It’s all Connected.
Walking, jumping, standing. Our hips are responsible for so many of the movements we do both in class and life. But for many folks, this is an area with a lot of tightness.
The main reason? As humans, we spend a lot of time sitting. In the car, at our desk and on the couch. Sitting for prolonged periods of time causes the front of your body to tighten up, especially the hip flexors.
So how do we ease our hips? An ergonomic chair and taking breaks to stand or walk are both important ways of preventing tightness. But flexibility training is a great tool for alleviating tightness that’s already present.
A common goal among my students is to get their splits. This is an exciting goal on its own, but working toward it also comes with all the benefits that hip flexibility brings! Let’s talk about some of those benefits.
Preventing joint pain
When you hold tightness in a joint, it can cause musculoskeletal imbalances which often magnify over time. This can lead to injury above or below that joint. So, when your hip flexors are tight, major pain hotspots such as your knees, ankles and low back are all affected. Happy hips = happy surrounding joints.
Protecting your spine during movement
Our hips contain our major load-bearing muscle groups. However, tight hip flexors can make it difficult to recruit your glutes and hamstrings during movement. This includes things like standing up from a chair, or carrying a heavy object. This imbalance can cause you to lift using your back muscles instead, leading to injury. If your hips are flexible, it is much easier to lift with proper form.
Ease in everyday motion
From squatting down to water your pothos, to propping your foot up to tie your shoe, flexible hips make life easier. Improving your hip mobility and range of motion makes life more comfortable!
Ready to open your hips? Checkout the 10 Splitsville classes already available in my On-Demand Library.