Yoga Sequence

Hip Opening Yoga for Tight Hips

Thirty minutes for hips that have been sitting all day

Tight hips are rarely a flexibility problem. They are a position problem. Sitting keeps the hip flexors short and the outer hips quiet for hours at a time, and the body adapts to what it does most. This hip opening yoga sequence works with that instead of against it. The outer hips first, standing, where the body can hold its own weight. Then the front of the hips on the floor, where the sitting actually shows. Then nothing but settling.

30 min · Level 1

When it helps

Your hips feel stiff when you stand up, your lower back aches by the afternoon, or sitting cross legged is uncomfortable. Thirty minutes, no props needed. A folded blanket under your seat makes the seated poses easier if your hips are very tight.

Physical effect

The lunges lengthen the hip flexors that shorten from sitting. Warrior II, side angle and the wide legged forward fold work the outer hips and inner thighs in external rotation. The squat at the end asks all of it to work together.

Energetic effect

The hips sit at Svadhisthana, the sacral centre, which is associated with movement, fluidity and the willingness to let something shift. Slow hip work tends to feel different from other stretching, and this is usually why.

Mental effect

Hips do not open on demand. Holding a pose for two minutes and letting it be uncomfortable without forcing it is a small practice in patience, and it carries over.

Arrive

Kneeling and on all fours. The point is to notice what the hips feel like before you ask anything of them.

Virasana

2 min

Hero Pose

Sit back on your heels, hands on your thighs, and let the breath find its own length.

Hero Pose puts the hips in their most closed position. Starting here tells you honestly how much room you have today.

Learn more about Virasana

Marjaryasana

1 min

Cat Pose

On all fours, round the spine towards the ceiling and let the head hang.

Cat wakes up the connection between pelvis and spine, which is the movement every hip opener depends on.

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Bitilasana

1 min

Cow Pose

Drop the belly, lift the chest and the tailbone, and move slowly between this and the last pose.

Cow is the other half of the same movement. Together they tilt the pelvis forward and back, which is the smallest version of what the lunges will ask for.

Learn more about Bitilasana

Balasana

1 min

Child's Pose

Knees wide, big toes touching, forehead down and arms forward.

Child's Pose is the first real hip stretch of the sequence and a resting pose at the same time. Wide knees start the outer hips without effort.

Learn more about Balasana

Adhomukha Shvanasana

1 min

Downward-Facing Dog

Press the floor away, lift the sitting bones and bend the knees if the hamstrings are tight.

Downward Dog lengthens the back of the legs. Tight hamstrings limit every standing pose that follows, and none of them are meant to be about the hamstrings.

Learn more about Adhomukha Shvanasana

Turn the hips out

Standing poses with the legs wide. The pelvis turns outward here, which is the half of hip opening that sitting never trains.

Tadasana

30 sec

Mountain Pose

Stand at the front of the mat, feet together, weight even through both feet.

Mountain Pose is the neutral point between the floor work and the standing block. It gives the hips a moment at zero before they turn outward.

Learn more about Tadasana

Virabhadrasana II

2 min

Warrior II

Feet wide, front knee over the ankle, arms parallel to the floor. One minute each side.

Warrior II is the clearest external rotation in yoga. The front hip turns open while the back leg holds the ground, and the hips learn what that position feels like under load.

Learn more about Virabhadrasana II

Utthita Parsvakonasana

2 min

Extended Side Angle Pose

From Warrior II, forearm to the thigh or hand to the floor, top arm over the ear. One minute each side.

Side Angle takes the same open hip and adds length along the whole side body. It goes deeper than Warrior II without changing the position of the pelvis.

Learn more about Utthita Parsvakonasana

Prasarita Padottanasana

1 min

Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend

Feet wide and parallel, fold from the hips, let the head hang and hold opposite elbows.

The wide legged fold works the inner thighs, which are the quiet half of every tight hip. The head below the heart also slows the pace before the last standing pose.

Learn more about Prasarita Padottanasana

Malasana

2 min

Garland Pose

Feet a little wider than the hips, toes turned out, hips low, elbows against the inner knees. A rolled blanket under the heels helps.

Garland Pose gathers the whole standing block into one shape. It is the hip position humans used to spend hours in every day, and it needs everything before it to be comfortable.

Learn more about Malasana

Lengthen the front of the hips

Back to the floor, and the pelvis faces forward again. This is the part that answers a day spent sitting.

Ardha Hanumanasana

2 min

Half Splits

From kneeling, straighten the front leg, hinge forward from the hips and keep the back flat. One minute each side.

Half Splits teaches the hinge at the hip joint rather than a round of the lower back. It is the gentle rehearsal for the pose after it.

Learn more about Ardha Hanumanasana

Utthan Pristhasana

2 min

Lizard Pose

Step one foot outside the hand, lower the back knee, and come onto the forearms only if that stays comfortable. One minute each side.

Lizard is the peak of this practice. It is the deepest hip flexor stretch here, and it comes late because a cold hip flexor gives nothing and a warm one gives a lot.

Learn more about Utthan Pristhasana

Balasana

1 min

Child's Pose

Back to the knees, forehead down, and let the hips settle.

Child's Pose is the reset after the strongest pose. From here nothing asks for effort again.

Learn more about Balasana

Settle

Seated and then lying down. The practice only goes down from here.

Baddha Konasana

2 min

Butterfly Pose

Soles of the feet together, hands around the feet, and let the knees fall where they fall.

Butterfly holds the outward rotation of the standing block with no weight on it. The hips can stay open without holding themselves there.

Learn more about Baddha Konasana

Parivrtta Sukhasana

90 sec

Revolved Easy Pose

Cross legged, one hand behind you, turn from the belly rather than the shoulders. Forty-five seconds each side.

A seated twist after a long chain of forward folds. The lower back has been lengthening in one direction for a while and this asks for the other.

Learn more about Parivrtta Sukhasana

Janu Shirsana

90 sec

Head-to-Knee Forward Bend

One leg long, the other foot to the inner thigh, fold over the straight leg. Forty-five seconds each side.

Head to Knee combines one open hip and one long leg, which lets the two sides be different. Most bodies are, and this is where you find out by how much.

Learn more about Janu Shirsana

Supta Kaptasana

90 sec

Reclining Pigeon Pose

On your back, ankle over the opposite knee, draw the bottom thigh towards you. Forty-five seconds each side.

Reclining Pigeon is the outer hip stretch without any weight through the knee. The floor holds you, so the muscle has no reason to guard.

Learn more about Supta Kaptasana

Ananda Balasana

90 sec

Happy Baby Pose

Hold the outer edges of the feet, knees wide towards the armpits, and rock gently if you like.

Happy Baby opens the hips and releases the lower back at the same time. It is the last pose that asks for anything.

Learn more about Ananda Balasana

Apanasana

1 min

Knees to Chest Pose

Knees to the chest, arms around the shins, breathe into the back of the body.

Knees to Chest closes the hips again after half an hour of opening them. The body leaves the practice neutral, not stretched out.

Learn more about Apanasana

Savasana

3 min

Corpse Pose

Legs long, arms away from the body, palms up. Stay longer if you have the time.

Savasana is where the nervous system files what just happened. Hip work in particular tends to keep working for a few minutes after you stop.

Learn more about Savasana

Integration

Tight hips come back. That is not a failure of the practice, it is what happens when you sit down again on Monday morning. What changes with repetition is how quickly the body finds length, and how long it keeps it. Twice a week is enough to notice a difference within a month. If you want a structured way to do that, the seven day hip opening programme uses this sequence as its base and builds from there.

The teacher behind this sequence

Manish Rana

Founder & Author

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