What is a Hip Opener? (part 3)
In the previous post we looked at hip extension from a prone position. One important feature of extending the hip this way is that it is extended with active, muscularly driven movement. Active hip extension has the important benefit of stregthening the hip extensor muslces. Another benefit to active hip extension (versus passive) is that it is somewhat safer because we have to use whatever strength our hip extensors have to overcome the tension in the antagonist hip flexors. This avoids overstretching the hip flexors and minimizes stress on the lower back. Finally, doing active hip extension allows us to better assess the ROM of our hips and therefore establish a more accurate baseline from which to make progress.
Active hip extension does, however, have one major disadvantage, and if you’ve worked on either or both of the postures I presented in part 2 you would have noticed this rather quickly. It is difficult to hold these postures long enough to facilitate rapid progress. Therefore I’d like offer a way of increasing hip extension passively that is both safe and effective as well as somewhat pleasurable to do.
The posture below is demonstrated in the video you see above. I recommend reading the description first and then watching the video after for clarification.
Lie down on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. Place your feet pelvis width apart (about 6 inches) with the shin bones vertical and the knees directly over the ankles. If either or both of your knees don’t bend this much, only bend the knees as much as is comfortable for your most limited knee. Tuck your chin in toward the top of your throat and legthen the back of your neck until you can feel that the head is not at all tilting backwards. If you find it difficult to keep the chin in, place a folded blanket under the base of the skull to increase the height of the head. Make the blanket high enough that it removes any posterior tilt from the skull.
Place a standard size yoga block in between your knees and hold it. Without dropping the block, slowly lift the pelvis up off the floor and place a second block on its side under your pelvis. If you cannot lift the pelvis high enough to fit a standard size block without dropping the block between your knees then a standard size block is too hight for you. Use a half block or some equivalent height instead. You should feel absolutely no pain in your back! If you do feel pain in your back, decrease the height until you no longer feel back pain. If you cannot lie this way with the pelvis elevated and without back pain seek help from an experienced teacher.
Once you have the pelvis elevated and supported, making sure the support is only under the pelvis and not under the lumbar spine, remove the block from between your knees. Then notice the way the pelvis automatically rolls back a little toward the rib cage. This keeps your lumbar and thoracic spine neutral. Avoid actively rolling the pelvis back (i.e. tucking the pelvis). Simply allow the pelvis to roll back to the extent that it is naturally inclined. If the pelvis doesn’t roll back this way at all, try moving the support under the pelvis a little closer to your feet.
Next, keeping your foot in contact with the floor, move your left foot gradually out away from the support, keeping it in line with the hip. Remain aware of the position of the pelvis relative to the rib cage and notice if at any point moving the leg starts to pull the pelvis out of its position. When you reach such a point, pause there and let the weight of your leg gently pull on the hip flexors. In the beginning you may not feel much. As you practice more your sensitivity will increase and you will perceive the sensation of loading on the hip flexors in the groin and in front of your hip. You will also being to perceive the sensation of these musles letting go. This is your cue to start gradually moving your foot further away from your hip.
Stay for 20-30 seconds. Then bring the foot back to its original position and try this with the right leg. After you’ve done each leg once, lift the pelvis up remove the block under it and come down. If you feel any pain in your back upon lifting the pelvis up off the block it is telling you that you have used too much height. Try decreasing the height and repeating the sequence described in the preious 2 paragraphs.
When you’ve found a height you can use to do one repetition without experiencing any pain after, then you’re ready to begin more repetitions and with longer holds times. Repeat the above 2-3 times on each leg, first for 20-30 seconds and then over the course of a couple of weeks working up to a minute on each leg.
Eventually you’ll reach a point where you’ll be able to stretch each leg all the way out without any response from the pelvis. When you reach this point the next step is to increase the height of the block under the pelvis. When you feel you’re ready to do this, increase the height by turning the block on its side. Avoid placing the block on its end or making the block so high that you are forced to arch your lower back. Using too much height may lead to a back injury and will not be as effective in increasing your hip extension as will extending the hip while maintaining a neutral spine.
Conisider doing this passive hip extension in combination with active hip extension to see how one improves the other. You may also enjoy combining these hip extension postures with the standing forward bend described in “What is a Hip Opener, Part 1” to see how increasing the length of the hip flexors with hip extension helps them to contribute more to your hip flexion. However you use these postures, enjoy the increase in ease and freedom of movement these postures give to your hips!