Tight Hips? Open Your Hips with Yoga Hip Stretches & Poses

Picture this: you’ve been sitting at your desk for hours. The afternoon rolls around, and your stomach growls. You push back from your desk ready to hunt down some grub, but your tight hips and back hit you in a rush. You’ve been sitting all day, how is that possible?

Do you need more rest? Do you need to stretch? And why are your hips tight in the first place?

Below, we dish everything you need to know about tight hips and how to fight back.

How Do You Know If You Have Tight Hips?

You’ve probably got an inkling when your hips are tighter than usual (the soreness you feel every time you sit, or stand is a solid clue). Most often, pain from tight hips occurs in the upper groin area or your hip flexor (the front of your hip).

If you need confirmation, try this 10 second test.

Lie flat on your back and bring one knee to your chest.
If your bottom knee starts to bend as you pull your knee to your chest, it could be a sign your hip flexors are tight.

What Causes Tight Hips?

You would think a tough workout would be the root cause of tight hips. Sometimes a heavy leg day packed with squats or deadlifts could contribute to hip tightness, but usually it’s caused by a sedentary lifestyle.

Excessive sitting causes your glute muscles to relax and deactivate and can lead to overactive hip flexors. When a muscle is activated, it naturally shortens. Chronically short muscles lead to muscle tightness.

There are other reasons why your hips might be tight. Here are the main contenders:

Standing after long periods of time
A tipped pelvis (either too far forward or back) which creates structural imbalance
Bad posture habits like leaning forward or sitting with your legs crossed
Sleeping all night on one side of the body
Having one leg longer than the other

How to Prevent or Reduce Tight Hips

The less you do to combat tight hips, the progressively tighter they become. Here are a few easy ways to take care of your hips throughout the day:

Get up and move around every hour
Warm up properly before your workouts
Stretch at the end of every workout
Foam roll or massage knots and areas of tightness

13 Stretches for Tight Hips

1. Child’s Pose with Twist

Child's pose helps to stretch your back and the muscles around your hips.

How to:

Start on your hands and knees.
Shift your hips back, resting your glutes on your feet, and spread your knees out to a 45-degree angle.
Walk your hands forward reaching your fingertips out in front of you.
Press your chest towards the floor, feeling a stretch in your back and hips the further you press forward.
Shift through your shoulder to stretch right and left, and feel the stretch deepen in your upper back.

2. Child’s Pose with Reach

This version of child’s pose will help to stretch further into each side of your back.

How to:

Start on the ground on hands and knees.
Shift your hips back to rest on your feet and spread your knees out to a 45-degree angle.
Walk your hands forward reaching your fingertips out in front of you.
Press your chest towards the floor, feeling a stretch in your back and hips the further you press forward.
Walk your hands to the right to deepen the stretch in your left side.
Switch, walking your hands to the left to deepen the stretch in your right side.

3. Downward Dog to High Lunge

This advanced version of downward dog will help strengthen your glute, increase hip mobility, and stretch your hip flexor all in one go.

How to:

Start in a downward dog position with your hands extended in front of you, hips high, and feet stretched behind you. Aim to press your heels into the mat.
From here, kick your right leg up to the sky, activating your glutes to draw your leg up.
Lower your leg with control, and then bring it forward to step into a high lunge.
Once your right foot is firmly planted on the ground, release your hands from the ground and stretch them towards the sky.
Hold the high lunge for a stretch or repeat the move to build mobility and strength.
Repeat on the left side.

4. Downward Dog to Low Lunge

This advanced version of downward dog will help strengthen your glute, increase hip mobility, and stretch your hips.

How to:

Start in a downward dog position with your hands extended in front of you, hips high, and feet stretched behind you. Aim to press your heels into the mat.
From here, kick your right leg up to the sky, activating your glutes to draw your leg up.
Lower your leg with control, and then bring it forward to step into a low lunge.
Once your right foot is firmly planted on the ground, rest your left knee gently on the ground.
Take your right elbow and stretch it toward the floor, deepening the stretch in your hips.
Hold the low lunge for a stretch or repeat the move to build mobility and strength.
Repeat on the left side.

5. Pigeon

Pigeon is a classic hip opening stretch that hits your hip flexors and lower back.

How to:

Start in a plank or downward dog position.
From here, kick your right leg forward with control, positioning your foot by your left hand, and your knee by your right hand.
Lower your back leg towards the floor, and fight to keep your front leg as parallel as possible.
To deepen the stretch, lower to your elbows, bringing your chest closer to your front leg.
Don’t forget to stretch both sides.

6. Wide Stance Squat Hold

A wide stance squat will strengthen your glutes (including the harder to target glute medius or side glute) and stretch your adductors (inner thighs).

How to:

Take a wide stance with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, and toes pointed out at about a 45-degree angle.
Sit back with your hips, and bend at the knees to get into a deep squat. Go as deep as feels comfortable for you, without collapsing your back.
Hold for 5-10 seconds, and repeat.

7. Wide Stance Forward Fold

A forward fold will stretch out your hamstrings. Add a wide stance like this and you’ll feel the stretch in your hips too.

How to:

Take a wide stance with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointed straight forward.
Fold at the hips to stretch your torso forward, keeping your chest proud.
Reach for the floor with your fingertips.
Feel free to rock back and forth if that feels good to you or walk your hands in between your legs and reach behind you to deepen the stretch.

8. Adductor Lunge

A forward fold will stretch out your hamstrings. Add a wide stance like this and you’ll feel the stretch in your hips too.

How to:

Take a wide stance with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointed straight forward or slightly out if that feels better to you.
Shift your hips back, bending your right leg to initiate a side lunge. Stretch as low as you can, propping up your left foot as a kickstand as you get lower.
Hold and then switch sides.

9. Butterfly

The butterfly stretch stretches your adductors (your inner thigh).

How to:

Sitting on your glutes, bend your knees, and bring the soles of your feet together.
Relax your hips, letting your knees fall towards the mat as low as your flexibility will allow.
Reach for your toes.
If your legs are resting against the ground, deepen the stretch by pressing your chest towards your toes.

10. Straddle Stretch

The butterfly stretch stretches your adductors (your inner thigh).

How to:

Sitting on your glutes, stretch your legs out to your sides.
Keeping your chest up and spine straight, reach your hands forward to deepen the stretch.

11. Figure 4

Figure 4 is a great stretch for tight glutes.

How to:

Lay flat on your back with your feet resting just below your glutes and knees bent.
Cross your left leg over your right, then put your hands behind your right knee and pull your right leg closer to your body so you can lay on the ground with your head, neck, and shoulders resting on the ground.
Press out with your left knee, either using your left hand, or mindfully pushing through your left leg to feel a stretch in your left glute.
Push further out on the left leg or pull your right leg even closer to you to deepen the stretch.
Hold and then switch sides.

12. Laying CARs

Layings CARs (controlled articular rotations) are incredible for increasing mobility in your hips.

How to:

Lay flat on your back with legs extended in front of you.
Bring your right leg off the ground, bending your knee to make a 90-degree angle.
Make big, controlled circles with your hip.
Complete at least 10 reps rotating in each direction (towards your midline and away from your midline).
Repeat on the left side.