How to Improve Hip Mobility

Along with specific physical exercises, sitting for long periods of time is one of the main causes for tight hips. Unfortunately, tight hip muscles can lead to many things, including aches, pain, injury and lack of functional movement. In this blog, I will teach you how to improve hip mobility with three different practices.

As shared by Franciscan Health in this article, there are a few reasons why you may have pain in your hips from sitting. To put it simply, our bodies weren’t designed to sit for extended periods of time. The discomfort many of us face could be from tightness in the hips, or weakness in our hip muscles.

In my recent blog post, How to Sit with Good Posture, I discuss the importance of good posture while sitting, and ways to improve your posture. There are a few mistakes people make when sitting that I address clearly in this blog post.

In this blog, I will share three different practices to specifically help mobilize the hips. However, I want to be clear about the importance of creating balance in the body by incorporating practices that mobilize and strengthen the hips in order to find functional movement. Give the practices below a try and let me know what you think!

Tennis Balls For The Win

Yep, it’s true: using tennis balls to create more mobility in the body is one of my favorites. In the video below, I share one simple practice using tennis balls to release tension and mobilize the hips.

Please note: there are many different muscles that make up the hip joint, and so there are many different ways we can mobilize the hips.

Using tennis balls in this way not only targets the muscle tissue, but another connective tissue called the fascia. The Hospital for Special Surgery, also known as HSS, describes MFR as: “This technique is designed to release restrictions such a trigger points, muscle tightness, and dysfunctions in soft tissue that may cause pain and limit motion in all parts of the body. It has shown success in decreasing pain and increasing mobility.”

Watch the video below and give this technique a try. Let me know what you think! If you’re looking for more practices the incorporate MFR, check out Aligned Online: a monthly therapeutic yoga membership. It’s a great way to check out more practices like this and increase the tools in your toolkit!

Hip Stretches Using a Yoga Strap

This is by far one of my favorite stretching series I’ve come across. It is helpful in reducing low back pain, hip pain, leg pain and more, depending on the person and what’s going on. In the video below, I share a 3-part strap series that is my go-to for tight hips.

This practice does a great job of reducing tension and tightness in the muscles that surround the hip joint, which in turn, can drastically reduce pain in the body. Check out the video and let me know what you think.

I break this practice down in another blog post that you can check out here. If you’re interested in purchasing a yoga strap, here’s a link to my favorite strap from Manduka. You can use the discount code “CAITLINYOGA” at checkout for a discount!

Functional Movement to Improve Hip Mobility

I grew up with more mobility than some. In the yoga community, this may appear to be a “good” thing, but it’s not necessarily. As I shared before, balance is key. You don’t want to be extremely mobile, as you may lack stability and strength. On the contrary, you don’t want to be overly stable, as you may like mobility and flexibility. That’s why balance is key!

There is so much to say about functional movement. For me, it helped me learn to work many different muscle groups at a time, helping to build strength while maintaining mobility. This article does a great job at discussing this importance of functional movement.

The exercise I share with you in the video below is an easy one that can also be done kneeling or in a standing position. Can you find the balance between Strength/Stability and Ease/Mobility in this practice?

How to Improve Hip Mobility to Decrease Pain

In a society that has become accustomed to sitting for long periods of time, finding the balance between strength and mobility is crucial. This is true for the hips and many other areas in the body. As you can see by this article, there is a wide range of practices that you can do to improve hip mobility.

Hip mobility is one of the most important points when looking at hip pain, but it’s not the only one. In my personal opinion, incorporating multiple different practices into your routine is important for reducing pain, improving strength, function and mobility in the body. For more practices to build your tool kit with, for the hips or any other area of the body, check out Aligned Online.

Aligned Online is my monthly therapeutic yoga membership program. There are no contracts to sign on, so you really have nothing to lose. I will say though, there are over 150 practices on-demand inside of the Aligned membership, and new classes added every week. From functional movement, strengthening, and mobility practices, to gentle and restorative yoga, guided meditations, and sound healing–Aligned Online has it all. Check out everything you get when you become a member of Aligned Online here.

If you struggle with hip pain, and you’re not sure the cause, or what to do to help, I’d love to connect and see how I can support you. If you’d like to discuss this further, you can set up a complimentary consultation over the phone by contacting me here.