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I receive a lot of requests for hip-opening stretches, especially from runners and other athletes. This stretches for tight hips routine is what many of them rely on after workouts.
Each of these hip-opening stretches are classics for a reason. You’ll stay in each for just a few breaths, beginning with reclined hamstring and hip stretches, moving on to some seated stretches and a low lunge sequence for tight hip flexors, and ending in Pigeon Pose. When practiced regularly, you’ll experience how they deliver increased flexibility and mobility in noticeable ways.
15-Minute Stretches for Tight Hips
You’ll stay in each stretch for 3 to 5 breaths. Rather than force yourself into the most intense version of a stretch, let yourself find a version that feels comfortable and that you can hold without tensing elsewhere in your body. No props are required.
Low Back Circles
Begin lying on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent. Draw both knees toward your chest, bring your hands to your knees, and make some little circles to massage the lower back with the mat. Try to have your arms create the motion so you’re not using much leg strength or effort. Check in and see how your hips are feeling.
Then reverse the direction of your circles.
Reclined Hamstring Stretch
Come back to neutral and let your left foot come flat on the mat. Hold on somewhere along the back of your right leg as you extend it toward the sky and find a little hamstring stretch here. Try to relax head and shoulders on the floor. Flex your right foot and then point through your toes, alternating back and forth a few times. When you flex, you’ll feel it a little more along the back of your heel and calf, and when you point, really try to stretch through the top of your foot. You can keep a little bend in your right knee.
Half Happy Baby
Transition into Half Happy Baby by bending your right knee and holding onto your big toe with your two peace fingers or placing your hand along your calf. I’m going to let my left leg kind of flop over to the side for a little counterweight. You can use your right elbow to push your right knee open a little more. At the same time, you’re trying to pull your knee down toward the mat.
Take some deep belly breaths here. You want both shoulders and hips evenly grounded on the mat and your weight evenly distributed between them. You can use a little arm strength to pull your thigh down, but you’re still pressing your shoulders away from your ears, so you’re not shortening through the neck or causing any discomfort or tension in other areas of your body.
Figure 4 or Reclined Pigeon
Guide your right ankle to the top of your left knee and find a figure-4 shape with your legs. Stay here or reach your hands along either side of your left thigh and draw it toward your belly. You can rock a little side to side. This is deep external hip rotation that also gets into the glutes.
Release and do the same thing on your other side, beginning with your Reclined Hamstring Stretch. You might notice that this feels very different on one side compared to the other. That’s normal.
Happy Baby Pose
Pull both knees toward your chest, widen your knees toward your shoulders, and maybe you stay here or you can take Happy Baby Pose by grabbing both big toes with your peace fingers and taking your elbows to the inside of your knees. Rocking side to side a little, pulling your knees down a little more, and then release.
Butterfly or Bound Angle Pose
Roll over to one side or rock yourself forward into a sitting position. Bring the soles of your feet together to touch and let your knees fall apart. You can choose how close you bring your heels toward you in what’s known as Butterfly or Bound Angle Pose. The closer they are, the more intense the stretch. Lean forward and start to crawl your hands away from you and walk them over toward the right, extending a little more with your left hand and left arm. It’s okay to round a little through your back. Crawl your fingertips back toward center and over to the other side.
Bring your hands back through to center and stay here. See if you can reach a little further out. Then slowly walk your hands in, roll all the way back up to your seated position, and use your hands to bring your knees in.
Downward-Facing Dog
Come to kneeling as you place your hands on the mat, shoulder-width apart, and take your feet hip-width apart. Tuck your toes under and lift your hips up and back into Downward-Facing Dog. You can peddle it out, alternating bending one knee and straightening the opposite leg, reaching the heel of your straight leg toward the mat. Then find some stillness here.
Scorpion Dog
Reach your right leg toward the sky, bend your right knee, and open your hip by letting your heel fall behind you. You’ll feel a big thigh stretch here.
Lizard Pose
Step your right foot to the outer edge of your right hand. Bring both palms and your back knee to the mat. Stay here or tuck your right toes and roll onto the outer edge of your right foot to let your knee drop away from you. You can stay on your hands or come down onto your forearms.
You can add a quad stretch, if you’d like more of a Twisted Monkey variation, by reaching your right arm all the way up and back as you bend into your left knee and pull that heel in, so a little spinal twist here as well. Carefully release hold of your back foot.
Pigeon Pose
Inch your right foot toward the left side of your mat and bring your right knee somewhere behind your right wrist. Point your back toes. Inhale as you lift and lengthen and then exhale as you fold forward and down in Pigeon Pose. You’re welcome to stay up on your forearms.
If you prefer, you can lower your forehead to the mat. Take about 5 belly breaths here, trying to let gravity pull you deeper into the pose. You’re trying to make this stretch fairly passive and relaxed. To make this hip stretch less intense, keep your right heel closer toward your left hip.
Downward-Facing Dog
Push your hands into the mat to lift yourself and then find Downward Dog again. Take your time here and find any movements that feel good and free up your right hip, so maybe paddling out the legs and the feet or stretching it out.
Then repeat the poses on your other side, beginning with Scorpion Dog and ending with Downward Dog.
Seated Meditation
From Down Dog, bring your knees to the mat and find a comfortable sitting position following your short stretches for tight hips practice. Close your eyes, slow your breath, and pause here for as long as you can and noticing how you feel before continuing with your day.
