Know Your Hips!
This started out to be a video blog about the way short, tight hamstrings impact your posture. But in order to stretch your hamstrings effectively, you’ll need some information about your hips joints. So, first things first.
We know that the hip is a ball and socket joint, but we may not realize how much the inclination of the pelvis affects the joint. When you sit with your pelvis rolled back, tail tucked under, the head of the femur (the ball) rolls slightly outward and slips ever so slightly forward in the “socket” of the pelvis. When that happens, your lumbar spine flexes, your ribcage drops, and your head juts forward—a tumbling house of cards. In that position, there’s a tendency to let the belly muscles slacken, because if they were taut, you wouldn’t be able to breathe! At that point, your iliopsoas, a muscle that should be able to freely lengthen and shorten when you walk, acquires the habit of being a short, tight trunk stabilizer.
In contrast, if you sit with your pelvis inclined slightly forward—think of letting your pubic bone rest down so it’s on the same plane as your tailbone—then the femur heads tuck nicely back into their sockets, making for a much more balanced and secure sitting foundation. You achieve a gentle forward curve in your lumbar spine, which supports the uplift of your chest and head. All this does wonders for your capacity to breathe, to digest your lunch, and to see the world around you. The psoas muscle is elongated in this configuration, and not acquiring any compressive habits. (Don’t miss the Sitting Lesson in my Heal Your Posture DVD!)
All this matters a lot for driving, because when you move your driving leg to press the gas and brake, you flex your hip joint, engaging the psoas. If your psoas is short and tight, it can’t flex your hips as efficiently as it can when you sit with your hip joints well positioned in their sockets. That’s why your driving leg and hip get out of sorts on long trips in the car.
The accompanying video was made on a rainy April day, before I bought my lighting equipment. But still, I think you’ll see what I mean about the hips.
Hey Mary
Really clearly explained and practical. I’m going to forward this onto my clients. Thank you!
Warmly,
Meran
Thank you so much, Mary!
I always look forward to your postings which are almost uncanny in their timing. This latest hip lesson comes to me as I deal with a stiff sore hip. Before watching your video I had forgotten how important untucking your pelvis is! Your descrition of how to do it supine, sitting and driving is invaluable. The pubic bone down has been so easy to follow and will go along way to me being able to monitor this. This is a very well done video and explanation that I look forward to sharing with my friends! Cheers, Sue.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for being so generous with your postural revelations;
your book, DVD and these blogs are literally just what the doctor ordered,
Viv x
Dear Mary,
Not only do you know what you’re talking about and walk your talk, you deliver your embodied wisdom in ways that are accessible and digestible – always with grace, clarity and compassion. I have been a student and teacher of integrative movement for many years and from my perspective you are a master teacher and an inspiration. Thank you for your terrific offerrings.
Judy Orloff
Thanks for your lovely responses. These comments give me the support I need to continue!
Thank you Mary — what follows is the message I am sending to several friends and clients along with the link to this page. This is a basic concept that so many of us are teaching, but you have such a gentle uncomplicated way of explaining it in this video that I am thrilled to pass it on. I’m sure it will be a great reinforcement for some and an aha! moment for others.
Also, I just read and appreciated your lovely mission statement below on the page. Thank you for that as well.
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This is a very short and sweet post by Mary Bond that is about the hip joint, but applies to everyone’s posture.
Please watch the video! You can skip the text if you don’t have time, it’s all in the video. You may already know all of it, and/or you may have heard it from me in one form or another, but I think it’s helpful for any of us to watch Mary demonstrate and explain in her clear and simple style. Only 7 minutes!
from Sarah