Desk work? Binge-watching? Eating out with friends? Long car ride? Whatever the reason, I’m sure you’ve sat down in a chair for hours only to experience lower back pain and hip discomfort by the time you stand up again. Life doesn’t have to be this way! You can still navigate desk work while feeling freedom in your body.
As a yoga instructor, I’m passionate about movement and know how crucial it is for everyone to stretch roughly every hour. If you’re sitting regularly and experiencing lower back and hip pain, chances are you NEED to stretch out your hip flexor muscles.
Your hip flexors, aka your psoas muscle which connects your lower back to the front of your hip, suffer when you’re sitting. Why? Because you’re shortening the muscles.
Think about it. When you’re sitting in a chair, your torso and legs create a 90-degree angle. Your hips are bent, thus shrinking your psoas. You’re guaranteed to feel stiff after extended periods of sitting and you compromise your body even more when you’re sitting around the clock. The stiffness is from your fascia, a thin connective tissue that surrounds your muscles, essentially shriveling up because it’s dried out.
So, let’s warm up your fascia and stretch out those muscles! Routinely stretching your hip flexors will give you immense relief in your low back and legs.
Remember to hold each stretch for at least 3 – 5 breaths and try to do them every 1 – 2 hours when you’re sitting for long periods of time. Watch how the pain melts away from your hips and lower back!
- High/Low Lunge
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Keep your front knee over your front ankle and your back toes tucked so they’re making contact with the ground with your heel lifted.
Squeeze your thighs in towards one another and keep your pelvic floor engaged.
Pull the hip of your extended leg forward while pulling your bent hip back to maximize the stretch you’ll feel in the hip flexor.
It doesn’t matter if you choose to do High Lunge or Low Lunge, as long as you keep both sides equal.
- Butterfly Pose
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Bring the soles of your feet together and allow your knees to fall out to the sides. Fold as far as comfortable.
Experiment with gently rocking side to side if that feels comfortable.
- Glute Bridge
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Keep your feet flat on the floor and hip-width apart.
Make sure your shoulder blades are snug underneath your back and that you have enough space between your chin and chest to breathe.
Option to hold this pose for a few breaths or flow your hips up and down.
If you were sitting while reading these, I challenge you to try one of the stretches right now!
Loved these poses and want more ways to change your life from sedentary to active? You’ll also love my HC article Standing Yoga Poses You Can Do Anywhere!
Namaste,
Camryn