New to yoga...tight, painful left hip

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi,
I’ve been practicing almost daily for about a month now and have a bit of an issue with my left hip. When I start in the basic sitting pose my right shin will sit happily near to the floor while my left hip feels tight and somewhat painful with the shin floating an inch or so from the ground. It takes a good few poses before it will loosen up enough to sit properly. I thought it would loosen up over time but it doesn’t seem to be making any improvement.

Is there any rule about which leg should go in front of the other on the basic sitting pose? I switched recently which is when this problem started. Should I go back to the more comfortable way around or should I persist to try to balance the flexibility of my hips? Does this sound like a problem that I should be worried about or is it likely to sort itself out? Are there any poses I should consider to loosen my hips?

I’m 25, male and have been following the yoga course on the Nintendo DS so I unfortunately don’t have anyone I can go to for guidance. Your advice is much appreciated.

#2

Just as a comparison, I have been practicing for 18months 2 - 3 times per week and there are some postures that have seen little progress. I think the beauty of yoga is that it is a lifelong practice and that every day you come to the mat is different. All we can do is not to be too hard on ourselves, be open to what can be on any given day and smile …always.
By the way, Yoga on DS, I’ve never heard of that particular game.
I find yogatoday . com helpful when I can’t get to a studio.

#3

Yes, well Nintendo’s yoga…hmmmm. Okay. Fine.

Rules? There are no rules in yoga. But I get your point. Yes there are some teachings that specify which heel is placed closest to the perineum or pubic bone. I don’t think it’s necessary to trifle about that at this point.

Are you talking about the indian style sitting referred to in kindergarten as “criss-cross, apple sauce”? Hips are very tricky critters. Try taking some height under the sitting bones. Use a folded blanket - smooth out all the ripples - place the fold of the blanket on the floor behind your buttocks. Then sit back about 6 inches. It’s a rough landmark only. The idea is to tip your pelvis forward.

There is a hip series we teach in Purna Yoga. So when I’m working with students therapeutically (or otherwise) I would use that as both an assessment tool and as a therapeutic resolution.

#4

InnerAthlete is on the money with this one.

The idea of a yoga game sounds like fun. It’s been marketed reasonably well in Australia, so I assume like wise in other countries.

Ideally you want to have the same flexibility one each side, but most of us are more flexible on one side vs the other.

The game doesn’t specify which leg to go in front? If not then it probably isn’t applicable to the pose and in that case I’d switch between legs to keep things even. The more you do it, the more flexible you will get.