If sitting cross-legged is uncomfortable, a Pilates instructor suggests opening your hips with these four exercises

If you struggle to or can't sit cross-legged, then your difficulties might be down to stiff hips. While adult life doesn’t call for us to sit criss-cross applesauce all that often, being able to do so comfortably can be a good indicator of hip health. If you find yourself unable to hold the position without discomfort, you might need to stretch and strengthen your hip muscles.

I asked Pilates instructor Juanita Franke of Club Pilates what moves someone should start with to improve their hip mobility, and why our hips get so tight in the first place.

“When you stay in a seated position for long periods, your hips have to tighten up to maintain that position,” says Franke. “Hips also get tight from activities with repetitive hip flexion like running, hiking and cycling. In this instance, we need exercises that extend the hip to ensure a well-rounded routine.”

Here’s a simple, beginner-friendly workout that you can try.

How to do the routine

1. Bridge

Reps: 3-5

Bridging will build strength through the core, glutes and hamstrings while opening the front of your hips.

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, slightly narrower than hip-width apart and close to your glutes.
• Tilt your pelvis backward, drawing your belly button towards your spine and lift your hips, aiming to peel your back off the floor one vertebrae at a time. Imagine pushing your knees away from your torso.
• Take a breath at the top of the bridge then reverse the movement to the start under control.
• Repeat this exercise 3-5 times.

2. Standing hip stretch

Reps: 3 each side

• Stand in a split stance with your left foot in front of you and your right foot behind you.
• Bend your left knee and press your right heel into the floor.
• Tuck your tailbone under to feel a stretch in your right hip and hold for 30 seconds. If you feel the stretch in your right calf move your right foot forward.
• To deepen the stretch, lift your right arm and reach your right hand over your head to the left.
• Slowly come out of the stretch with control.
• Do all your reps on one side, then repeat on the other side.

3. Low lunge

Reps: 3 each side

• On your hands and knees, step your left foot forward between your hands and lift your torso to finish in a half-kneeling position.
• Press your weight into your left foot by pressing your hips forward. You should begin to feel some opening through the right hip.
• To deepen the stretch, raise your arms overhead and extend through your upper back.
• Slowly come out of the stretch with control.
• Do all your reps on one side, then repeat on the other side.

4. 90-90 hip opener

Reps: 8 each side

• Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, wider than hip-width apart, and your hands on the floor behind you for support.
• Drop both knees to your left-hand side, aiming to bring both knees to the floor, and turn your torso to the left.
• Return to the start with control then repeat on the other side.
• Continue, alternating sides with each rep.
• To progress this exercise lift your hands off the floor to remove the support.

How often should you stretch your hips for optimal hip health?

“If you do a lot of sitting for your job, or you consider yourself a runner or cyclist, you may want to stretch your hips every day,” says Franke. “If not, you still want to aim to stretch your hips several times a week to ensure optimal mobility.”

Franke also recommends alternating between sitting in a chair and on the floor, because more frequent changes of position can help improve the range of motion in tight hips.

Certified Pilates teacher

Certified Pilates teacher

Juanita Franke

Juanita is a nationally certified Pilates teacher (NCPT), a NeuroStudio Level 1 practitioner, and lead instructor and master trainer at Club Pilates in Charlottesville.

Juanita was certified in 2017 through Vitality Pilates in Seattle, WA, but has been teaching movement for more than 20 years. She fell in love with pilates while a faculty member at Pacific Northwest Ballet. She has taught in an MS clinic, private clients and the group exercise setting, and has witnessed the power of Pilates to enrich lives, from golfers and surgeons to wheelchair-bound clients.