If you have stiff, immobile hips, you’re not alone—it’s a common problem for anyone who spends a lot of time sitting.
Eloise Skinner is a yoga instructor and she says there’s one type of movement she swears by for relieving tension in this area.
“I love twists,” she tells Fit&Well, saying reclined twists are particularly useful for people with weak hips, because they put minimal pressure on the joint.
“Lying on your back, you don’t have any extra weight down on the hips, so you can really get into the stretch without putting additional force into it,” says Skinner.
Here are two twisting poses she recommends.
Eloise Skinner’s two favorite hip openers
Yoga teachers often recommend holding these stretches in a static pose, but Skinner suggests moving through them dynamically to relieve hip tension.
“If you have ongoing tension in your hips, movement can be really good for the joints,” she says.
“If the joints can go through a range of motion and you keep them moving a little bit every day, that will be beneficial.”
How to prepare for these poses
Skinner says it’s a good idea to stretch your lower back before doing these supine twists.
“Doing a gentle forward folding sequence before you lie down for a twist can sometimes help to release the lower back,” she says.
She recommends this approach because holding too much tension in your lower back might prevent this stretch from effectively targeting your hips.
“I would never really suggest doing an isolated twist. I think it needs a bit of a [yoga] sequence around it, just stretching out your spine, rolling your shoulders, like forward folding,” Skinner adds.
You can also incorporate props to make the move more comfortable.
“You can do twists with props. So you can have your knees up on a bolster or even a cushion,” she says.
Focusing your mind on where you want to feel the stretch can also help.
“Especially with yoga, if you really bring your attention to a particular body part, you might get more sensation or more connection to that part,” says Skinner.
1. Supine twist
Time: 30sec each side
- Lie on your back with your arms out to your sides.
- Bring your knees toward your chest.
- Allow your knees to drop to one side of your body, keeping both shoulders on the floor.
- Hold for 30 seconds, then switch sides.
2. Single-leg supine twist
Time: 30sec each side
- Lie on your back.
- Bring your right knee toward your chest, hugging it with both arms.
- Use your left hand to guide your right knee across your body, allowing it to drop to your left.
- Bring your right arm out to the side.
- Hold for a few seconds, then move in and out of the stretch on the same leg for 30 seconds.
- Repeat on the other side.
