How to do Lying Hip Opener

Difficulty: Medium

Impact Level: Normal

Target Body Parts: abs, upper back, lower back, hamstrings

Instructions

Start by lying down on your back for this great core and stretch exercise. Reach your feet out on the floor and your arms on the floor over your head. Then engage your core to actively press your lower back down into the floor so there is no gap between it and the floor.

From here, raise your legs up off the floor together and lift them over your hips towards your head. Allow your lower back to curl away from the floor as your feet get close to your head. Use you abs to help curl your hips up off the floor.

Then, seperate your legs out to the sides as wide as you can, and return them back to the start position, hovering above the floor. It is like you are drawing a semi circle with each foot. Reverse the direction of the semi circles, to bring your feet up wide and then back to join together above your head.

From here, keep them together and lower them back to the floor to the start position.

How to make Lying Hip Opener easier

If you find this too intense, you can perform the movement with a 90 degree bend at the knee of both legs. For other stretches for the hips try our Hip Opener, Kneeling Hip Flexor and Pigeon Pose.