The Yin Yoga Podcast
The Yin Yoga Podcast
Yin & Somatics: Lasting Relief for Hip and Groin Tension
Ever wondered why tension seems to build up in certain areas of your body, like the front of your pelvis and groins? This episode of the Yin Yoga Pod-practice aims to provide answers to this question while helping you find a solution through mindful movement. education and of course, stretching. We unravel the profound connection between your daily habits, lifestyle, and the discomfort you feel in these areas, developing a comprehensive understanding of these correlations.
The goal here isn't just to stretch these sensitive areas, it's to help you understand the gripping and holding patterns in your body, and how to befriend them. We also delve into the emotional states that contribute to tension in the front pelvis and groin providing insights into how you might use these techniques to overcome this pain long term.
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Welcome to the Yin Yoga Podcast. I'm your host, mandy Ryle. Today's episode is a pod practice which is really going to focus on a specific anatomical area that would be the front of the pelvis and the groins and my goal here was not just to stretch this area but really to provide a very comprehensive experiencing of what is happening here, both anatomically but also globally, because, as I will explain in the podcast, I think that this area is a little bit like the canary in the coal mine. So whenever something is not quite right in the embodied self, many of us have a tendency to really grip and hold here, and for some of us, this gripping and holding is like all day. Every day can become very uncomfortable, even painful. So I wanted to give you some real actionable strategies for feeling like you're doing something to open up the tissues, but also some long term solutions to finding the kind of comfort here that you're really looking for. For your practice, you will want to have three blocks a bolster and a blanket. As always, I'm very happy to have you here practicing with me. If you haven't already, just make sure, before your practice starts, to just hit that subscribe button in your podcast app. That way, you'll never miss a valuable practice or discussion.
Speaker 1:Let's start by setting up your props. We're going to take your blanket and it's going to go at the very back of your mat, very back of your mat. You've got three blocks today. Those are all up at the front of your mat. Those blocks are at the front of your mat and for now let's just have the bolster beside your mat, okay? And then, once we've done all our housekeeping, you're going to come down onto your back. Come down onto your back with your head resting on that blanket. You are welcome to have your legs long or your feet flat, it's totally up to you.
Speaker 1:And since we will be tending to this front pelvis area, let's notice this area. To begin, as you're arriving already, bringing the attention especially to the front of the pelvis. Notice if there's any movement there. Notice any sensations there in the front of the pelvis. Do sensations change throughout the breath cycle? If you change your breath, can you change the experience in the front of your pelvis? And then, just for fun, in case you haven't already, notice what's inside of the pelvis. Notice any sensations present, any movement.
Speaker 1:Sometimes, when we notice here, we become aware of the fact that we're maybe holding or gripping a little bit. You're under no obligation whatsoever to release that gripping or holding unless you want to. And then we'll keep the left heel nice and wide on the mat. So if the leg is not yet extended, send your left leg all the way out to the left corner and bring the sole of the right foot flat, standing on the sole of that right foot, and walk the foot all the way to the left thigh. So you're still standing on the foot, but your ankle is against your left thigh. And then let this right thigh open up almost like a half butterfly. Yes, with control, let it open and then close it again. Bring the sole of the foot flat again. Let's do a few more like that and try to move with a lot of awareness. And it's somehow easier to cultivate awareness when we're moving slowly and when we're attempting to move with smoothness. And so as you open and close this right thigh, notice what comes up now, what experience is present now in the front of the hip, even as you're moving into the front of the thigh and sometimes the front of the thigh feels like the inner thigh here. Do you notice that, like your, your perception of the front of the thigh could change based on the orientation of your thigh.
Speaker 1:Okay, and then the next time your knee is pointing up, you're going to stay and you're going to just heel, toe your foot out away from your left thigh just a little bit. I like to keep my heel closer to my thigh than my toes and then open up again. Yeah, so you're going to walk out a little bit and you're going to open up, and then you're going to come back up to vertical and you'll walk out again Just a step. Heel, toe, open up, and you're going to keep doing this. You're going to keep walking out until your foot is standing on the long edge of your mat, yeah, yeah. And if your hips start to tilt significantly to the right as you go wider, I think that's good, I think that's a really functional way to use your pelvis and your thigh, yeah, and then, once you get to the edge of the mat, I'm going to have you walk back in again, and it's normal to kind of speed up a little bit, but make sure you're still maintaining the smoothness and the slowness and the awareness. Lots of sensation, lots and lots.
Speaker 1:And when your foot comes all the way back to the left thigh. You're going to walk out one more time. Walk out one more time, take your time. And maybe this time, if it took you four or five steps to get all the way to the edge, it's only going to take you three. But go slow, right. So we're not going to speed up, we're going to go the same speed, but we're going to take bigger steps. If the hips tilt significantly, let them.
Speaker 1:And the next time your foot is all the way out, all the way out onto the edge and the knee opens up, you're going to keep it there just for a beat and bring the knee back up. Keep the foot on the edge. Let's do just a couple more of these, because this is kind of the tightest spot, right. So think of it as like noodling. You're just kind of noodling around seeing what's here and noticing how the hip becomes the front of the thigh or the inside of the thigh. Yeah, and the next time that right thigh is open, you'll keep it. You'll keep it there. Yes, you'll plant the sole of your left foot flat onto the mat, standing on it. Keep that right thigh open If you can, if you can push down into the left foot, lift and shift your hips to the left. So push down into that left foot, lift and shift your hips to the left and then roll over onto your right side. Let that right thigh just drop, yeah, and hug your top knee, your left knee, into your chest. Use your hands to organize your ankle across the front of your right thigh, point the knee up, cross the ankle in front of the thigh like a figure four. Knee points up, yeah, and then open your heart, reach that left arm out for your twisted pigeon twisted pigeon.
Speaker 1:So this pose we often think of as being for the outer hip, and it's not, not for the outer hip, for sure, there's some hip going on there, right. But if possible, I'd like for you to try to divide your attention between that outer hip, those deep six rotators on the left hip, and the right side groin front of pelvis. It was your breathing. You're noticing any movement, any sensation as you're holding the pose. You're just observing with curiosity the natural life cycle of the pose. Okay, so I have had over the years a number of clients who find me because they have a lot of stiffness, tightness, discomfort, pain and the front of the hip and the groin, and so they think naturally what I need to do is find a yoga teacher and stretch it. Naturally, stretching it will lengthen these tissues, thereby eliminating pain stiffness. I think you know where I'm going with this. That's obviously not going to work. If it worked, then all the stretching people were doing would be fine and they wouldn't need to find me right.
Speaker 1:We're going to take about four more breaths Nice slow breaths and this twisted pigeon with the awareness divided. Final breath, okay, and then I'm going to have you roll onto your right side again with your knee stacked left knee, stacked on right knee, so you can uncross there and you'll press into your hands and come up to a side. Sit, slide your left heel to that left front corner of your mat and turn to face the front of your mat. Bring the sole of your right foot to your inner left thigh. If your right knee likes to stay way up, put something under it now. Yeah, use one of those blocks. Put something under it now so it can relax and then lean back into your hands. Step those hands back behind you and just lean back into them, just a nice casual posture, and similar to what we did before. You're going to bring the knee up. Bring that right knee up and then slowly let that knee come back down into the half butterfly. We'll come back up and back down.
Speaker 1:I think it takes a little bit of mental contortion in a way to really wrap your head around the fact that muscles don't stretch. They get stretched. What do muscles do? They contract. Muscle fibers do one thing they contract or they don't. So here, notice how muscles contract to bring your knee up and then how you're going to have to release for the thigh to open back up again. But it doesn't happen all at once. Right, we'll come back up and then release. So while some of the motor units release, some are still going to hold on to make sure you can get that knee back out smoothly. And probably not all of them will release completely because tension is required.
Speaker 1:Good, next time the knee is up, you're going to take a step out, toe heel open up. See how you can move smoothly here and then step out open, see how you can move slowly and carefully and smoothly here. And with curiosity, toe heel, you should be standing on or very near the long edge of your mat and then we're going to walk back in and the next time your foot is against your thigh. You may do like an awkward quarter or half step. For the last one, you're going to stay with that thigh open and you're going to find a vertical spine, so, leaning forward, to come up and take your blocks, one on each side of your left leg. So frame your left leg with your blocks and then take your bolster on top. Take your bolster on top so you've got a little table over your left leg. We're not going to use it yet, so maybe push it out of the way for now and just to get your arms out of the way, just cross them over you.
Speaker 1:Lean forward, could be an inch, could be two if you're really flexible, could be more than that, and then just let your upper body swing and rotate to the left and then come back through center swing, rotate to the right. Let's do that. Could be smooth, but also a little bit more random. You know, just using gravity and the natural inherent tension of the tissues so you don't collapse, right. You can kind of use that momentum to swing around a little bit and since it doesn't take much of your attention to do that, you can just bring your attention to the front of your right side, pelvis and inner thigh. Okay, let's do one more to each side, left and right, and the next time you come through center, go just a little further to the left, yeah, and then bring those props to a place where they can support you in a forward fold here in a half butterfly. So if you're a little stiffer in the back of your leg, bring your props pretty close to you, and if you're a little more flexible, your props can move further away.
Speaker 1:Yeah, customizable, and of course we usually use this pose to bias the back of the left thigh. But maybe you can divide your attention between the hamstrings on the left and this region that we're working with today on the right. Just watch as you breathe, watch these areas. So there's something I left out about these clients who find me for pain and tension in the front of the hip and groin, and that is that these people tend to be my most stressed out people. They're the go-getters, they're the ones that everybody looks to to fix everything all the time. Somehow they manage it, somehow. This tension in this area and those traits seem to be connected, at least anecdotally.
Speaker 1:So here's your opportunity just to observe these two areas and then you can see the other side of the pose here at the end of the life cycle of the pose, beautiful work. So you'll press the hands down to rise up to vertical, untwisting because you're a little twisted out toward the bolster. Just let your hands rest, sit tall, soft for a moment and then we'll take the bolster off to the side of your mat. We'll put the blocks all the way back up at the front, send your right leg out long, so two legs are going to be out, long, kind of whitish Heels, a little whitish. And then let your head drop forward, your pelvis tilt back like you're making a cat spine and start to roll back towards your back. And if at any point you need to pop your elbow down or your palm onto the mat so you can roll back with awareness, then put it there and just keep noticing the front of the right hip as you come down. Eventually you'll be all the way on your back again with your head resting on your blanket, your heels wide. Maybe you need feet flat, that's okay too, you can do that.
Speaker 1:Take a moment to just compare right and left, and this time we're going to bring the other foot flat to start, so the left foot will be flat, right leg wide. We're going to walk that left ankle toward the inner right thigh and you're going to open up Smooth, slow. Let's do this a few times just so you can feel this nice play between activity, muscles doing what they do and some level of release. There has to be some level of release right, or your leg wouldn't move at all and just enjoy that right. Knowing that some motor units are rare in the go, they'll contract, pull that leg up. If it was all the motor units, your leg would shoot up, probably, pull you over the right a little bit right, too much power Somehow. You manage just the right amount though Every time, and when you're ready you're going to start to walk out.
Speaker 1:Make it about exploring though. So you'll be walking the foot all the way out to that long edge and then you'll walk in again. Nice guys, good job. And the next time you walk in will be the last time you walk in and we'll just take three bigger steps. Still very slow, bless you. Still very slow back out to the left. So we'll all be with the foot on the long edge and you're going to hang out there for a while, just open and close, let the hips tilt to the left. Yeah, let them tilt. And the next time you've got that left leg wide, you'll keep it like that. Make sure there's nothing obstructing its path to the floor.
Speaker 1:Bring your right foot flat, stand your right foot, push into the foot, lift, shift hips straight, roll to your left side stacking. Use your hands to gather up that right knee, the top knee, gather it up. Use your hands to organize your ankle across the front of your thigh like a figure four and then open up. Open up so that right arm is reaching out. Maybe your hand holds your ankle or your foot if it likes to slide. If you can reach it, right hip is dropping backward, not attempting to stack, not at all. But if you did attempt to stack your hip you'd probably feel your left side groin a little bit, engage right. So it's not just about opening and closing the same side hip. Sometimes it's about stabilizing the pelvis for the other hip to move. So as you breathe and you observe the life cycle of this pose, let's just keep the attention divided between the back of the right hip, the inner front left pelvis. So motor units fire, we call it, or contract when we are ready to move. Sometimes they'll even contract a little bit when we're just thinking about moving With regard to our super stressed out people.
Speaker 1:You know, if you think about the nature of stress, our ancestors also got stressed, but it wasn't usually because they had a nitpicky micromanaging boss, right, they got stressed because their life was probably in mortal danger. You know they were going to have to fight or flee. If you're going to have to fight or flee, you're really going to hope that these long muscles of the legs, which extend from the pelvis, are going to contract. Right, they're going to tighten up because you're either going to have to stand your ground or you're going to have to run like hell. So, even though the nature of stress has evolved, we still have basically the same hardware. When we feel stress, we get ready to fight or flee, we contract. It's time to grip these areas because you might need to stand your ground and fight.
Speaker 1:Let's take one more breath here in the twisted pigeon and then you're going to roll to the left side. You're going to stack your right thigh on top of your left thigh. You press into your hands, rise to a side, sit and then slide your right heel to that right front corner and sit facing the front of the mat. Yep, we'll bring the foot all the way, that left foot, all the way to the inner right thigh. Yeah, you'll lean back into your hands. Lean back into your hands, and just the same as before. Yeah, if you need a block under your left thigh, take it now. Okay, all right, you know the drill. So we're going to bring that left knee up, left knee up solo, the foot flat, and do it. Just stay in this region.
Speaker 1:Just for a couple of repetitions, you know, just so you can feel the nature of this gathering up of energy, contracting right to do something and then opening, which is the opposite of doing something, yeah, and when you're ready, you can start to walk out. Just so you can kind of experiment with this and all the different orientations of the thigh. Yeah, and then more spicy it gets right. The further out that leg goes, there's more sensation, more kind of pulling on the specific tissues of the adductors, those groin muscles, from a range that's less easy, less comfortable, right, and you feel it, and you also feel that muscles contract more. Almost Kind of keep you from going too far. We're going to walk back in. So this is important to note. When things go a little further. When the stretch becomes deeper we actually get more muscle energy activation, not less, okay.
Speaker 1:And when your foot is up against your right thigh, again you're going to stay. You're going to let that thigh open up like a half butterfly. Good, you'll come up to vertical, sit your blocks on either side of your leg and your bolster on top of your blocks and then make sure it's not too close to you because we're not going to come right into the half butterfly. We're going to do our little swingy stuff. So when you're ready, you're going to bring your arms just across your front just to keep them out of the way. You'll tilt forward any amount. You want to feel a little stretch, but mostly you want to feel like your hamstrings won't let you go much further and then you'll swing a little side to side.
Speaker 1:It's kind of a swing and a rotation. You know your ribs are going to kind of roll, you know. And we're just doing the front, front side of that. Yeah, it's such a nice way to sort of gently mobilize those groins and adductors. You know, it's not like pulling it so far that it contracts in response. It's gentle. Okay. One more over to the left. You come back through center and just a little further to the right. Pull those props to where you need them for your forward fold over the right leg. And do.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 1:So we get stressed and the long muscles of the upper leg and pelvis contract to help you to protect yourself. Usually they're doing exactly what they are supposed to do, except, instead of just doing it some of the time when you actually need protection, they do it all the time, which, one could argue, is also what they're supposed to do, right? I mean, bodies are all about efficiency and homeostasis. So if you're stressed all the time, you should probably have some grippy hip flexors and grinds. Right, that makes sense. Thank you. One more breath in half butterfly, you'll press into your hands to rise up. So sit tall for a moment, soft spine, and then we're not going to roll back this time. Instead, I'm going to have you set your bolster off to the side, set your blocks at the front of your mat. If you tend to have tender knees when you're on your hands and knees, make sure you bring your blanket closer so you can use it. We're going to swing that right leg back so you can come to a tabletop with your hands actually on your blocks. So your blocks are going to be the lower medium setting and knees maybe just slightly wider than hips width. So most of the weight is back into those knees. Now bring your attention to the right and left front pelvis and groin as you tuck your tail. Draw your tail under, round your back, tuck your chin and then do the opposite. Let your tail move backward, let your lumbar sink collarbones lift, widen. Let's tuck again. You know, usually we do the cat cow and we're really focused on the spine, maybe the pelvis. Sometimes Today it's really about the groin. So really take your time. Notice the relationship between muscles doing what they're meant to do, which is contract, and then muscles being stretched. Here's the last one. With a tucked tail You'll find the anterior tilt, so lumbar sinking. Your tail is lifting. Bring the right side block just a little closer to the left side block. Step your right foot forward into a lunge Give me a nice generous lunge, please, nice generous lunge. And then just drive that right knee forward. Try to keep the knee mostly pointing forward, but walk your hands over to the left so your upper body is in like a C shape, right knee mostly points forward. And then let's bring the hips back so your right knee is straight or straight-ish. If you want to bring the hips back a little more, you could even let the right toes turn up and then we'll drive that right knee forward again into the lunge. Feel free to pad the left knee, because this is a lot on there and then you'll press hips back. Maybe the toes lift, use the breath, feel that nice pull and the groin on the right, the front of the hip on the left Nice relationship, one more Nice.
Speaker 1:Okay, next time your knee is bending, walk your blocks back to the middle, using your right knee to meet your left knee. Find that tabletop again with knees slightly wider, and tuck your tail. Tuck your tail and notice how, even though the front of your hip is technically kind of getting stretched as your hip is extending, there's a lot of tension in the front of the hip right. And then let your tail lift as you sink your lumbar. That would technically be a shortening position for hip flexors. With a hip that's flexed right, we'll tuck. So we're not so different from like our dogs. You know, when your dog gets kind of scared or worried or nervous, what's the first thing they do? They clamp that tail down, they tuck right. This is a position of threat. Maybe you can feel that that's the posture your pelvis wants to take.
Speaker 1:So the next time your tail is lifting your lumbar sinking. You stay. We bring the left side block to the right side block and we take a nice generous step forward with that left foot. Walk hands this time over to the right, find that C shape Good, and then press hips back. Toes can lift. If you'd like, walk your blocks even more to the right, angel. Yeah, really go for it. And I think medium setting blocks is nice because I like to have a little bit of height. Yeah, try that and see what you think. Okay, take your time. This nice tug. So I really favor this kind of dynamic experience of these tissues versus like a big static stretch which feels very aggressive, you know, because, remember, these tissues are just trying to protect you by tightening, by stiffening. So you go in and you give a big pull, you're probably just going to end up with more stiffness.
Speaker 1:Okay, next time your knee is coming forward, you're going to walk two blocks back to the middle. Bring your left knee to meet your right knee and actually you're just going to walk both knees to one side. It doesn't matter, because you're going to sit down into a side sit and then bring your legs forward. If sitting up tall for you in your forward folds is a challenge. You might want to have your blanket under your rear end, because we're taking the dragonfly. You're going to bring those two legs out wide Two legs out wide, so sitting on a blanket could help, okay? So your blocks and your bolster are in front of you. We're not going to use them right now, just make sure they're nearby. And then, once again, let's get those arms out of the way, just by crossing them over the front of you and tilt forward just a little bit and you'll feel this really cool sensation of those groin muscles both contracting and stretching, and you'll just gently swing, rotate side to side, keep it mild.
Speaker 1:Let's do a few more repetitions with a lot of curiosity about front of hip groin curiosity. And the next time you're swing forward you'll just stay, and we have so many options with these props. It could just be a table, a stonehenge, like what you did before, if you don't come very far forward. Anyways, you'll just set the bolster on end, so it's tall, and then you can kind of hug it to your chest and put your chin on there. That's one of my favorites.
Speaker 1:And then, of course, there's the ramp. Oh, the ramp, with the low end tucked right under your belly button. So we feel the tightness here hip flexors, groins, and for most people the instinct is it's tight, I should stretch. Unfortunately, this is just another example of the body not being very good at telling us what it needs, only that it needs something. So I am proposing that when this tension, tightness, achiness comes up, instead of thinking about what we should do to it, we should consider it a signal, a sign. My body is stressed, my body thinks I need to be protected. How can I provide credible experience of safety, not just for the front and inside of my hip, but also the rest of my body? Hold, up.
Speaker 1:Let's take one more breath, dragonfly. You'll press down into the hands to rise up sitting with a long but soft spine. Just for a moment, the plaques can go away. We're not going to use them. Your bolster, though, we will use. We're actually going to take that longitudinal down your mat. The short edge will be up to the short edge of your mat, right there between the two legs. Bring your two feet flat to frame it, to frame that long bolster. Let's move that blanket back again.
Speaker 1:When you lay down on your back, your head once again is resting on something. That bolster is lengthwise down your mat. Your feet are flat, framing the bolster. Ankle's push up against the bolster a little bit. Let your right thigh open up. Lean your hips to the right. As your right thigh comes up, your left thigh opens, lean your hips, just rock side to side.
Speaker 1:It's not really so much about the thigh, it's more about your spine rotating. It's a little massage for the external rotators, the deep six piriformis, for example. If you feel that tight bump as you go over, maybe you don't need to go so far if it's a little too intense, or you could just consider it a little myofascial release. One more to the right, one more to the left. Once in the center again, you'll take your feet onto that longitudinal bolster with the soles together. Soles of your feet touch Knees, open up. Your feet are going to slide away, probably a little bit more than you usually think about doing.
Speaker 1:If it gets too far away, it's going to get really, really intense. You don't want to go that far, but having the feet a little further away is really going to draw this deep stretch that everybody wants inner thigh, inner groin. If it's a little too much, we can always take the blocks, one under each thigh. That's an option. So for us to use this region, which often gets so grippy and tight and painful and stuff, almost like, almost like the canary in the coal mine, like, hmm, something's not right, something's not right, we're going to have to develop a certain level of sensitivity and awareness, and that's why I really like a practice like this, because it's all about awareness, you know. So, even here, divide your attention between the right and left side of your pelvis and it's associated, inner and front thigh. Just notice, right, you have no agenda in this. Noticing, you're just here for it. Okay.
Speaker 1:I have to say many of you look very, very comfortable here, like you could stay for another two or three minutes the duration of our shavasana and some of you are probably ready to move to a more traditional shavasana. So if you'd like to do that, just turn the bolster so it's latitudinal and drape your legs over it. Yeah, or don't use it at all if you don't want to. Yeah, and let that awareness of the front and inside the pelvic area disperse into the rest of the body. So just taking a scan of the body here and then let that go, let the breath go, let the body sink for your shavasana. Okay, okay.
Speaker 1:It's time to deepen the breath, time to restore movement to the body. When you're ready, you'll find your way onto the side of your choice. You roll into your hands, rise to your seat, press palms together in front of your heart, bow your head in gratitude to this amazingly intelligent body. Thank you, everyone.