The movements I have shown you over the last three days of blog are ones that I feel are particularly relaxing, releasing and therapeutic. They can be lovely to do in the morning to get you going, in the evening to relax before going to bed, or after exercise to bring your system down to a gentler level.
It can also be nice to finish with the psoas relaxer that I showed you on day 10, or lying with your legs up the wall for a few minutes (which also relaxes the psoas).
Instead you may wish to transition up from the floor with the movements that I shall set out over the next few days, the first of them being the following hip and pelvis opener.
I call this a hip and pelvis opener, as opposed to a hip flexor stretch which it is usually labelled, because, if done with full awareness, it can beautifully release constricted fascia around the pelvis and hip joints. The hip flexor can then stretch but only as a consequence of the fascia allowing the muscle to lengthen.
Do this in bare feet so that you can receive feedback from the ground and also so that your foot is given the chance to open as your pelvis does. It is also nice to do this after massaging a soft tennis ball underneath your foot (see day 6) as you have a higher sense of positioning of your sole then.
Come down / up to your knees and then take one foot out in front of you, just forward of your knee. Feel the whole of the sole of your feet and be aware of the skin that is in contact with the floor. Imagine that this skin is rooted to the floor, not tensely pushed into it, more merged with the floor surface.
Feel and visualise both of your hip bones. They are level and both pointing forward at the same angle. You may need to draw one hip back a little to find this position, and / or drop one hip down from a hitched position. (In my experience I have seldom seen someone do this without adjustment needed, usually one hip likes to 'lead', often the one that is our preferred leading foot - e.g. I am very right footed and I need to check that my right hip does not hitch into this).
Please do not 'tuck' your pelvis under at this point! (A slight personal peeve of mine as it's often taught as a tuck and it completely counteracts against the actual benefit of the exercise!)
Once you have this position, gently take your weight forward so that your knee is over your ankle. If you can go further than this then wiggle your front foot further forward and reset it again on the floor. (i.e. in the picture on the right I would have her start with her foot further forward of her knee, to give her the best space to move into the pelvis opener)
To get the best out of this movement place your intention on opening your pelvis. Imagine the two halves of your pelvis - one ever so slightly rotating forward, the other ever so slightly rotating backwards. Release any tension in your buttocks and feel your torso dropping down through the space that you are making with your legs. Gently bring the movement back and then forward again, never moving fast, just allowing the release to happen in its own time through the movement that you are making. Feel the forward and down motions merging with each other so that you cannot draw forward without also feeling a sense of dropping down into the space. In contrast the backwards movement is combined with a gentle sense of lift through the pelvis and whole torso.
Your front foot is the gentle anchor over which you glide the movement. The whole of your foot stays still and quiet, never lifting at the heel or crunching at the toes. This will allow you real release where your fascia needs and wants it.
You may feel this in the front of the back leg. You may feel this in the back of the thigh or the glutes of the leg in front. You may feel it underneath the pelvis, in your lower abdomen, even your genitals. It's not important where you feel it (your fascia has its own pattern) as long as it is not painful, tense or forced.
This is such a powerful, and under-rated movement, often worked too hard, or held static and too tense. Make movement, relax, let go, enjoy release!
Til tomorrow....!
CT :-) x
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