Feeling tight through the hips?
Take a look at some stretches to help loosen the muscles in and around the hips.
Hip Stretching Series
Do a bit of a warm up before stretching by walking for 5-10 minutes.
Hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds and remember to do both sides. Repeat if necessary. These will stretch muscles in and around the hips.
Stretch One
Kneel on one knee and while keeping your back straight, lean forward into the stretch.
Stretch Two
Place one foot flat on the ground with your knee bent up. Place ankle of your other leg across the knee, and slowly push this outside knee away from you.
Stretches Three, Four, and Five (from left to right)
Stretch Three (above, left)
Butterfly stretch: bring soles of feet together & keep back straight. Push knees down towards the ground as far as you can.
Stretch Four (above, middle)
Kneeling hip flexor. Similar to the first stretch above but keep your hips square. Keep the back knee right under your torso. Push forward the front knee forward and tuck your tailbone/butt underneath you. Don’t allow your lower back to arch.
Stretch Five (above, right)
Hurdlers stretch – place yourself into the (third) position above and keep your back straight while pushing forward through the hips. You can try this with your ankle/knee pointing the opposite direction.
Stretch Six
Stand with your feet just wider than hip width apart and with one hand on your hip. Stretch the other arm up with the palm facing the sky, and and lean over to the side with your hand on the hip.
Stretch Seven
Stand straight, bring one leg in front of the other, and try to get the feet touching each other. Lean towards your side.
