Good morning hip stretch

Good Morning Hip Stretch/Openers ?

'Good morning'  and  'Hip stretch'   in the same sentence, does not sit well for me  ( no pun intended! )

I'm sure I'm not on my own when I admit I really dont like doing hip openers/stretches ( i'd almost go as far as saying I hate them )
And for me that means that I know I'm not good at them,  they are uncomfortable to do and i would go as far to say that some hip openers I attempt, actually hurt and this in turn makes me like them less....
so I know it is a good thing that I go to classes as well as do home practices
reason being is I would never choose to do a hip opening sequence, which in turn would mean that my hips would never get used to opening more, which in turn would mean it would always be uncomfortable...
good thing about going to the classes is that I never know what to expect, each class is different and will invariably have some aspect of hip openers, and because I'm taking part in the class I will attempt to do them, and also I can see that it is not only me that finds them difficult.

Having said that many poses that we do would not automatically shout out 'Hip openers'
and yet most poses we do will have some aspect of hip work..e.g

• Downward dog
• downward dog split
• lunges
• sitting in cross leg position

all of these will open the hips.. the benefits of hip openers are immense and include

• increased flexibility in hips... allowing even weight distribution, allowing even the most difficult tasks to be done efficiently.
• release stress and tension on the spine.. increased hip tightness means that the spine has to over compensate, causing back pain
• improve actions like bending down and movements that include leg lifts.

More intense hip openers include:

• Pigeon pose
• lizard pose
• Hindi squat
• Frog  ( my pet hate ...will I ever get flat... NO !! )

And of course it is always important to remember that every ones body is different including our hips.. so what is accessible for one person may not ever be to another

Always work within your limitations

Namaste