Hello,
and welcome to this hip self-massage
that you can do when you're experiencing hip pain
and it could also help if you're having sciatica symptoms
depending on the cause of sciatica.
So let me explain a little bit
about what is going on with sciatica
and then we'll get started.
My name is Ann Swanson.
I am a licensed massage therapist
and I'm gonna call on my assistant Bernie to help.
(fingers snap)
And we'll be massaging around the hip area,
mainly on the pelvis.
So right here along this bone,
we're gonna go below it onto the pelvis
where the gluteal muscles are off to the side
to the gluteus maximus and even the gluteus medius.
We have a muscle, we have several muscles deep,
hi Bernie, we have the deep six muscles here we call them
and they are wrapping around from the pelvis.
This particular one, the piriformis goes
from the pelvis to your femur.
And underneath the piriformis,
see those yellow lines coming in?
Those yellow lines all come together.
The nerves come together to make the sciatic nerve
from the base of the spine,
the lumbar vertebrae and the sacral vertebrae
and they dive under this muscle here.
When the piriformis is tight,
it can squeeze on that nerve.
Pressure on a nerve can cause tingling sensations
down your leg.
The nerve continues and splits off,
it can go all the way down
the tingling sensations to your foot.
So usually this happens on one side.
So basically what's happening is the sciatic nerve,
which all these little nerves come together
to make this big nerve going down the leg.
It gets pressed on by the piriformis
and it's squeezing on it
that can cause that shooting sensation.
There are other causes of sciatica,
like a herniated disc in your lumbar vertebrae,
or even arthritis.
In today's massage we will be in bed
or you can be on the floor,
that is comfortable for you
any lotion, any balm that you have around the house.
So go ahead and grab that, get in bed and get comfortable.
Start by lying on your side.
I recommend to be in bed.
you can have one pillow under your head
and either two pillows between your thighs
or you can have one folded in 1/2 between your thighs
and do any scooching you need to get comfortable here
and reveal your side of your hip area.
I'm just gonna reveal mine a little bit,
but if you're at home, you can pull it down even more
and put some balm or lotion if you have some on your hand,
rub it in that one hand, the upper hand
and begin to just rub in the area,
spreading the balm or lotion.
You can do circular motions, find what feels good.
So we're going on the side of the hip
and a little bit to the back here.
You can use your fingers or knuckles.
And if you find a place
that you'd like to do smaller circles in,
you can do that, do some smaller circles,
exploring the area and breathing into it.
(gentle music)
And then once you've spread that balm,
we are going to reach back,
find the medius area in the center of your glutes
and I'm gonna use the base of my palm here and press,
you could also use your knuckles, whatever works for you
and press here as you open your knee up and release it down.
So doing a few clam shells here.
So we're squeezing those muscles,
those external rotators of the hip
and we're releasing them a few times
and then release and do your massage again.
If you could find a place you'd like to do
this smaller circles with your fingers or knuckles,
feel free.
Breathe into it,
exploring, improving circulation,
releasing endorphins, those feel good chemicals
that also have an analgesic effect, pain relief effect.
Just by finding some pleasurable sensations here,
you can override pain signals.
Relax your arm for a moment, just lie here on the side
and just feel, feel a wave of relaxation.
And then we're gonna flip on over and do the other side,
so putting those pillows between your thighs,
doing any movements you need to settle
and get more comfortable here.
And start by revealing the area
and spreading the balm or lotion around your hip
and upper side gluteal area.
You can do some big circles with your fingers or knuckles
and maybe exploring with those smaller circles.
And we're doing pretty moderate pressure here,
maybe even moderate to firm, but if any time during this,
you feel any sharp pain, any increased pain,
any numbness, tingling, shooting down your leg
of course, I want you to ease off the pressure
and definitely stop if it's uncomfortable for you,
you can always pause.
(relaxing music)
And then finding that center
of the gluteal muscle pressing firmly,
and let's do those clam shells on this side.
So basically we're squeezing those muscles when we lift,
we're engaging them and then we're releasing them down.
Try to really release them down.
A few more of these, keep breathing
and then massage again around the area,
exploring, checking in
(serene music)
pausing and just feel,
feel the resulting sensations,
feel the tissue around the area releasing
as you release your inner thighs.
Allow your body to rest fully on the side here,
noticing if you're holding any tension
or resisting. Release.
(gentle music)
And we'll turn to lying on your back
and have your knees bend feet flat on the floor or the bed
and bring your fists under the side of your hips
and find a place that feels good for you.
So I'm just kinda rocking, rocking my knees side-to-side,
moving my fists up and down,
finding a rhythmic rocking action.
And maybe I find a place that feels particularly good
just to stay there with my fists.
I like to have my fists
so that the flat part of the fingers is down
and this knuckle bony part is digging into the tissue,
but you can turn your fist in whatever way
is comfortable for your hands.
And then go ahead and keep one hand there.
Come to center and hug that knee in towards your chest,
draw some circles with that knee
(gentle music)
hug that knee in and release down.
We'll do the same thing other side,
so put the other fist underneath,
lifting up, draw some circles.
Great thing about this is where using our body weight
to help with the massage
(peaceful music)
and then hug that knee in to center, pause a moment
and release down.
Release your fists out of the way,
hug your right knee in towards your chest this time
and go ahead and do a figure four shape
on your opposite thigh.
Now we're gonna grab that leg and bring it in slightly
and just rock it side-to-side.
And then come to stillness you could either pause like this,
holding it however is comfortable for you
or you could place it back on the thigh
and come into a figure four pose by threading your arm
and hand through that triangle that's created,
grabbing the back of your opposite thigh,
your left thigh in this case and pulling it in.
If that's not comfortable,
just go back to the other version holding the foot and knee
and take a few deep breaths here.
You may feel a stretching sensation around your hips
and gluteals, we're getting deep into the gluteals
to that piriformis muscle right now.
Which if you have sciatica due to piriformis syndrome,
this can help.
But for many of us, the piriformis tends to be tight,
it tends to be a tender area if we sit a lot,
so it's good to stretch into it.
It's good to bring awareness into it.
Notice what you feel.
(gentle music)
And then go ahead and release down,
pause a moment between sides
and then hug the left knee in toward your chest.
Create that figure four shape with the left leg,
grab a hold of the knee and the foot
and bring it in slightly, just rocking gently.
(peaceful music)
You can either stay with hugging
and holding the leg in wherever it lands here
or you can thread that left arm through the triangle
that's created grabbing the back of the right thigh
and hugging it in.
Find whatever's accessible for you today
and breathe into the stretch.
(gentle music)
With each exhale, release a little further into the pose.
(gentle music)
And then go ahead and release down,
putting both feet flat down.
We're gonna end with a pose called Baddha Konasana in yoga,
really looks like a Butterfly Pose.
So moving your fists up and under to the side of your hips,
this will create a little bit of a massage
and a little stability here actually,
as you bring the soles of your feet together
and the knees come out.
You're welcome to grab pillows
and put them on the side of your thighs here
for a little extra support, we won't be here for long.
But as you settle in here,
feel free to move your fists to a comfortable place for you
and just rock side-to-side,
lifting one leg up gently and then the other,
like you're flapping the wings of a butterfly.
Perhaps you imagine where you might fly over
(serene music)
somewhere in nature that you'd love to be,
(birds chirping)
hearing the sounds of the birds,
(relaxing music)
and feel the sense of relaxation
(gentle music)
as you absorb in nature.
(peaceful music)
You can remove your fists and just let your legs fall open,
you may need that support under the side of your thighs,
it feels really good for me.
So feel free to do that,
that's the great thing about being in bed with pillows
and just end by settling.
(birds chirping) (gentle music)
Imagine you're lying down looking up at the clouds,
(birds chirping)
notice your breath as you watch the clouds pass by,
morphing into different shapes.
(gentle music) (birds chirping)
Noticing the rise and fall of your breath
and feel free to stay here as long as you'd like
absorbing in the benefits of all that you just did
for yourself.
Thank you so much for practicing with me.
And if you enjoyed this practice
or had any questions at all,
feel free to write in the comments below
I'd love to hear from you.
Make sure you click that like
and subscribe button so that you can be the first to know
about my upcoming Wellness Wednesday videos.
Thank you so much and be well.
(birds chirping) (gentle music)