Opening the Hips
1. Walk slowly around the room and notice what your hip joints are doing. Does one hip work a little differently from the other? Does your pelvis sway a little from side to side as you walk? Pay attention to the perineum (the area between the genitals and the anus). Are you holding any tension in this part of you? Notice how your feet touch the floor as you walk. Do your feet land lightly as they touch the floor or are they pounding into the floor a little? Do you spend more time on one foot compared to the other or put more weight on one foot? How do your back and shoulders respond to your walking? Notice where your body feels relaxed and where it feels tight as you walk.
2. Sit cross-legged and notice how your weight is distributed where your buttocks touch the floor and again check for any tension in the perineal area. Try crossing your legs the other way and notice how this affects the comfort of your sitting. Do you feel any strain in the hip joints?
3. Lie down on your back with your legs and your arms straight with the legs spread a little and your palms touching the floor. Observe the way your body is lying against the floor. Notice which parts of you are in contact with the floor, which parts of you are not touching, where the floor feels soft, and where the floor feels hard. Pay particular attention to the contact of your buttocks with the floor. Is there a difference between the right side and the left?
Do the following movements gently and slowly, within a range of movement that involves no stretching or straining. Give yourself permission to rest whenever you want to, and certainly at the first sign of fatigue.
4. Still lying on your back, bend both knees and place both feet flat on the floor with the feet about hip width apart. Lift your pelvis a little bit off the floor and let it drop. Do this a few times and notice whether the impact with the floor is soft or hard and how much of the force is transmitted to other parts of the body. Focus on relaxing the buttocks and the perineum.
Now try lifting the pelvis a little and leaving it lifted. In this position, slowly swing your pelvis a small amount left and right. Notice what this requires of your hip joints and your lower back. After a few repetitions, stretch your legs out and rest on your back.
5. Bend your knees and place your feet standing as before. Start tilting the left knee to the left and back to the starting position. Do it a few times keeping the pelvis more or less still so that the movement is primarily in the hip joint. Then allow the pelvis to participate by rolling the pelvis a little to the left and allowing the right side of the pelvis to lift off the floor. Notice if the spine participates in the movement.
Now start tilting the right knee to the right and back. Consciously relax the perineum as you do this. Finally, tilt the left knee to the left and the right knee to the right at the same time. Observe what effect this has on your lower back. Do this gently a few times and then straighten your legs and rest.
6. Bend both knees again and this time put your feet standing a little wider than hip width apart. Start tilting the left knee to the right and back to the starting position. Begin with a very small movement and gradually increase the range of the movement, staying within a range that is very easy and comfortable to do. Feel what happens in the left hip joint. Then tilt the right knee to the left and back a few times, again deliberately relaxing the perineum. Finish by very slowly bringing the knees towards each other until they touch and then separating them again. Sense where this movement is smooth and where it is jerky and try to make it a little smoother each time you do it. Then straighten your legs and rest.
7. Bring both feet flat on the floor with the knees bent. Slide the left foot further to the left along the floor and bring it back. Imagine that you are caressing the floor with your foot and notice what demand this movement places on your left hip joint. Try turning your head to the left as you slide your foot to the left. Repeat this movement a number of times on the right side, sliding your right foot to the right. Which foot moves more easily? Now try sliding the left foot to the left and the right foot to the right at the same time. After a few repetitions, straighten your legs and rest again. Notice if your contact with the floor has changed.
8. Bring both knees towards your chest and get a hold of your shins just below the knees with your hands. In this position, start opening your left leg to the left (bringing the left knee to the left), keeping your left hand on your shin. As you do this, feel what your left hip is doing and the way your weight shifts on your pelvis against the floor. Repeat this on the right side a few times and then open both legs at the same time. Can you soften the muscles of the perineum at the same time? Then rest with your legs extended.
9. Again bring your knees towards your chest and get hold of your shins. Roll onto your left side. Separate the right leg from the left and start bringing it towards the right. Continue rolling towards lying on your ride side, following with the left leg only when it needs to move. Roll back and forth like this, gently and easily as much as you like and have fun with the movement. Once again, straighten your legs and rest on your back.
10. Roll to lie on your right side with your knees bent and the left leg lying on top of the right. Support your head with your right arm or a cushion. Keeping your knees together, start bringing your left foot towards the ceiling (ie. the left leg pivots at the knee). As you repeat this movement, feel what happens in the left hip joint. Is this movement related to any of the movements you were doing lying on your back? Try a few times leaving the feet and ankles together and bringing the knee toward the ceiling. Pause for a moment and then start lifting all of your left leg off the right and bring the left knee in an arc towards the ceiling and then place it back down. Rest on your side briefly. Then imagine that you have a pen or paint brush growing out of your left knee. Lift your left leg a little off the right and start drawing circles on the wall in front of you with your knee. If this is hard on your left hip, rest frequently. Try some small circles and some larger circles and circles in both directions. Then roll over onto your back and rest.
Roll over onto your left side and repeat these explorations with your right leg.
11. Roll to your side and sit up and then get up on all fours (hands and knees). Alternately arch and curve your back a few times and notice what your buttocks do. Then start sliding your left foot along the floor to the left and back. Is this related to any of the movements you have already done in this lesson? Try sliding the right foot to the right a few times and then try doing both feet together. How does the rest of your body respond to these movements? Lie back down and rest on your back.
12. Bend both knees and place both feet flat on the floor with the feet about hip width apart. Lift your pelvis a little bit off the floor and let it drop as you did at the beginning of the lesson. Do this a few times and notice whether this feels different than before. Now lift the pelvis a little and leave it lifted. In this position, slowly swing your pelvis a small amount left and right. Notice whether your hip joints and your lower back function differently now. After a few repetitions, stretch your legs out and rest on your back.
13. As you are lying on the floor, compare the contact you have with the floor now with the way you felt when you first laid down, particularly the way the back of your pelvis feels now. Then slowly roll to your side and sit up. Sit cross-legged again and notice if you are sitting any differently. What do your hip joints feel like now? Finally stand up and walk around again and notice if your walking has changed. What do your hips, your pelvis, your buttocks, your perineum feel like now?
1. Walk slowly around the room and notice what your hip joints are doing. Does one hip work a little differently from the other? Does your pelvis sway a little from side to side as you walk? Pay attention to the perineum (the area between the genitals and the anus). Are you holding any tension in this part of you? Notice how your feet touch the floor as you walk. Do your feet land lightly as they touch the floor or are they pounding into the floor a little? Do you spend more time on one foot compared to the other or put more weight on one foot? How do your back and shoulders respond to your walking? Notice where your body feels relaxed and where it feels tight as you walk.
2. Sit cross-legged and notice how your weight is distributed where your buttocks touch the floor and again check for any tension in the perineal area. Try crossing your legs the other way and notice how this affects the comfort of your sitting. Do you feel any strain in the hip joints?
3. Lie down on your back with your legs and your arms straight with the legs spread a little and your palms touching the floor. Observe the way your body is lying against the floor. Notice which parts of you are in contact with the floor, which parts of you are not touching, where the floor feels soft, and where the floor feels hard. Pay particular attention to the contact of your buttocks with the floor. Is there a difference between the right side and the left?
Do the following movements gently and slowly, within a range of movement that involves no stretching or straining. Give yourself permission to rest whenever you want to, and certainly at the first sign of fatigue.
4. Still lying on your back, bend both knees and place both feet flat on the floor with the feet about hip width apart. Lift your pelvis a little bit off the floor and let it drop. Do this a few times and notice whether the impact with the floor is soft or hard and how much of the force is transmitted to other parts of the body. Focus on relaxing the buttocks and the perineum.
Now try lifting the pelvis a little and leaving it lifted. In this position, slowly swing your pelvis a small amount left and right. Notice what this requires of your hip joints and your lower back. After a few repetitions, stretch your legs out and rest on your back.
5. Bend your knees and place your feet standing as before. Start tilting the left knee to the left and back to the starting position. Do it a few times keeping the pelvis more or less still so that the movement is primarily in the hip joint. Then allow the pelvis to participate by rolling the pelvis a little to the left and allowing the right side of the pelvis to lift off the floor. Notice if the spine participates in the movement.
Now start tilting the right knee to the right and back. Consciously relax the perineum as you do this. Finally, tilt the left knee to the left and the right knee to the right at the same time. Observe what effect this has on your lower back. Do this gently a few times and then straighten your legs and rest.
6. Bend both knees again and this time put your feet standing a little wider than hip width apart. Start tilting the left knee to the right and back to the starting position. Begin with a very small movement and gradually increase the range of the movement, staying within a range that is very easy and comfortable to do. Feel what happens in the left hip joint. Then tilt the right knee to the left and back a few times, again deliberately relaxing the perineum. Finish by very slowly bringing the knees towards each other until they touch and then separating them again. Sense where this movement is smooth and where it is jerky and try to make it a little smoother each time you do it. Then straighten your legs and rest.
7. Bring both feet flat on the floor with the knees bent. Slide the left foot further to the left along the floor and bring it back. Imagine that you are caressing the floor with your foot and notice what demand this movement places on your left hip joint. Try turning your head to the left as you slide your foot to the left. Repeat this movement a number of times on the right side, sliding your right foot to the right. Which foot moves more easily? Now try sliding the left foot to the left and the right foot to the right at the same time. After a few repetitions, straighten your legs and rest again. Notice if your contact with the floor has changed.
8. Bring both knees towards your chest and get a hold of your shins just below the knees with your hands. In this position, start opening your left leg to the left (bringing the left knee to the left), keeping your left hand on your shin. As you do this, feel what your left hip is doing and the way your weight shifts on your pelvis against the floor. Repeat this on the right side a few times and then open both legs at the same time. Can you soften the muscles of the perineum at the same time? Then rest with your legs extended.
9. Again bring your knees towards your chest and get hold of your shins. Roll onto your left side. Separate the right leg from the left and start bringing it towards the right. Continue rolling towards lying on your ride side, following with the left leg only when it needs to move. Roll back and forth like this, gently and easily as much as you like and have fun with the movement. Once again, straighten your legs and rest on your back.
10. Roll to lie on your right side with your knees bent and the left leg lying on top of the right. Support your head with your right arm or a cushion. Keeping your knees together, start bringing your left foot towards the ceiling (ie. the left leg pivots at the knee). As you repeat this movement, feel what happens in the left hip joint. Is this movement related to any of the movements you were doing lying on your back? Try a few times leaving the feet and ankles together and bringing the knee toward the ceiling. Pause for a moment and then start lifting all of your left leg off the right and bring the left knee in an arc towards the ceiling and then place it back down. Rest on your side briefly. Then imagine that you have a pen or paint brush growing out of your left knee. Lift your left leg a little off the right and start drawing circles on the wall in front of you with your knee. If this is hard on your left hip, rest frequently. Try some small circles and some larger circles and circles in both directions. Then roll over onto your back and rest.
Roll over onto your left side and repeat these explorations with your right leg.
11. Roll to your side and sit up and then get up on all fours (hands and knees). Alternately arch and curve your back a few times and notice what your buttocks do. Then start sliding your left foot along the floor to the left and back. Is this related to any of the movements you have already done in this lesson? Try sliding the right foot to the right a few times and then try doing both feet together. How does the rest of your body respond to these movements? Lie back down and rest on your back.
12. Bend both knees and place both feet flat on the floor with the feet about hip width apart. Lift your pelvis a little bit off the floor and let it drop as you did at the beginning of the lesson. Do this a few times and notice whether this feels different than before. Now lift the pelvis a little and leave it lifted. In this position, slowly swing your pelvis a small amount left and right. Notice whether your hip joints and your lower back function differently now. After a few repetitions, stretch your legs out and rest on your back.
13. As you are lying on the floor, compare the contact you have with the floor now with the way you felt when you first laid down, particularly the way the back of your pelvis feels now. Then slowly roll to your side and sit up. Sit cross-legged again and notice if you are sitting any differently. What do your hip joints feel like now? Finally stand up and walk around again and notice if your walking has changed. What do your hips, your pelvis, your buttocks, your perineum feel like now?