As I mentioned earlier this week, I decided to take on a little fitness challenge in February: daily hip and heart openers. Here is a bit more background on why I’m doing this challenge, plus a more detailed plan.
The hips
The main reason I decided to do this challenge is because I’ve been noticing how tight my hips still are, despite a lot progress in my yoga practice overall. While I’ve definitely made advances in some hip-openers, my Warrior I pose is still…not good. My hips refuse to open up in that pose. I’ve also noticed I really struggle with some of the exercises at DEFINEbody because of my hips. Tight hips are typically a side effect of sitting at a desk all day and can lead to lower back pain and knee pain, so this is an area I’d really like to improve upon.
Though it’s good for you, stretching your hips can be pretty uncomfortable. I’ve written before about how yoga instructors are always saying that we store emotions in our hips, and the release of said emotions is something I experience repeatedly during yoga. I really have a love-hate relationship with hip-opening poses.
Here are some of my favorite hip-openers:
Pigeon pose. For me, this is the gold standard for hip openers. While I don’t find myself weeping during pigeon, I have noticed that my thoughts turn extremely negative whenever I’m in that pose — I tend to think about criticism I’ve received.
Wide squat. It took me forever to be able to do this pose; I hated it when instructors told us to do it because I felt like the only person in the class who just could not do it. Now I can do it but I still feel like it challenges my entire body.
Hip-opening podcasts:
The heart
As part of Go Red for Women month, I decided to add heart openers to my February challenge. Not only are heart openers a reminder to do right by your heart, they are also good for your heart in that they relive stress (and Heart-opening poses are pretty literal in yoga; according to Yoga Journal:
Any time people feel threatened, be it by pain, challenge, or pressure to perform, the need to guard or defend oneself usually results in holding the breath or breathing in shallow, erratic patterns. These defensive breath patterns cause muscle tightness in the very areas we’re trying to open, as well as gripping in the upper abdomen, which restricts the normal movement of the diaphragm.
So by physically stretching the muscles in the chest, shoulders, back, and abdomen, you can improve blood flow to the heart, improve your breathing, and be more open emotionally.
You can find several heart-openers on Yoga Journal; here are some of my favorites:
Utkatasana (chair pose). It took me a while to like chair pose, but when I learned it was a back stretch (rather than just torture for your thighs), something clicked. Now I actually really like it, and chair twist is one of my favorite poses. I love the way it makes my chest and back feel.
Dolphin. Another pose that has really grown on me. I’ve read several places that dolphin is a good “detox” pose — that the position of your body helps flush toxins out of your body. While I can’t say whether that’s true or not (and I haven’t had a toxin binge in a while), it does make me feel great. I just feel so strong when I do it.
Camel. I find this pose pretty intense for me as far as heart openers go. Yoga Journal has some good tips for beginners for this pose.
Podcasts that focus on opening the heart:
The challenge
My plan for this challenge is pretty simple: do at least one hip-opener and one heart-opener every day in February. On days when I’m not doing any other yoga, I’ll probably do 5-20 minutes of some specific poses, using podcasts for the longer sessions. On days when I’m already practicing yoga, I’ll definitely achieve this in the course of the class, but I’m also going to make it a point to add on other poses when it feels appropriate. (For example, if a flow class doesn’t have many hip openers beyond pigeon, then I’ll add on a couple extras at the end of the class.)
I hope that by doing this challenge I’ll just feel healthier and more open on a daily basis, and that by March, I’ll have an easier time with backbends and Warrior I. Eric is going to do it with me, and I’d love for others to join in too! Let me know in the comments if you plan to join in!
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Love the idea of a challenge! I think I want to do a daily plank challenge this month since I have basically no core whatsoever and I know strengthening it will help prevent injury. I also hate core work with a passion so a challenge that’s also easily accomplished is a perfect way to motivate me.
I’m in – starting a day late though. Thanks for all the detail/links. Like you, I’m really seeing benefits from a regular yoga practice, and I think this kind of intention with hip and heart opening poses will add another dimension.
You are just purely amazing Rachel…what a great idea! I LOVE pigeon pose… I need to use a small block but I love how deep of a stretch I get especially toward the end of class. Bliss. You are doing such wonderful things for your mind AND body! Also love how the man is going to join in ; )
Rachel @ Healthy Chicks recently posted..A Vlog: Healthy Chicks Eat Burgers Too (Or Insert Your #1 Indulgence)
I so agree about camel – ridiculously intense but really satisfying. What kind of yoga do you do? i love your yoga posts (as well as life posts in general :) )
This is a great challenge. I, of course, started out my February with a celebratory night out with friends on Saturday. Last night there was too much oreo puppy chow so good. so addictive).
I’m in for the challenge but am modifying it to be: do more yoga. With all of the running and lifting I do I let stretching fall way to the wayside, and I need to get back into something that bends and stretches and twists my body.
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I never used to have hip or back issues but in the last 2.5 years of working a desk job, both are constantly tight and I find myself spontaneously stretching all over the place. I’m not the most knowledgable about yoga, but camel and deep squat are actually two poses that I always incorporate into my stretching because they work!
Rachel, Please forgive me for being an itunes reject- but how the hell do i download the podcasts you linked (I barley know what a podcast is so i need the dumbed down version). I see there is a yogadownload app for $2.99- do i need that? If i click on the links above it gives me lots of options but i dont 20-minute hip-opening flow #4… what am i missing!?!
HELP!
Oh no! iTunes has an option that says “link to this” so that is what I’ve been using. When I click the link, it opens an iTune preview and then I do “open in iTunes” and yeah, it gives me the list of all the podcasts, but not specific ones. I don’t get a prompt for downloading the app though; there’s just a “Subcribe Free” button.
Anyway, if you can get to the Yoga Download podcast page in the iTunes store (either in the way I just described or just by doing a search), you can just scroll through to find the hip and heart-opening podcasts I mentioned:
Episode #22 = hip-opening flow #4
Episode 18 = hip-opening flow #3
Episode 14 = heart-opening flow
You should also see tons of other episodes listed as well, so you can always browse there for other hip and heart ones (like Anusara, Forrest, or new ones they may add).
Hope that helps a bit but let me know if it’s still not working!
Ok- got it, mostly. How do I make them play? I clicked the little arrow thing and it said preparing to download- but then it didnt do anything else.
If you are on your phone in the Podcasts app, the arrow should start the download. When I click it, it says “downloading” immediately. And I’m pretty sure tapping the title of it will start it streaming without downloading it, but I can never figure out whether I’m downloading or streaming, I swear. (Side note: the Podcasts app kind of sucks.) When I go to the itunes web app from the link on my blog post and then click “open in iTunes,” I can just click “free” to start the download.
Do either of those things work?
Yep, got it (finally)! Thank you :)
This post totally inspired me. I’ve been rocking the standard bridge pose for awhile now, as I haven’t had the shoulder strength to get up into full wheel since I was younger. Yesterday in class, though, I decided to give it a shot on our third round. And I NAILED IT. It was the shit. I had the same feeling afterward too – out of breath and so satisfying. Thanks for the confidence booster, and good luck with your goal!
Ahh that’s so awesome! Go team!!
I am excited to join you for this! My hips feel great this morning after hip-openers in front of the TV last night. I am excited to see what they will feel like after a month!
Thanks for starting this challenge!
What would you recommend for someone who doesn’t have any yoga background? Do the podcasts walk you through clearly enough? Or should I just get myself to some yoga classes?! :)
I think starting with a couple yoga classes is ideal (and there are often free community classes once a week at most studios!). Eric did a podcast and I had to show him some of the poses that weren’t totally clear to him from the cues. But most of the podcasts have a pose guide PDF to download that you can view before the class that helps; had I not been around, he could have used that.