Why I love hip openers
Hip openers are some of my favorite poses to release physical and emotional tension in the body. The hips are connected to the pelvis, sacrum, and the femur.
Two muscles that create the wall of the pelvis connected to both femurs are called the piriformis muscles, which are also attached to the sacrum. We will focus on these muscles in particular during this category due to the fact that these muscles are fundamentally an external rotator “rotating the legs and hips away from the center of the body.” One of the most common issues people face is contracting a tight piriformis muscle, when this happens it compresses the sciatic nerve. That being said, when our piriformis muscles are tight it can manifest in many lower back issues like burning in the glutes when going into any forward folding poses. It is also very common to experience tightness in hips and pain down sacral.
The sacrum is a broad V shaped vertebra at the bottom center of our spine. It forms the sturdy base of the connection from spine to hips where it connects with the hip bones to form the pelvis. The sacrum is a very strong bone that supports the weight of the upper body as it is spread across the pelvis and into the legs.” In yoga we depend on a strong sacral for the base of all poses. Having a strong lower back helps us fall and become stronger in our practice. In order to achieve normal stability a neutral pelvic posture should be maintained.
Even though the SI joint is one of the strongest muscles within the hips it is still very vulnerable to injury. Injuring our SI joint can surprisingly be easy. It can be injured by jumping and landing on one side, missing a step, incorrect alignment, and uneven weight distribution.
“The sacrum is part of the pelvic girdle and contributes to the formation of joints at the hip bone called the sacroiliac joints. The sacral region contains a series of four openings on each side through which the sacral nerves and blood vessels run. “
The Femur is the longest and strongest bone in your bodies. It connects itself to our hips and down to our tibia and knee cap to form the knee joint. Having a grounded femur is extremely important in everyday life bringing us closer to the earth we walk upon. According to Heart MD institute, “Herein is why every yogi practices in bare feet. Furthermore, a grounded person is well-balanced and sensible, qualities that ensure stability, well also allowing for flexibility in mind, body and spirit.”
As Helen from Right Joy said, “As yoga practitioners, we master grounding by centering the head of the femur (thigh bone) in the back of the hip socket. This action is the most effective way to transfer our body weight from the pelvis through our legs and feet into the earth. In order to accomplish this feat, you may have already been instructed in yoga class to move the femur bones into the support of your hamstrings (back of the upper leg). It takes great mind-body awareness to first locate the femurs and then ground them into the back of the leg.”
As humans we have 7 chakras that begin from the base of our spine to the top of our head. Each chakra is a specific energy chanel that does something different. In this section we will touch on all 7 chakras but focus mainly on our sacral chakra located second from the root chakra.
Sacral Chakra: Develops from ages 8-14 - Water Chakra - moon energy- exploration
The sacral chakra has a lot to do with our overall health, this chakra is located in our lower belly. This energy point resonates highly with people's self confidence, connection to self, creativity, pleasure, and emotions. If we are not growing or developing as humans in any aspect of our life but especially in our own creativity, sexuality, or self esteem it can signify a blocked sacral chakra. In order for us to prosper spiritually and allow for our sacral energy to grow we have to be in balance first with our root then our sacral and make our way up from there.
As women the sacral chakra holds a special place for us due to the fact that it holds our creativity,life force and playing a large role in our reproductive and sexual energy. The sacral and throat chakra are the mostly commonly blocked chakra among women due to the long history of societal oppression and in this world where the power of feelings are not valued and the sacredness and true values of what sex means are taken away. We are conditioned at a young age to glorify money, materialism, and living a life of not being intune with our inner selves. This leads to a life full of disconnect from ourselves, from our passion and creativity.
