HAPPY HIPS + HAMMIES

BY MEGHAN FOLEY (SHE/HER)

In ten years of teaching yoga, whenever I ask students for requests of areas of the body to tend to, they consistently ask for hips and hamstrings. In an overly sedentary world, our hips and hamstrings fall into great discomfort. It is common yet not normal to sit on the sacrum, this over time leads to short, tight hamstrings and ineffective glutes. Through the yoga therapy lens, pain, tightness, and discomfort can motivate first steps in rebuilding awareness and compassion. Everything connects in the body, and nothing works in isolation. When one part of the body feels strain, oftentimes another part is being underutilized. Instead of labeling parts of the body as “good” or “bad,” I look for the underlying reason why a particular area feels discomfort or strain. As John Muir says, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.”

The word “pelvis” means “basin” or “container” in Latin. It creates the foundation upon which our spine emerges. The core works most efficiently with the pelvis in a neutral position. Subtleties in pelvic alignment can profoundly affect our anatomy above and below. In my yoga therapy work, almost every time I encounter someone with tight hips, a tight, clenched jaw is also present and vice versa. Healthy hips and hamstrings are the key to happy knees, ankles, feet, pelvic floor, and breath.

The pelvis often experiences imbalances based on our posture. The quadriceps and hamstrings act like a pulley system on the pelvis, pulling on either the front of the pelvis or the back, causing strain when not in collaboration. The quadriceps are a group of four muscles on the front of the thigh, flexing the hip and extending (straightening) the knee. The hamstrings are a group of muscles on the back of the thigh, extending the hip and flexing (bending) the knee. Both the hamstrings and the quads tend to be both weak and tight in many bodies. The goal is not to just become more flexible. The happiest, healthiest joints are both mobile and stable. Whenever you want to release a tight muscle, it likely needs strength as well.

Incorporating healthy functional patterns into the body can feel like learning a new language with moments of shakiness, uncertainty, awkwardness, and discomfort. Be patient and compassionate with yourself as you reintroduce more functional movement. The lower body is the Yin region, governed by lunar, feminine, earth, and water elements. It is our foundation, closest to the earth. The more time, energy, and care we spend realigning ourselves with the earth in both subtle and tangible ways, the more ease we can reincorporate into our bodies and lives. As my mentor and esteemed teacher Leslie Howard says, “Anatomical knowledge is power.” +