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Hip Flexor Heaven

Intermediate I
(338 Reviews)
PREMIUM

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This class targets the hips flexors, a common problem area for many, including runners, athletes, people with desk jobs and those with hyperlordosis. David guides you through a class that builds gradually toward a final series of deep openers for the quads and psoas muscles, starting and finishing with a guided relaxation.

This can either be done as a stand-alone class or as Day 15 of the Daily Dose 30-Day Intermediate Yoga Challenge.

Equipment

  • Block

Focus

  • Hips
  • Spine
  • Flexibility
  • Legs and Feet
  • Lower Back

Style

  • Hatha Yoga
  • Yoga for Athletes
  • Yoga for Runners
  • Yoga for Back Care
Sarah NN3
September 29, 2014
Comment:

David, thank you for this new video! I have been loving your site for a over a year now. You make it easy for a busy homeschooling homeopath to find time in my day for yoga. I always find that, on days when I do yoga, I go about the rest of my day feeling much more centered and calm. I love the variety of videos on your site and the many videos for intermediate yogis. Your cuing is perfect and makes it easy to get in and out of some of these poses which are different than the typical poses used in many yoga videos.

I do have a couple questions for you:
-When in the pose with legs spread wide, doing a forward bend with the hands clasped behind the back, what is the priority for the arms? My shoulders like to go past the point of vertical, more down towards my head (which is near the ground); is the intent to be stretching up towards the ceiling instead?

-Also, in the same pose, when my head starts to rest on the ground (later in the practice when my muscles and tendons are more warmed up), would you suggest that the head/neck stay in a neutral position, or is it fine to roll onto the back of my head?

Maybe the answer is just to do whatever feels good, but I'm a detail-oriented person :)

Thank you,
Sarah
nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com

Comment Replies

David Procyshyn
October 1, 2014
Comment:

Hi Sarah.

First, thank you for the kind words and great feedback.

To answer your questions, you are right in your last comment, it's what feels good. It sounds like you have great flexibility in your shoulders and legs, so if you are able to raise your arms so they end up going behind your head, then that's fine. It's important to point out that you don't need more flexibility there, though, so there's no need to push yourself. And yes, rolling onto the back of your head is fine, as long as you aren't putting any weight on the head.

Take care,

David
DoYogaWithMe.com Founder

Comment Replies

Sarah NN3
October 2, 2014
Comment:

Hi David,
Thanks for the pointers about not needing to increase flexibility in the shoulders (so I will just let my arms go where they are comfy but not try to further the stretch) and about not putting weight on the head. I'm so glad I asked, as these are the types of things I would have found out in an in-person class but that can be missed in the online experience!

My flexibility seems different than many; the hardest stretch for me is forward bend with the legs together. My hamstrings are naturally the tightest muscles in my body. I've seen so many people that naturally can just bend forward and put their hands on their feet or the floor, whereas I had to work up to that and still find I am tightest in that stretch.

My back, hips, and shoulders, though, seem to be much more flexible than is typical. So it is interesting because there are some poses that many people find very beneficial that do nothing for me, such as the standing side-stretch pose, where the body is in a warrior 2-type position with the back arm stretching up over the head towards the front of the mat. I can never feel any stretch in that pose at all, so I just focus on getting into good form and breathing. Triangle pose, on the other hand, is a huge favorite for me.

Thanks again!
Sarah

machine
September 20, 2014
Comment:

Excellent class David. As a triathlete, I too have tight hip flexors, this is a great stretch out and I felt great after it. Keep up the great work.

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