advised to rest and relax the body between each exercise.

1. Base position: Sit with your legs spread apart, and feet slightly apart. Place palms behind hips with fingers away from the body. The head and spine should be aligned. Lean back comfortably keeping the elbows straight and relaxing the entire body. Close your eyes and watch your breath, be still within yourself.

2. Pada Anguli Naman (Bending the Toes): In the base position, focus your mind on the toes and move them forward and backward without moving the feet or ankle joints. You have to make sure that only the fingers move. The rest of the body should be still and relaxed. Inhale as you bend your toes back and exhale as you move them forward.

3. Golf Bow (Ankle Bend): Continue in the base position and bring awareness to the ankle joint. With an inhale, bring the ankles toward the knees and hold the maximum flexion position for a few seconds. On an exhalation, bend the ankle joint towards the floor, almost touching it, hold for a few seconds then with an exhalation, pull back. A back-and-forth motion makes a cycle. Do 5-10 rounds. A supple ankle joint prevents the tendency to twist the ankle. Even if it turns, the effect is minimal. I've sprained my ankle twice due to bad pavement. I literally looked at the stars with the pain, but with just a few ice packs, the ankle joint was fine by morning.

4. Golf Chakra Asana (Ankle Rotation): In the base position, relax your body and rotate the right ankle first clockwise and then counter-clockwise for 5-10 cycles. Inhale as the foot moves toward the body and exhale as the foot moves away from the body. Do the same with the left ankle joint and finally with both ankle joints. Do 5-10 rounds for each of these.

5. Genoflexic traction (contraction of the knee cap): In the base position, squeeze and tighten your knee as you inhale so that the knee cap rises and the surrounding muscles contract. Hold for a few seconds. As you exhale, release your body and relax. It's a cycle. Do 5-10 rounds.

6. Janu Naman (Knee Bending): Sitting in a base position, grasp the thigh above the knee with interlaced fingers, fold the knee, then with an inhale, straighten the leg without bending the knee. Make sure the foot is about 10cm off the floor. Then as you exhale, bend the knees and press the thighs against the stomach. This creates a cycle. Make 5 rounds. Do the same with the left leg.

7. Janu Chakra Asana (Knee Rotation): In the base position, hit your right thigh as in the above asana, then rotate the right knee clockwise for 5 chakras, and then counterclockwise. Do the same with the left knee for 5 rounds. Breathing is normal and natural.

8. Arda Titali Asana (Half Butterfly): In the basic position, bend the right knee and place the right foot as high as possible on top of the left thigh or close to the waist. Place your right hand on your knees and your left hand on your right foot. Look up while keeping the spine straight, then bounce the right knee up and down like a butterfly flapping its wings. Do at least 10 cycles of up and down motion. Do the same with the left leg.

9. Poorna Titli Asana (Full Butterfly): In the base position, draw the feet of both legs towards the waist so that the soles of both feet face and rest. Grasp the toes of both feet with both hands, then bounce both knees up and down together like the flapping wings of a butterfly. Do at least 10 rounds. Due to our current lifestyle of sitting on chairs and never on the floor, many people find it difficult to do this two-butterfly asana in the beginning. Thus the hip joints are quite rigid.

10. Shironi Chakra (Hip Joint Rotation): Sit in the Ardha Tetali Asana position with the right foot on top of the left leg. Place your right hand on the right knee and grasp the right toes with the grip of the left hand. Then use the hands to rotate the knee joint first clockwise and counter-clockwise 5-10 times in each direction. Do the same with the left leg on the right thigh.

11. Mishtika Bandha (Hand Clenching): Sit in the base position or cross your leg or do Vajrasana. Raise both arms in front of you at shoulder height with palms facing down. With inhalation, extend all the fingers of both hands, hold the position and inhale for a few seconds. Then, while exhaling, make a fist by wrapping the thumb inside and the fingers around it. Relax your wrists and fingers. It's a cycle. Do 5-10 rounds.

12. Mini Chakra (Wrist Twist): Continue in the above basic position, keeping the body straight and relaxed. Extend your right arm forward at shoulder height and grasp the right wrist with your left hand. Then just rotate the wrist joint clockwise for 5 cycles. Continue counterclockwise for 5 rounds. Then lower the right arm and do the same with the left wrist by extending the left arm and holding the left wrist with the right hand.

13. Kehuni Niman (Elbow Bend): Stay as in the above asana, extend both arms in front of you with elbows straight and palms facing upwards. Exhale and bend the elbows so that the fingertips touch the respective shoulders, inhale and straighten the arms again. This creates a cycle. Do 5-10 rounds.

14. Standard Chakra (Shoulder Joint and Socket Rotation): Stay in base or cross-legged pose. Place the fingertips of the right hand on the right shoulder. Make sure the left hand is on the left knee and the body is straight and relaxed. Rotate the right elbow in a clockwise and counterclockwise circular motion for 5 cycles each. Then do the same with the left arm. Finally, placing the fingers of both hands on the respective shoulders, rotate both arms in a full circular motion 5 cycles clockwise and 5 cycles counterclockwise. When the arms move behind the body and exhale as they come forward, breathing may be normal or gasping. For maximum effect, let the elbows fold in front of the body, then bring the arms back close to the ears.

15. Green Sanchalana (Neck Movement): Sit cross-legged or in Vajrasana. Keeping the head and spine straight and straight, relax your entire body, closing your eyes to maintain awareness within the neck as you perform various neck movements.

Inhale while your head is centered, then as you exhale, drop your head to the right so that the ears move toward the right shoulder. Inhaling, come back to center, exhaling, drop head to left. This creates a cycle. Stretch fully and maximally on both sides and feel the stretch and compression on each side. Do at least 5 rounds.

Follow this with an up-and-down movement of the neck so that on an inhale, your head is thrown back as far as possible, then on an exhale, drop your chin to your chest. A back-and-forth motion makes a cycle. Make 5 rounds.

Finally, starting with your head in a centered position, do a neck flexion. Then exhaling, twist the neck to the right, inhale, and return to the center. Then turn to the left while exhaling. This creates a cycle. Do at least 5 rounds.