Deer pose, or Mrigiasana, can be practiced with a focus on stretching the hips or as a twist. This post is about using Deer pose as a release for tight hips. You can see how to use Deer pose as a twist here.
This particular hip opener can be practiced with a short (Yang) or long (Yin) hold depending on your needs. Although I demonstrate this pose briefly in the video, you could spend anywhere from 1-5 min in the pose on each side.
Depending on your particular bone structure, one or both knees could be unhappy, so if you feel discomfort in either knee, try sitting up on more height. If that doesn’t take care of the discomfort, then don’t do this pose, and find a different Yoga asana to release your hips. You either have the bone structure to practice this safely or not. Don’t suffer through it hoping that ‘someday’ when your hips open, your knees won’t suffer in this pose. Instead, just listen to your body and choose another pose.
This particular hip pose is pretty unique in that you get to explore both internal (back leg) and external (front leg) rotation of the hip joint in one Asana.
In the video below, I’ll walk you through the ‘how to’ of using Deer pose as a hip opener.
You could hold each side for 1 min in a more Yang practice or for up to 5 min in a Yin practice.
Here’s to Happy Hips,
ox nyk
Back Stretch - Twisted Deer Pose - Students - Nyk Danu Yoga
[…] have already explored deer pose as a hip opener here. In this post, we will play with Deer pose as a […]