Single Joint Hip Muscles

So that you aren’t overwhelmed with new information this guide keeps it simple. It focuses on single joint muscles of the hip and how to feel and control them.

What’s a single joint muscle? It’s a muscle that crosses and acts on only one joint, in this case the hip joint.

Because the muscles that we will be focused on act on only one joint it may be easier to isolate them and it may be easier to learn to feel and control them, even though some of these muscles are small and deep, meaning that in some cases you can’t see them by looking at the body. However, you can learn to feel them, or the results of their actions. And more importantly you can then consciously use them to help make doing yoga poses easier.

And that’s what this guide is for, to help you consciously feel and control the muscles of your hips.

But you won’t have to always consciously control them.

Once you’ve trained yourself in their use, you can then use them subconsciously, as the need arises. Like having learning to use the brakes, accelerator and steering wheel of a car, you can then use them without having to think.

Muscles Included

Single joint hip muscles include:

• Iliacus
• Pectineus
• Adductor Brevis, Longus and Front Portion of Adductor Magnus
• Adductor Magnus Long Head
• Obturator Externus
• Obturator Internus (and superior and inferior gemellus muscles)
• Quadratus Femoris
• Gluteus Medius
• Gluteus Minimus

While the focus is on these muscles, I’ll talk about actions that may be due to other (non-single joint) muscles when appropriate.

Making Yoga Poses Easier

In what way does using these muscles make doing yoga poses easier?

Some of them can be used to make forward bending easier. You’ll be able to use them to act directly on the pelvis to tilt it forwards.

Some of them can be used to make back bending easier. In poses like table top, reverse plank, bridge pose wheel pose and even camel, you may find it easier to push your pelvis higher (or in the case of camel pose, further forwards.)

You may find these actions handy when balancing on one leg.

Some of these actions can also be helpful in hip opening or hip stretching yoga poses.

Improving Pelvic Awareness

Because all of these muscles attach directly to the pelvis at one point or another you should find that you develop better awareness of your pelvis.

(To assist in that endeavour I’ve included some simple body awareness meditations.)

As you develop that awareness you then don’t have to focus so much on activating the muscles, instead you can focus on what you are trying to do with your pelvis, whether moving it, keeping it stable or changing its shape.

And that could be thought of as one of the big ideas of the hip control guide, developing better (and awareness) of your pelvis.