Jan 10., 2018   /   Uncategorized

Yin Yoga for Hip Pain

What is Yin Yoga?

Yin yoga is a lesser-known style of yoga. It is based around deep stretching of the lower parts of the body. Poses are held from around 5-20 minutes long and are intended to stretch the connective tissues in your joints. The stretches are not passive stretches; students keep their muscle activated during the poses.

Yin Yoga for Hip Pain

There are so many different types of hip pain you may wish to consult with your yoga teacher even after having already checked with your medical professional. Ask your yoga instructor if they think your hips can benefit from the suggestions below or if they believe you should skip out on the yoga for now.

When the body is in pain it can slowly start to shut down. When this happens there is a lot of stiffness and just an overall lack of mobility. That lack of mobility can have a domino effect on the rest of the body, slowly leading into other problems in other areas of the body. There’s the expression “use it or lose it” and although some injuries are obviously not applicable, there are some cases where it really is. Stretching out and moving your hip gently can lead to increased blood circulation in the area, which in turn can allow your body to heal more efficiently.

While holding yin poses, it is important to keep your muscles involved and activated. Your muscles will protect your joints from doing anything that they shouldn’t do that could potentially cause you more pain. Your body is meant to protect itself, so allow your muscles to protect your hips. Stay engaged and you might even benefit from doing a gentle warm up first to loosen things up before jumping into such a deep stretch.

During your first class or two, be sure to take things slowly. Ease into the stretches and then gradually add more intensity as your hips open up. Remember that you will likely be holding these poses for a large amount of time so you will have a long time to ease into the poses.

Be gentle with yourself and allow yourself to enjoy this time you have placed aside to heal your body. It can be tempting to get irritated with your hips and get disheartened but just be gentle and know that even if you are not seeing dramatic results right away, you are doing something! There are people in your class who will progress faster than you and there are others who will likely progress slower than you; this is not a race. Focus on your own body and your own healing; your body knows what to do.

Be cautious in poses that do not involve your hips as well! Your entire body is connected and it is common for problems in your hips to cause problems elsewhere as well. Hopefully you have found some hope and information in this article to talk to your doctor and yoga instructor about possibly incorporating yoga to help you with your hip problems.