Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

Do your hips feel stiff, sore, or tight at the end of the day? You’re not alone. Tight hips are a common issue in modern life, thanks to long hours spent sitting in chairs, on couches, or in cars. When we sit for extended periods, the hip flexors—the muscles at the front of your hips—shorten and tighten, leading to discomfort, limited mobility, and even lower back pain. This week’s theme, Taming Tight Hips, invites you to find release and freedom through yoga. Hip-opening poses not only help to stretch and strengthen the muscles around your hips but also address the energetic tension stored in this area of the body. The hips are a critical intersection in the body, connecting the upper and lower halves. When the hips are tight, it can create a ripple effect, causing strain in the lower back, hamstrings, and even the knees. On an energetic level, the hips are often considered a storage area for pent-up emotions, stress, and tension.

Who has tight hips? Or maybe the better question is who doesn’t have tight hips? Everything from sitting to running to handling emotional stress contributes to stiffness in the pelvic area. No matter why your hips are tight, yoga can help. And what’s so powerful about hip openers is that when you create an opening in your body, you also create an emotional release. On the physical level, hips include connective tissue and some of our biggest muscles––the glutes––and the psoas muscles in the front of the pelvis. The psoas is the only muscle that starts in the front of the body and finishes in the back body.