Sequence · 30 min
Thirty-Minute Evening Hip Opener
A long, quiet practice for the end of a day spent sitting. Nothing is forced and nothing is held at the edge; the length of the holds is what does the work, and the whole thing is designed to be done at about seventy percent of what you could manage.
- 01
Mountain PoseTāḍāsanaStand and let the day settle out of the shoulders before you sit. - 02
Standing Forward FoldUttānāsanaKnees bent, head heavy. This is the transition, not the practice. - 03
Bound Angle PoseBaddha KoṇāsanaSitting on a blanket, soles together, knees dropping on their own. Upright and breathing. - 04
Cow Face PoseGomukhāsanaLeft knee stacked on top, right arm coming over the shoulder. - 05Cow Face PoseGomukhāsanaUnstack and reverse: right knee on top, left arm over.
- 06Bound Angle PoseBaddha KoṇāsanaBack to the butterfly shape, this time with a block under each thigh.
- 07
Head-to-Knee PoseJānu ŚīrṣāsanaLeft leg extended, right knee out, fold over the long leg from the hip. - 08Head-to-Knee PoseJānu ŚīrṣāsanaChange sides. Square the torso before you fold.
- 09
Bridge PoseSetu BandhāsanaBlock under the sacrum. The hips have been opened; now let them rest open. - 10
Child's PoseBālāsanaKnees wide. Counter the sitting with the fold. - 11
Corpse PoseŚavāsanaBlanket over the body, knees over a bolster. Four minutes.
The holds get longer as the practice goes on
| Shape | Held for | What it opens |
|---|---|---|
| Butterfly, upright | 15 breaths | Outer hips and inner thighs |
| Cow face, stacked | 8 breaths per side | Outer hips, one side at a time |
| Butterfly with blocks | 12 breaths | The same, with the legs fully supported |
| Head to knee | 6 breaths per side | Hamstrings and the outer hip together |
| Supported bridge | 10 breaths | Hip flexors, passively |
The first butterfly is a fifteen-breath hold and the second one repeats the same shape with support underneath. Coming back to a pose a second time, when the hips have already been through the other shapes, is where the change actually happens — the second visit is almost always deeper with no extra effort.
This is also why nothing in the sequence is at your limit. A hip held at eighty percent for two minutes will not release; the same hip held at sixty percent for two minutes will, and it will still feel like the same pose the next day.
Why it finishes with a backbend and a fold
Every long hip opener spends time in flexion, and flexion of the hips for thirty minutes leaves the front of the hips compressed. The supported bridge takes that back out; the Child's Pose that follows settles the spine.
Skipping those two is the difference between waking up looser and waking up stiff. They take three minutes together.
This sequence is informational only, not medical advice, and not a substitute for a teacher who can see you move. Skip any step that hurts, and check with a clinician about injuries, pregnancy or recent surgery.