How to Hinge the Hips for Yoga

Stand on a yoga mat with your feet hip-width apart. Straighten your posture by lifting your quadriceps muscles, angling your tailbone down, contracting your buttock and abdominal muscles and lifting your upper torso up. Hold your hands in front of you with the palms facing up. Position the edges of your hands into the creases that separate each upper leg from your lower abdomen. It's from those creases on each leg, when you hear the instructions "hinge from your hips," that you'll begin your forward bend.

Keep your hands in the creases and soften your knees. Start bending forward with a flat back while moving your hips slightly backward. Having a flat back as you hinge forward from your hips will protect your spine from over-extension. Run your hands down your legs as you bend forward, keep your neck in line with your spine and stop before your back begins to round. Raise back up to a standing position with a flat back. Practice this maneuver several times.

Sit on a yoga mat with your feet stretched out in front of you to learn how to hinge from the hips from a seated position. The creases will appear naturally in a seated position so there's no need to define them with the edges of your hands. Push down on your upper legs with the palms of your hands in order to settle your femurs into place. Reach behind you to move the flesh of your buttocks away from your sitting bones. Execute your seated forward bend with a flat back and making sure your neck is in line with your spine.