A yoga instructor says these are the four poses you should be doing to open your tight hips and build hip strength as you age
Tight hips can reduce your mobility as you age—here’s how to fix them
Tight hips can make climbing stairs, sitting down and sometimes even walking uncomfortable.
Several factors could be causing a tightness in your hips, so I asked musculoskeletal physiotherapist and yoga teacher Mariam Shafei-Sabet to explain.
She tells Fit&Well that hip muscles often take the strain of weaknesses elsewhere in the body, such as in your gluteal (buttock) muscles.
“If your glutes are weak or inhibited, the deep hip rotators, tensor fasciae latae or iliopsoas are forced to work overtime to stabilize your pelvis, resulting in secondary overload and structural tightness,” Shafei-Sabet says.
Shafei-Sabet suggests the following exercises to create space in your hips, ease tightness and release tension in the surrounding muscles.
Of course, Shafei-Sabet pointed to other, non-muscular reasons for hip tightness, but they need an in-person medical professional to diagnose. If these exercises, done consistently, don’t provide relief, it may be worth seeking professional help to rule out other issues.
Four moves to open tight hips
1. Low lunge
Hold: 3-5 breaths each side
How to do it:
- Kneel on the floor and step your right foot forward, so your right knee is bent to 90° and is directly above your right ankle.
- Slide your left knee back a few inches and tuck your toes under.
- Extend your arms over your head and press your hips forward to intensify the stretch in your left thigh.
- Hold, then repeat on the other side.
“This exercise targets the back of your hip flexor and quad and strengthens the front of your legs and your core,” says Shafei-Sabet.
2. Active pigeon
Hold: 3-5 breaths each side
How to do it:
- Start on your hands and knees.
- Extend your left leg behind you along the floor, keeping your hips facing forward.
- Bring your right knee and lower leg forward onto the floor and lower your hips.
- Adjust your right lower leg to a comfortable angle—diagonal or horizontal—in front of your hips.
- Press your right shin into the floor to raise your hips slightly and draw your inner thighs together.
- Lean your torso forward to activate your glutes—adjust the intensity of the stretch by how far forward you lean.
- Hold, then repeat on the other side.
“This exercise targets the front glute and builds hip stability,” says Shafei-Sabet.
3. Side plank
Hold: 30sec each side
How to do it:
- Lie on your left side with your legs extended and your torso propped up on your left forearm.
- Raise your hips so your body is in a straight line from head to heels.
- Hold for time, then repeat on the other side.
Make it harder: Raise your top leg in the hold, engaging your core and oblique muscles to maintain stability.
Make it easier: Bend your lower knee and rest it on the floor.
“This exercise strengthens the lower glute med. It also works the whole lateral body, from the shoulder through the obliques, hips and knees to the ankle,” says Shafei-Sabet.
“These muscles are important for balance and hip stability, as we often lose strength here as we age.”
4. Single-leg bridge
Hold: 3-5 breaths each side
How to do it:
- Lie on your back with your knees bent, your feet flat on the floor under your knees and your arms by your sides, palms down.
- Raise your hips, keeping them level and squeezing your glutes.
- Lift your left foot and extend your leg straight up in the air, keeping your hips and pelvis level.
- Hold then return to the floor and repeat on the other side.
“This exercise lengthens the front of your hip and strengthens your glutes,” says Shafei-Sabet. “It also builds hip stability, and back and core strength.”
Mariam Shafei-Sabet has been teaching inclusive yoga since 2017, specializing in dynamic, playful, Ashtanga and rocket-inspired flows that challenge both the body and mind. She is also a chartered physiotherapist (broadly equivalent to a physical therapist) working in both the NHS and private clinics in the U.K.
