The Relationship Between Your Hips and Emotions: 8 Tips (2024)

If you’ve ever taken a yoga class, it’s safe to say you heard the instructor mention hip openers. A lot. And there’s a reason why. We store a lot of subconscious trauma, stress, and negative emotions tightly within our hips. Yet beyond yoga, there’s also science to back this up. So, in this article, we’ll discuss the relationship between your hips and emotions and how to release everything that is no longer serving you. It’s time to get flexible and heal, consciously and subconsciously.

What Is the Relationship Between Hips and Emotions?

To understand the relationship between our hips and emotions, it’s important to explore the mind-body connection. When we’re stressed, anxious, or even experiencing trauma, our fight-flight-or-freeze stress response activates and releases stress hormones. And in these moments of stress, the deep muscles within our hips, known as the psoas muscles, contract and tighten. Even after your parasympathetic nervous system kicks in to calm you, your hips can carry that tension, creating other symptoms like irritability, low back pain, headaches, and sadness.

On top of this, spiritually, our hips associate with the sacral chakra, which carries the emotional energy we use to relate with ourselves and others. Unfortunately, a blocked sacral chakra causes isolation, anxiety, low libido, and a lack of creativity. So, given this scientific and spiritual answer, the hips are known as the junk drawers of the body because they hold onto unprocessed emotions. But rolling out your yoga mat, dancing, and other movement techniques will help you release some of that physical and emotional pain.

How to Release Emotions From Your Hips

1. Shaking

Shaking not only balances your nervous system but it also releases stress from your hips. In fact, its inspiration traces back to observing animals. When an animal survives a danger, it shakes to release the stress stored in their bodies. And the same applies to stress stored in your hips. To practice it, focus on your hips, and shake your body. Pull out every Shakira dance move you can think of and have fun. Afterward, tune into how you feel. Do you feel lighter, happier, and more at ease?

2. Low lunge

The first yoga pose of this article is certainly a fan favorite. It’s simple and releases pain from the hips and lower back. Here’s how to practice;

Either beginning from the downward dog position or by standing, step one foot between your hands
Make sure your knee is at a 90-degree angle, slightly going over your heel
Next, lower your other knee to the floor and pull your right hip forward if extending your right leg
As you inhale, raise your arms overhead and focus on the stretch
Take a few deep breaths and repeat the entire process on the opposite side

3. Frog pose

Don’t be fooled by the cute name. The frog pose is challenging for your body and mind, but it’s worth it.

To begin, get onto all fours and slowly walk your knees out wide
Next, turn your feet out and allow your hips to gently sink
At this point, you should feel a strong stretch
While you’re in this position, focus on your breath and don’t push your body. This pose is hardcore, and you don’t want to hurt yourself further
Challenge yourself and try to stay for at least ten breaths

4. Child’s pose

An oldie but a goodie, the child’s pose provides many healing benefits. It gently stretches the back, grounds you, and connects you to your breath.

5. Lizard pose

This pose is a challenging one, but it’s fun. Here’s how to do it;

While starting in a downward dog position, extend your right leg and your right foot the corner of your mat
Gently lower your left leg to the ground and place your hands or forearms close to your right foot
Next, hold the pose for two minutes while keeping your chest forward
Make to sure to breathe deeply through the process
After, repeat the process on your left leg

6. Pilates

Like yoga, Pilates focuses on stretching and conditioning your body to provide a cathartic physical and emotional release. Yet if you’re new to Pilates, a great exercise to ease yourself into this practice is toe taps.

Start by lying on your back
Next, bend your knees to tabletop
Then lower one foot down while keeping your other hovering
After, take a breath while lowering your other leg
Next, alternate raising and lowering each leg down and back to the starting point

Additionally, if you’re prone to hip pain, follow a few hip pain exercises to increase your mobility.

7. Qigong

Developed as part of traditional Chinese medicine, Qigong is a system of exercises that heal the body, mind, and spirit. While focusing on coordinated movements, posture, and breath, it provides several psychological and physical benefits, including a hip-opening release. In fact, the stances help strengthen the hip by energizing the hip flexor and corresponding muscles. It’s a wonderful exercise that will allow you to release physical and emotional pain and feel at peace.

8. Dance

What better way to release tension from your hips than dancing? There isn’t. We checked. Like shaking, dancing helps you let loose, connect within, and release happy hormones that uplift your mood. It’s also a great workout. So, put on your favorite upbeat song and feel the rhythm. Move in any way you feel guided and repeat a positive affirmation like “I am enough” or “My past experiences can’t stop me from loving my life“. If feeling uninspired, why not practice a fun Tik-Tok video?

Remember, scientific evidence supports the relationship between your hips and emotions. And if you experience stress or anxiety often, think about taking up yoga or following a few of these stretches and tips. You might notice a strong therapeutic release when you extend in a lizard pose.

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