Yoga for Hips and Thighs:

A Practice for Hips and Thighs

The usual way of practicing yoga asanas is to focus on the . muscles and flesh. In the following positions, you will find . that you are more centered and subtle if you work from the bones. Feel their solidity and mobility, and let the brain feel € soft and silent. Don't think about what you are doing, but feel it directly.

Tadasana (Figure 9)
Place a block or thick book between your thighs, and tie the thighs firmly with a belt. To activate the inner groins, squeeze the block. To keep from hardening the diaphragm . and brain, repeatedly squeeze and release the muscles. Then, . to activate the outer thighs (the antagonists to the inner . groins), try to break the belt by pulling the legs apart. Again, repeatedly work and release the muscles, at all times keeping . the quadriceps lifting strongly. This action, which helps to awaken the inner and outer femurs and bring them into bal . ance, can be practiced in any of the numerous poses where . the femurs are parallel‹for example, Dandasana (Staff € Pose), Sirsasana (Headstand), and Navasana (Boat Pose). Correct practice helps center the femur bones from inside to out side. Eventually, the action of both the inner and outer thigh muscles occurs simultaneously. Slightly tighten the muscles of the top buttocks and lower abdomen in order to center the pelvis over the femur bones, and let the spine release upward.

Virasana (Hero Pose) (Figure 10)
While holding the pose, practice the same action of the femurs as above. By refining the action of the inner and outer thigh muscles, the femur bones can be centered from side to side.

Simple Chair Pose (Figure 11)
In this, the most neutral body position, you will find it easi est to center the bones. The hip joints are neither deeply flexed nor extended, neither fully adducted nor fully abduct ed, but halfway between. Let the feet be parallel to the thighs, with the pelvis perpendicular to the floor, and maintain a nor mal spinal curve. Activate the inner and outer thighs, as in the previous positions. By tying the thighs firmly on the seat of the chair with a belt, you can experience the correct groin action in sitting. Place your hands behind you on the chair and lift the pelvis away from the femur bones. Let the femurs drop from the quadriceps toward the hamstrings. Maintain the space of separation between the torso and legs as you again sit on the chair. When most of us sit, the pelvis presses onto the femurs and closes the groins. The correct action centers the femurs from top to bottom, releasing the spine and freeing the breath.

Chair Frog, or Partial Squat (Figure 12)
The same separation of torso and legs can be experienced by partial squatting. The hands support the pelvis and torso as the top of the thighs descend toward the heels. Feel that the top of the femur drops to the back of the joint as you descend into the squatting position. Rise up and squat down slowly and repeatedly, feeling the femurs moving down and the pelvis lift ing up. Keep your weight on the heel bones. Balance the inner and outer femurs. Eventually, hold the position lower and lower, until you are in a deep squat. You should feel no strain on the knees. Adjust the feet, turning them inward or outward as necessary in order to remove strain from the knees. Be sure to drop the thighs from the groins and lift the pelvis and rib cage. The top of the lower groin (pectinius) will feel a good stretch with the correct action.

Half Frog, or Chair Forward Bend (Figure 13)
When bending forward, most of us pull the femur into the quadricep muscle and pull the pelvis down onto the femur. In this position, move the femur toward the ham strings and into the chair. Lift the pelvis up, and bend for ward over the tops of the thighs. For a deeper stretch, drop the elbows onto the floor. Note also that the inner thigh bones have to move toward the outer hip in order to go deeper into the groins. Again, feel the pectineus and lower inner groin region opening.

Physiological Frog (Figure 14)
The muscle fibers become confused in our usual method of bending forward. We can use the thumbs, however, to help keep these fibers in line.

Find the group of muscles in the front groin with your thumbs by starting in the mid-thigh region and tracing the muscles up the pelvis, using your thumb to hook the front groin fibers and pull them into the outer hip, out of the way of the pelvic rim. These fibers go into the external rotation spiral and flow to the greater trochanter of the femur. As the pelvic bones roll into the inner groins in flexion, the lower inner groin fibers (pectineus) move with the internal rotation spiral toward the hamstrings and must elongate like the ham strings in all forward bends.

What is most difficult, the iliopsoas fibers should move with the external spiral (see Figure 6, and previous discussion). If you probe with your thumbs under the pelvic bone and lift your knee slightly, you will find a tightened bundle of muscle. This is the iliopsoas, which must be released and fed into the outer hip. Usually, as we bend forward, the psoas tightens and gets locked into the internal group, effectively closing the groins. A healthy forward bend maintains the physiological space between the pectineus and iliopsoas.

Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) (Figure 15)
First, practice the pose as you normally would. Now adjust the front groin with the thumbs, and move the thighbones back and out. Finally, with your hands, roll the inner groin fibers toward the hamstrings. They will now be vertically extended as the pelvis lifts up and away from the femurs. To move the inner groins even farther back, place a block at the top of the groins, squeeze, and move the block back as you bend forward.

Relaxed Frog (Figure 16)
Support the thighs slightly above their natural resting posi tion. Support the torso for comfort and relaxation. Most of us create the wrong leverage in trying to stretch the inner thighs. We push the knees to the floor, but this usually moves the top of the thighbone closer to the inner groin, locking it further and never allowing it to release. People practice Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose) for years without ever releasing the groins. In Baddha Konasana, it is not the knees but the top of the thighs we want to move. By placing weights on the inner thighs (inside the support), we can avoid straining the knees or sacroiliac as the femur bone moves from the inner thigh to the outer hip. This cen tering action will allow the adductor muscles to lengthen by Ietting go. By pushing on a locked groin, the muscle stays tight and the knees or sacrum suffer. To help protect the knees, further support the heels above the floor.

Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose) (Figure 17)
This is a version of the previous position. Use a belt to tie the lower legs and thighs together firmly at the groin and ankle, keeping the muscle fibers from bunching up behind the knees and keeping the knees tightly closed and even. The belts keep the lower and upper legs together as a single unit. Move the coccyx bone away from the lumbar spine. Again, the primary action of the pose is to center the bone at the hip joint and release unnecessary tension.

Seated Baddha Konasana (Figure 18)
Sitting forward and releasing the inner thighs are actually two distinct and oposing actionsj This is why many students with tight muscles practice as in Figure 20. When the pelvis is extending, as in Figure 19, it is easier for the lower inner groins to release. Sitting up and bending forward require a deeper open ing, a release of the center of the inner groin where the upper and lower groins come together.

Forward Bend in Baddha Konasana (Figure 21)
For those who cannot bend forward in the classic position, the diamond posi tion, with the feet farther away from the pubis, gives the proper leverage to the groins and allows for the opening. Knee pain will occur if the groin locks and the femur fuses to the pelvis. The femur must be held stable while the pelvis rotates.

Gomukhasana (Cow 's Head Pose) (Figure 22)
In this position, you should feel the stretch in the outer hip. The deep lateral rotators must release for deep groin action. You should not feel this pose in the inner groins. If you do, move the inner thigh as in Figure 17, until the inner groin releases. Let the femur bones ground equally, so that no strain is felt on the knees. If you experience knee pain, do more of the Figure 17 support ed position.

Front Groin Stretch (Figure 23)
Because people have a tendency to push on the knees in order to create the stretch in this pose, keep the knees on the floor. If the knees don't drop easily, use a blanket. Move the top of the femurs away from the quadriceps, toward the hamstrings, and use the but tock muscles to extend the hip joint. Lift the abdominal organs up and away from the groins. Internally rotate the femurs in order to help open the outer hip and the front groin. In backbending (exten sion) actions, the pectineus tends to roll toward the outer hip, thus locking the inner groin. In forward bends, the iliop soas locks by moving toward the inner hip. In all positions, the iliopsoas and pectineus have to move in opposite directions‹in two opposing spirals. This keeps the veins and arteries free (see Figure 6).

Eka Pada Supta Virasana (One-legged Reclining Hero Pose) (Figure 24)
This is a front groin and lower quadriceps stretch. Three of the quadri ceps muscles work only on the knee. In this position of deep knee flexion, these quad muscles must elongate before you can feel much stretch in the upper front groin.The thighbone should stay down in the hip socket, and the skin of the groin should not harden. The stretch should occur from the thighbone extending out of the hip socket. You may experience a better action with the thighbone slightly off the midline, as in the angled legs of the Frog Pose. With two legs, as in Supta Virasana, care must be taken not to laterally compress the sacrum. The double spirals show the cor rect action from the perspective of the inner groins: The pubis moves circularly toward the navel, while the lower inner groins move in the opposite direction. From the other side, the pelvic rims roll toward the inner groins as the quads roll toward the outer hips.

Frog Pose, or Forward Bend in Virasana (Figure 25)
As in Figure 14, adjust the muscle fibers, drop the thighbones down, and lift the pelvis up and away from the thigh in a circular motion in order to bend forward and extend. This pose releases the lower back from any compression after Supta Virasana. It is a great way for students with tight hamstrings to experi ence a quiet, surrendering, seated for ward bend. For those who cannot fully flex the knees because of damage to the knee joint, the chair forward bend is a good alternative.

Groin Test (Figure 26)
When the groins are open, the bones will extend and no cramping will occur. Use the hands and the grounded leg for support, pin the sitting bone to the floor, then lift and extend the leg.

Conclusion
When the groins open, the muscles release their old patterns of holding, and a new stability and strength arise through the bones. In addition to the asanas discussed here, the practice of all the standing poses will greatly aid in the process of awakening the legs and open ing the hip joints (see B.K.S Iyengar's Light orl Yoga for the standing poses). Strong legs and open groins are a pre requisite for all other asanas.

On a deeper level, our legs are our primary connection to the energies of the Earth. From the support of the legs, the spinal column rises up along the uniquely human vertical axis. The spiral pattern found in the bones and muscles reflects the spiral form of our genetic inheritance itself, the DNA molecule.

"We seldom consider going to our genetic coding for guidance in our cul tural development," writes Thomas Berry in The Dream of the Earth, "because we are generally unaware that our genet ic coding provides the basic psychic and physical structure of our being."2 Yet, as Berry points out, that genetic coding not only determines our identities at birth, but also guides every cell during the entire course of our lives‹a guidance manifested through the spontaneous body intelligence within us. It is crucial that we return to our genetic wisdom if we are to solve the numerous challenges facing us today. In order to make such a return, we need only listen to what our body is trying to tell us. Hatha Yoga can help us become better listeners.

Back to:
~ Introduction
~ Muscles and Bones
~ Structure of the Groin
~ Awakening the Intelligence of the body