4 Pose Yoga Sequence to Open the Outer Hips

This warmer weather has been great motivation to get the miles up and to hit the roads. Yet, it can also be a great reminder how important yoga is for injury prevention. Increasing mileage can be a big wake-up call for the body and certainly has been for my outer hips and IT bands. Here are some poses to do post-run or workout that will provide some relief to those tight cranky muscles.

Pose 1: Wounded Warrior
Start off in downward dog. Downward dog is a great pose to come into post-run or work-out. It grounds down the “buzzy” energy and it stretches out the lower back and calves.

On your next inhale, extend your right leg up, bend your knee and roll your hip open. Bring the right knee to your left elbow and extend your right leg behind your left wrist like a kick stand. Lower your right hip down to the ground and center your chest forward and down. Hold for at least 10 rounds of breath.

Pose 2: Side Forward Bend
Shift your weight on your right hip. Place the left sole of your foot to the inside of your right leg. Place your right arm to the inside of your right leg and then reach your left arm towards your toes. Keep the chest and ribs open (do not face down to the ground). Hold for 10 to 20 rounds of breath.

Pose 3: Side Forward Fold
Now allow the chest and ribs to square over your left leg. Place both arms along your left leg. Fold over the leg. Hold for 10 to 20 rounds of breath.

Pose 4: 1/2 Pigeon Pose
Walk your hands up and place them at the top of your mat. Bend your right knee and place it behind your right wrist. Straighten your left leg behind you and walk your left toes all the way back to the back of your mat to lower your hips down. Bring your right hip a little further back and pull your left hip forward. If your right hip is lifted place a block, blanket or pillow under it for support and then fold over your right shin. Hold for 10 to 20 rounds of breath.

Come back to your downward dog and repeat poses 1 to 4 to other side.