In this article
  1. The Main Principles to Improve Hip Flexibility
  2. Types of Hip Movements
  3. The Hip Poses to Practice

This guide is for you if you’re someone who isn’t naturally super flexible and wants to improve hip flexibility for activities such as yoga, meditation, sports, or just general life mobility.

I learned the main principles from Lucas at YogaBody and customized the poses to my body after.  It has been helpful in improving my hip flexibility over time.

The Main Principles to Improve Hip Flexibility

  1. Wet noodle or relax while holding the poses 
  2. Slow 4 x 8 breathing (4 count in breath through nose & 8 count out breath through mouth helps)
  3. Long hold passive tension 3-5 minutes (meet or beat your previous time)

Using the combination of slow breathing and long holds allows you to overcome the body’s nervous system reflex that is usually active for a few minutes when starting any pose that is very opening.

It’s best to do this stretching routine once per day for 15 minutes.

Each hold should be around 5 minutes so that would be a total of 2 poses where 1 pose has 2 separate holds to it for a total of 15 combined minutes.

You can mix and match the poses as you see fit for your body as they all work different areas needed for hip mobility.

Be sure to prop up in positions that you are not flexible enough for yet.

If you can make this routine part of your evening routine before going to sleep the calm breathing patterns and relaxation allows the parasympathetic nervous system to kick in allowing better sleep.

Lastly, it usually takes a month or so to see initial results then you will see additional gains over the longer term.

The key is stretching consistently with 3-5 minute holds. Shorter stretching times that are typical in sports warm-ups will not have a major impact on flexibility. 

Types of Hip Movements

The stretches below will each hit on different hip mobility patterns but they all increase the range of mobility in each of these hip motions:

  • Flexion
  • Extension
  • External rotation
  • Internal rotation

The Hip Poses to Practice

Pigeon 

Woman in pigeon pose on a mat outdoors Remember not to drop to the side

Butterfly

Woman in butterfly pose

Blaster

 Woman in a low lunge hip flexor stretch

Squat

Woman in a deep squat with hands together Add blocks as needed for a long hold

Happy Baby 

Woman lying in happy baby pose

Thread the Needle

Woman in thread the needle stretch on her back

Frog 

Man in frog pose on a yoga mat

Jack Knife Blaster

Person in the jack knife blaster stretch

Thunderbolt 

Woman kneeling in thunderbolt pose

Zorro 

Man in a kneeling hip stretch on cushions

Supine Butterfly

Person lying in supine butterfly Use a strap around the feet & waist

Thread the Needle at The Wall

Woman in thread the needle stretch on her back This stretch but sitting upright against wall

Prone Butterfly with Strap

Woman in prone butterfly stretch with a strap

Ninja Squats

Woman in a side lunge squat Use blocks to prop up

PSOAS Blaster

Man doing a psoas stretch with one leg on a table

Double Pigeon

Woman in double pigeon pose with a yoga block

Eagle Fold

Woman in eagle fold pose

Thread the Needle to Side

Woman in thread the needle stretch on her back This pose fall on each side for a deeper stretch

Swiss Army Knife

Woman in a seated twist holding her foot

Saddle 

Woman in saddle pose lying back on her heels

Butterfly Squat

Man in a butterfly squat holding a support

Half Lightning Bolt

Woman kneeling in thunderbolt pose One leg at a time

A-Baby

Man lying on his back pulling one leg up with a strap

Standing Pigeon 

Woman doing a standing pigeon stretch with her leg on a table

Marichi with Strap

Woman in a seated marichi twist on a mat Fold the bottom leg into the quad and hold the strap out front

Long Butterfly with Strap 

Woman in butterfly pose Use a strap out front

Chair Squat

Man doing a chair squat on a box

Seated Pigeon

Man doing a seated pigeon stretch on a chair

Thunderbolt

Man in thunderbolt pose on a stool