If I’m working with you to get rid of your hip pain, I won’t teach you a single stretch until I know that you can stand up properly.
How can good posture help you get rid of hip pain?
Here are a few secrets about your body you will need to understand to get to this answer:
- Your feet control your hips.
- Your hips control your knees.
- Your legs extend your spine.
Therefore, if you want to heal your hips, you have to start with your feet.
Why are your feet so critical?
Do this for a second. Stand up and turn your right foot out. Did you notice how when you did that your right hip turned in the socket?
Now do this. Turn your right foot in. Did you feel how your hip bone rotated inwards in your right hip socket?
If you watch people with hip pain – as I do for a living – what you will notice is that most of them stand in a variety of funky ways:
- Duck feet. When you turn your feet out, your hip bones rotate outwards in their socket. When that happens, you also tend to lock up your sacroiliac joint in your lower back and experience not just hip discomfort but also low back pain.
- Pigeon toes. If you turn your feet in, your hip bones will be rotating in.
- One foot doing one thing, the other foot drifting in another direction.
- For the most part, completely clueless and unaware of how their habitual posture may be creating discomfort.
Your hips are a ball and socket joint.
If you want to be pain-free in your hips, you must start by getting your feet underneath your hip bones and have your feet straight ahead.
I like to use a training wheel that will be readily available to you – a book.
Put a book between your feet. Hug the book with your feet.
Why spend money on fancy yoga equipment when you could just as easily use items readily available around your house?
As you stand with the book between your feet, do these things with your posture:
- Make sure both of your feet are straight ahead.
- Pull your inner groins towards the center of your body.
- Lift the pit of your abdomen towards the crown of your head.
- Slide your shoulder blades towards your waist.
- Reach tall towards the crown of your head.
Try it right now – and then notice if you don’t feel slightly better!
Now here’s the thing – if you are suffering from hip pain, I know for a fact that at least one of the six ranges of motion in your hips isn’t working properly, and we will need to address that.
However, if you walk around and stand around with funky posture, believe me, you will not make yourself any better.
Good places to practice standing properly:
- When you are standing in line at the grocery or post office
- When you are walking
- Before you sit down
Line up your feet in order to line up your hip bones properly in your sockets to allow your healing process to begin.
If you are unsure whether poor posture is contributing to your hip pain, set up an appointment with me today by calling 678-612-8816 or emailing catherine@unlimitedenergynow.com. We can work either in person or via Skype. You will receive a postural analysis to learn why your body hurts and what you can do to make yourself feel better.