Many of us in the modern world have hip pain, low back and neck pain, sciatica, knee issues, etc. We grow up in schools that ask us to sit still and graduate to take jobs that have us doing the same thing while hunched over a screen. Sitting for 8 hours a day takes a toll on our physiology.
When we sit excessively, it compresses the fascia around our hip socket and diaphragm. It also puts pressure on the sacrum and causes fascial adhesions around the bladder, stomach, and spleen organs and meridians.
From there, constriction pulls on our fascia in both directions, leading to problems in our legs, head, and neck, because the body continually seeks to compensate for irregular movements and excessive pressure.
For example, my sacrum pulls slightly to the left- which causes the right side of my atlas (top vertebrae of the neck) to pull to the right. The principle of geometric diagonals also applies to our bodies because of the spiral formation of fascia! Human Garage refers to this phenomenon as counter-rotation.
Because every part of the body is connected, we can resolve many pains and problems throughout our anatomy by working on the hips.
Unwinding the fascia in your hips brings both physical and emotional relief. Repressed emotion or memories from trauma can often be accessed through the psoas, hip flexors, and sacroiliac joints.
Here are 5 of Human Garage’s favorite maneuvers to unlock your hips and balance the whole body:
1. Fascial Maneuver for Hip Release:
2. Fascial Maneuvers for Knees and Ankles:
Instability or tightness in the hips radiates down the legs. Addressing your knees and ankles is key! By working on the entire leg, your hips will benefit. Fascia connects everything!
3. Organ Reset
After a lifetime of sitting, your organs need some love. They’ve been squished for too long. Help open the fascia in and around them with the Organ Reset! Working on the bladder, intestines, and ileocecal valve in particular will release the fascia of your hips.
4. Palate Swipe
It’s very common for the palate of the mouth to pull over to the right because of the way fascia wraps around the skull. When this happens, our hips naturally move to the left, because of the bodily principle of counter-rotation. By realigning the palate, we decrease strain on our hips.
5. Ribcage and Shoulder Release
Working on your shoulders and ribcage to unlock your hips may seem surprising. However, each hip is fascially tied to its opposing shoulder. So, the left hip affects the right shoulder, and vice versa. Moving the pressure in your shoulders through fascial maneuvers will also move the pressure in your hips.