Quick Hip Focus Yoga You’ll Love Made for skiers

This yoga sequence for skiers who have tight and sore hips, who’d like to loosen them up a little by doing a few simple and effective moves. These poses are beginner friendly, I would recommend to try this before you head off for a ski or whenever you can fit in a little session.

I have to admit that I am no longer a skier, because of the powder snow here in Japan or particularly here in the Myoko and the Myoko Kogen area is huge! You’ve got two planks under each foot, while also holding poles in each hand. Then its snowed over 60 centimeters (yes it snows a lot here), I just don’t know how skiers do it.

So as much as much as I admire the skills of a skier, I did ski again a few seasons ago and felt the back pain! I also felt the tightness in my hips.

Here’s a short yoga for skiers video, focusing on releasing your hips and it should help a little with the lower back too.

These poses are simple, make sure to alter the poses to suit you, rather than what you think it should look like.

1. Child’s pose (Balasana)
2. High Lunge (Anjaneyasana)
3. Lizard Pose (Utthan Pristhasana)
4. Runner’s lunge
5. Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
6. Malasana Pose

1. Child’s pose

The first pose is very relaxing, lets be honest going on a skiing holiday can be more stressful rather than restful. So let yourself stay in this pose and relax.

2. Downdog

Then a slightly more challenging pose, Down dog, will help to stretch out your entire body, bend those knees if you need to and make sure to lengthen your lower back.

While pressing your chest down towards the mat, you also want your head to stay relaxed here, I know a little difficult at first but try to have a couple of breaths here.

3. High Lunge

Then transitioning towards a high lunge, make sure those hips are straight facing the front, like your shoulders are. You can bend the back leg if you need to, make sure that your bent leg, is more of a 90 degrees angle rather than the knees pushing further up from the foot.

You’ll have to do this pose on the other side too.

4. Lizard Pose

Then onto a slight deeper hip opener, in lizard pose, you’ll want to go from a low squat, brining that foot towards about the outskirts of your mat, or a little further than hips width, to where it feels just about comfortable but stretchy (if you haven’t got a mat).

Stay as high as you need to if going lower feels a little painful, or if that’s accessible, you can lower your upper body down. Don’t forget to do this on the other side.

5. Runner’s Lunge

Then onto a little bit of TLC for your hamstring, you’ll want to return towards a low lung position, you want to bring both your hands by the side of the left knee, straighten that left leg as much as its comfortable, you can keep your knees bent.

Straighten those hips, so they face forward like your shoulders, point the left foot up towards the sky and feel that hamstring!

Don’t forget to this pose on the other side.

6. Pigeon Pose

Then moving in deeper into pigeon pose, get into a low lunge, then into a table top position, then bring your right foot towards your left writs, then bring your left leg out towards behind you.

You can stay up as high as you need to in pigeon pose, or if its accessible for you, you can bring yourself lower down.

Don’t forget that everything you do on one side, you must do on the other side. Don’t want to be lopsided.

7. Malasana

Then finally into the final pose Malasana, this one is a deep squat, it opens the hips but also is quite soothing on your lower back.

Essentially it is a deep squat, or as I like to call it in my classes in Japan, old man smoking pose, which makes people giggle, but if you’e been to Japan, you most certainly would have seen some old man or a young construction worker smoking like that.

If you’d like this sequence offline, click on the banner below to sign up and get it straight into your inbox.

Got sore hips? Have you tried these poses and did you find that they helped? Let me know in the comments below.