How To Sequence a Delicious Hip Opening Yoga Flow Sequence

I’ve been playing with this delicious hip opening sequence this week.

This sequence is a well-rounded flow yoga class for all levels that take an “around the world” tour of the hips: opening the front, sides, and back of the hip joint. Rather than sequencing to a peak pose, this anatomical intention of this sequence is rather to mobilize the hip joint in all directions.

Energetically, this sequence is lunar rather than solar. Solar energy is like a blast of sunlight: direct, fierce, and forceful. Lunar energy is more feminine; when we embrace the sacred power of the feminine, we invite surrender, receptivity, creativity, changeability. The strength of the moon is equally powerful, but she moves like water or air. Rather than focusing on long holds and fixed alignment, invite your students to move in spirals, loops, and undulations. This is an “unsticking” sequence, where practitioners find the energetic flow to release densities in the body.

A few tips:

Make sure they’re breathing. As this is a more cooling, lunar practice, you can invite exhales through the mouth rather than consistent ujjayi.
Every practitioner’s hips are different; students should be encouraged to embrace their own unique structure and capacity.
Focus on flow and feeling rather than getting poses “right”
Help practitioners get out of their head by playing music that invites movement and softness
Use juicy language to evoke a nourishing practice (words like yummy, delicious, nourish, sense, connect, enjoy, delve, carve, explore, etc)
Create a theme to get students out of the head and into a nourishing state of surrender/receptivity
Soft joints (bent knees, bent elbows: find more “buoyancy” in joints)
Props: two hard blocks, one chip foam block (for under knee in low lunge, or to sit upon)

If I had to choose a peak, it would be upright pigeon (more on the two pigeons here), but really the intention is the hips.

Sequence

Opening

Sukhasana
Add in cat/cow seated undulations, sufi grinds (make a circle through hips) – change legs and repeat
Cat/Cow
On forearms and knees, take hips in circles
Downward dog, forward fold, walk to front of mat, uttanasana, roll up Tadasana

Warming Up – Surya Namaskar

Surya namaskar A x 3 (offer lots of modifications, etc, focus on breath)

Warming Up – Flow One

Do first part of surya namaskar, but step right foot back to low lunge
Low lunge flow: low lunge to half splits (flow between poses), probably hands on blocks
Step back three legged dog (open hip, do hip circles)
Step forward, come up to warrior two: flow exalted to side angle (focus on movement of hips)
Hands down, step forward to a baby standing split (standing leg bent)
Uttanasana, roll up, shoulder rolls etc
Repeat second side

Warming Up – Flow Two

Standing pigeon (standing ankle to knee, opening outer hip)
Release leg to step back to a high crescent lunge
High crescent lunge version 1: add side stretch
Hands down to blocks, keep back thigh lifted, flow from lunge to modified pyramid (similar to first flow but with back knee lifted)
Step back three legged dog
Step forward, hand to inside of front leg for side angle, option to bend elbow (making it a bit more like a modified lizard, as if you were going to bind – but don’t) Option to take top arm on giant circle.
Hands down, step front foot halfway back for a modified vasisthasana (turn on outer edge of back foot, you’ll be facing the right side of mat; this variation opens outer top hip)
Hands down to inside of foot, play with glueing front knee to outer right shoulder and taking baby chaturangas (arm balance prep)
Complete vinyasa, include a few breaths in an accessible backbend (sphinx, locust)
Step right foot to front of mat, standing splits
Uttanasana, roll up, shoulder rolls etc
Repeat second side

Intermezzo

Malasana
Bakasana

Warming Up – Flow Three

Standing pigeon (standing ankle to knee, opening outer hip), option for eka pada galavasana
Release leg to step back to a high crescent lunge
High crescent lunge version 1: add backbend
Hands down to inside of leg, lower back knee, lizard (option to lift leg)
Lift back leg, optional eka pada koundinyasana play
Step back three legged dog, open hip
Step forward side angle pose to half moon
Forward fold at top of mat
Uttanasana, roll up, shoulder rolls etc
Repeat second side

Working to Pigeon

Surya namaskar to downward facing dog
Lift right foot up, step forward: anjaneyasana with backbend and thigh stretch
Awkward pigeon (lizard with external rotation of front thigh to stretch outer hip)
Hands down, modified vasisthasana (turning to right)
Okay this part is a little wild:
- Lower hips (facing side of mat)
- Draw bottom leg in (right leg is on top in ardha matsyendrasana) – take twist (toward back of mat)
- Stack knees (still facing side of mat): gomukhasana
- Come out way you came in, but draw right knee into chest, extend leg under you to the left for Brigid’s Cross (right leg is straight out to side of mat, left leg back behind you, forward fold/twist towards front of mat; this creates big IT band stretch on right leg. Think revolved half moon – parivrtta ardha chandrasana – but laying on floor)
- Come out the way you came in, optional wild thing
- Downward dog
Second side

Backbends and Peak

Spinx to cobra (mobilize upper back)
Saddle or supta virasana
Upright pigeon – nom nom nom – feel free to do with hands on blocks and lifting UP into backbend (the backbend pictured may be a bit extreme for most folks). Practitioners should lift away from floor rather than sit into the left hip.