3 tai chi movements for strong hips
“Meditation in motion,” tai chi is the perfect stability workout for folks of all fitness levels.
Your hips are the foundation of all movement. Keep them healthy—and stay stable on your feet—with this gentle strengthening and balance routine from exercise physiologist Chris Cinnamon, head instructor at Chicago Tai Chi. Perform this “circling hands” sequence once per day or every other day.
BEGIN EACH MOVEMENT BELOW IN STARTING POSE: Stand tall with your feet under your hips, knees and arms relaxed, hips slightly lowered, and your head directly over the bottom of your pelvis.
MOVEMENT 1: VERTICAL CIRCLES
1. Hold your hands out in front of your torso, your palms rounded and facing each other, as if you are holding an imaginary ball in front of you.
2. Imagine you are slowly pulling the ball toward your stomach, then pushing it away in an upward motion. As your hands come toward your body, sink into a shallow squat, and as you extend your arms away from you, rise out of the squat, moving in one fluid, circular motion.
Reps: Perform slowly for 30 seconds, then repeat, tracing circles in the opposite direction.
MOVEMENT 2: HORIZONTAL CIRCLES
3. Hold your hands in front of your torso, your palms facing the floor. From there, slowly circle your hands in clockwise circles, out to your right side, back toward your torso, out to your other side, and then back in front of you.
4. As your hands come toward your body, sink into a shallow squat, and as you extend your arms away from you, rise out of the squat, moving in one fluid, circular motion.
Reps: Perform slowly for 30 seconds, then repeat, tracing circles in the opposite direction.
MOVEMENT 3: HORIZONTAL CIRCLES + WEIGHT SHIFT
5. Step forward, turning your hips back. Hold your hands in front of your torso, palms down.
6. Slowly circle your hands clockwise to your right side, back to your torso, out to your other side, and then in front. As your hands come toward your body, sink into a shallow lunge. Shift your weight to your back foot. Extending your arms away, rise out of the lunge, shifting weight to your front foot.
Reps: Perform slowly for 30 seconds, then repeat, tracing circles in the opposite direction. Switch forward leg.
