Poses for Your Hip Flexors

Loosen up those tight hips—and let go of whatever you’re holding onto—with this short sequence.

Fire up your abs for this difficult asymmetrical arm balance, Eight-Angle Pose.

Having a tricky time with Bow Pose? Take what you know from Bridge and Camel and change your relationship to gravity. Here's how.

The key to Parsva Bakasana is twisting enough to place the outer edge of one upper arm far around the outside of the opposite thigh.

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, a well-known backbend, will challenge you to lift and open your chest.

A compact arm balance, Crow Pose and Crane Pose tone the abs and the arms, strengthen in the core, and focus the mind.

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana is a deep hip opener and forward bend that you should approach consciously to reap its many benefits.

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana can be whatever you need—energizing, rejuvenating, or luxuriously restorative.

Bump up your energy (and confidence!) by bending back into Camel Pose. Ustrasana counteracts slouching and relieves lower back pain with a generous, heart-opening stretch.

Boat Pose, or Paripurna Navasana, requires you to balance on the tripod of your sitting bones and tailbone to build mental and physical focus, inspiring a full-body awareness.

Bend back into the shape of a bow to feel energetically locked, loaded, and ready to take aim.

This revolved variation of Utthita Parsvakonasana requires a lot of flexibility to twist so deeply and ground the back heel.

Want to fly? Fire up your core. Firefly pose is an arm balance pose that requires more core strength than arm strength.

These pre-run stretches help counteract the muscular tension that always seems to accompany your workout—no matter your pace.

Barely able to come into Butterfly? These stretches will help you find relief.

Got back pain? Tight hip flexors could be to blame. Open them up with these four yoga poses that counterbalance the prolonged hip flexion of sitting for hours.

Hip flexors creaky and tight? We've got the antidote: These yoga poses that stretch hip muscles and provide relief.

Say goodbye to tight hips and hamstrings with this sequence to help you prep for and recover from climbing.

This foundational shape lengthens your hip flexors and engages your core, preparing you for more demanding poses.

These simple moves will powerfully balance your legs, pelvis, and spine whether you're at your desk, out and about, or on the mat.

The intensity of Virasana can feel as daunting as the hero’s journey in your favorite adventure story. Choose the variation on the pose, ranging from gentle to fiery, to fit the narrative of your personal story on the mat today.

Maintaining flexibility and stability in the hip joints is crucial for lower-back health and cultivating overall freedom and ease in our bodies.

Every yogi can melt hip tension with this Monkey Pose sequence (with mods!) from the yoga teacher, body-positive advocate, and Instagram star.

Balancing forces is particularly crucial when it comes to addressing the feeling of “tightness” many of us have in our hips.

To work on activating the muscles of the hips to find more balance, try this sequence.

Whether or not you ever find yourself in the full expression of Monkey Pose, you can still enjoy the journey with these very effective preps from Two Fit Moms.

The yoga splits, or Hanumanasana, are a lifelong journey for many yogis. Fortunately there’s more than one way to skin a Monkey. These four variations of the pose each offer their own value and benefits.

Masumi Goldman reveals the trick to mastering the overhand grip in Dancer and One-Legged King Pigeon Poses is often in (surprise!) the psoas.

Lord of the Dance Pose (Natarajasana) requires foundation, stability, concentration, flexibility, and balanced action -- everything you need as you set out to achieve your goals for the New Year.

Fire Log Pose (Double Pigeon) opens the hips and the groin, and releases tension, anxiety, and pent-up stress.

Hip openers bring release in many areas that are tight and bring a sense of release across the board to many practitioners.

Here's how to use the strength of your core and inner thighs to lift into this arm balance.

Focus on deepening hip and shoulder flexibility to get ready for Tittibhasana.

Almost all sports injuries are caused by imbalance in the body, says Sage Rountree. Here she explains how to achieve balance throughout the hips for greater comfort and freedom in your activities.

Hip openers increase flexibility and range of motion, which benefits athletes of all kinds. But too much looseness in the hips can a detriment. Sage Rountree explains.

The surprising key to soothing sciatica and lower back pain is a muscle you may never have heard of—the piriformis.

A student's question in class brings up an important discussion about protecting the knees in Fire Log Pose.

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Sick of sit-ups? Strengthen your abdominals and hip flexors with Lolasana.

One poetic translation of Camatkarasana means "the ecstatic unfolding of the enraptured heart."

One of yoga's most versatile backbends, Bridge Pose can fire you up or cool you down depending on what you need.

Learn how to work stiff hips from every angle in Pigeon Pose.

This arm balance relies more on precise positioning than on strength, making it more accessible for students beginning an arm balancing practice.

Low Lunge, or Anjaneyasana in Sanskrit, stretches the thighs and groins and opens the chest. It provides recovery post-workout, and boosts energy while consciously working to improve posture.

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana II allows you to stretch the entire front body and deep into the hip flexors to strengthen your back and improve posture.

This variation of High Lunge, sometimes called Crescent Pose, is a great preparation for the full version of Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I Pose).

Counteract the effects of Modern-Day Sitting Syndrome by lengthening your hip flexors in High Lunge.

Pose Dedicated to the Sage Koundinya II tones the belly and spine, strengthens the arms and wrists, and gives your self-confidence a big boost.

Eka Pada Koundinyasana I or Pose Dedicated to the Sage Koundinya I has a lot going on—the twist, the legs going their separate ways, oh, and the arm balance. Master it.

Kapotasana invigorates your body and gives your spirits a lift. This extremely deep backbend is appropriate for advanced practitioners only.

Find proper alignment in Pigeon Pose, then practice it often, and those stiff, tight hips will start to feel open again.

Strengthen your wrists, arms, and abs, hanging in the balance of Tolasana.

Take a leap of faith into Hanumanasana or Monkey Pose, named for a figure in Hindu mythology who did just that. And when faith doesn't get you all the way there, practice will.

Lay Virasana back and to take the stretch in the thighs and ankles up a notch.

Boost the body's energy and fight fatigue with Fish Pose, or Matsyasana in Sanskrit, while building confidence with a loving stretch in the shoulders. It is said that if you perform Matsyasana in water, you will be able to float like a fish.