6 Best Yoga Exercises to Stretch Tight Glute Muscles

Yoga is becoming increasingly popular for many reasons, as it has a lot of benefits. Many yoga poses are designed to create space in the hips and groins, which can be a good way to release built-up tension from overuse, injury, or improper form in various activities.

Glutes help keep us standing upright, so it's important to practice stretches that target this muscle group.

By practicing regular yoga poses, you will help your body get used to activating the glutes and eventually going against gravity, enabling you to do more advanced and challenging poses.

Best Yoga Exercises for Tight Glutes

Here are six such yoga workouts:

1) Butterfly Stretch

The butterfly stretch is a seated yoga position that has immense benefits and is perfect for all levels, including beginners. It’s effective in relieving tightness in the hip flexors and enhancing flexibility, especially after strenuous workouts and prolonged sitting.

Here's how you do this posture:

To deepen the intensity, move your feet closer to your hips.
Sink down to your pelvis, and sit on your sitting bones.
Tuck your chin, and extend your spine, feeling a line of energy extending from the base of the tailbone through the top of the head.
With each inhalation, feel yourself lengthening; with each exhalation, relax further into the pose.

2) Malasana or Yogi Squat

The malasana pose is a yoga deep squat. It can help open the hips and groin when you're feeling tightness in that area due to spending too much time at the office or desk.

To do this posture:

Stand with your feet turned out at a 45-degree angle, and bring your heels in so that they touch each other. Bend over, placing your elbows inside your knees.
Press into your elbows, lengthening your spine. Sway to the side, or hold still.
If you find this position uncomfortable, feel free to prop yourself up with a block or folded towel beneath your sacrum.
Hold for 30 seconds or so.

3) Happy Baby Pose

A happy baby pose is a restful and restorative yoga pose, especially when your body needs release.

As you're on your back, it requires less physical effort than many other yoga poses. The happy baby pose also strengthens and stretches the muscles of the lower tummy and pelvic floor.

Here's how you do this pose:

Lie on a mat, and pull your knees to your chest. Kick your feet up towards the ceiling.
Hook your elbows behind you, and press down on the soles of your feet while pulling on your ankles.
That gives you a chance to stretch out the lower part of your back while massaging it at the same time.
Hold this pose for a minimum of 15-30 seconds.

4) Frog Pose

The frog pose is beneficial for tight glute muscles. This pose relaxes the entire body, promotes relaxation, and helps release mental and physical tension.

This hip-opening posture works well in combination with breathing and mindfulness practices. Most yoga enthusiasts can enjoy this pose as part of a Yin, Hatha or Vinyasa sequence.

Here's how you do this pose:

If you find that most inner-thigh openers feel too easy, this pose can do the trick.
Get down on all fours, with your knees on a rolled-up mat and palms on the floor.
Widen your knees till you feel a comfortable stretch in your inner thighs, keeping your calves and feet in contact with the floor.
Rest your forearms on the floor, and bend your knees so that your ankles are in line with your knees.
Take a few deep breaths. If that's too intense, you can also do one leg at a time.

5) Supine Figure Four

The figure 4 stretch is a hip, glute, and piriformis stretch that helps improve flexibility and mobility in the hips and can relieve soreness and pain in the hips. It's best performed after a dynamic warm-up or during a post-workout stretch.

To do this yoga pose:

Lie on your back, and place one ankle beneath the knee of the other leg.
Keep the foot of your bent leg flat on the floor, or raise your toes if you want a greater stretch.
Place your arm through the opening created by this position, and clasp your hands behind your thigh.
Raise your bent knee up towards your chest, flexing your foot.
Keep the other leg flat on the floor, and hold for 30 seconds. Switch sides.

6) Half Pigeon

This yoga pose for tight glute muscles is one of the best to help reverse the effects of hunching or slouching over a computer or smartphone screen throughout the day.

To do this sequence:

From a lunge with your right leg forward and right knee over your right ankle, walk your right foot towards your left arm.
Keeping your right knee in line with your right hip, drop your right shin and thigh to the floor.
Letting go of any tension in your neck or shoulders, rest the top of your left foot on the floor, and square your hips towards the front of the room.
Hold for 30 seconds on one side, and repeat on the other.

Takeaway

The glutes do much more than just help you stand up straight. They also assist with lifting, jumping, and even running, making them a crucial muscle group for various daily activities and exercises.

By using the aforementioned yoga exercises and stretching your tight glutes less often, you will increase your range of motion and flexibility. That will help keep your body healthy and strong.

Edited by Bhargav