Where Your Hip Joints Really Are (And Why It Matters) #101

💥Video: Finding Your Hips Joints 💥

Your hip joints hold the key to better riding – but only if you know where they really are. Learn why traditional approaches often fail and discover a gentle, proven process that creates lasting change for you and your horse using the Feldenkrais MethodⓇ.

Most riders struggle with hip mobility because they're working with the wrong map. By understanding the true location of your hip joints, you'll discover why traditional advice like "just relax" or "stretch more" might be holding you back. Through the gentle wisdom of the Feldenkrais Method, you'll learn how to create real, lasting change that benefits both you and your horse.

This episode reveals:

• The surprising location of your hip joints 
• Why traditional approaches might be making things worse
• How to identify hidden hip issues affecting your riding
• The gentle path to lasting improvement
• Practical steps to start your transformation today

Key Takeaways:

1. Your hip joints are key to effective riding - once you know where they really are
2. Working against your nervous system creates more problems than it solves
3. Gentle, intentional movement creates deeper, lasting change
4. Horses often instantly respond to improved hip awareness and mobility
5. Awareness leads to better communication with your horse

Resources:

💥Learn how the Feldenkrais Method can help improve your seat, position, and balance on your horse! Free rider videos masterclass: https://www.marydebono.com/rider 💥

💥Video: Finding Your Hips Joints 💥

Email [email protected]

All information is for general educational purposes ONLY and does not constitute medical, veterinary, or professional training advice. Always use extreme caution when interacting with horses. 

About the Host:

Mary Debono is a pioneer in animal and human wellness, blending her expertise as an international clinician, best-selling author, and certified Feldenkrais Method® practitioner. With over three decades of experience, Mary developed Debono Moves, a groundbreaking approach that enhances the performance, well-being, and partnership of horses and their human companions.

Recognizing the profound connection between equine and human movement, Mary's innovative approach draws from the Feldenkrais Method®, tailored specifically for the equestrian world. Her methods have helped horses and humans:

• Improve athletic ability and performance
• Enhance confidence and reduce anxiety
• Reduce physical limitations and discomfort
• Deepen the horse-human bond

Mary's flagship online program, "Move with Your Horse," offers equestrians a unique opportunity to experience the benefits of Feldenkrais® while also learning her signature hands-on work for horses. This transformative approach has helped riders and their equine partners achieve harmony, both in and out of the saddle.

As a speaker and educator, Mary has touched the lives of equestrians across the globe, empowering them to unlock their full potential through mindful movement and enhanced body awareness.

Discover the power of Debono Moves and transform your equestrian journey. Visit https://www.marydebono.com/you-and-your-horse to learn more about Mary's unique work.

Because you and your horse deserve to feel great. Together. 

TRANSCRIPT:

Hi. Picture this. You're in the saddle and your trainer says, relax your hips. And you kind of smile and nod, but inside you're thinking, how the heck am I supposed to do that? You have no idea. Matter of fact, maybe you think your hips are out here on the sides of your pelvis, but they're not. So today we're going to crack that code together. Okay? So let's start by understanding your hip joints.

Your hip joints are probably much closer to the center of your body than you imagine they are, okay? Your hip joints are the closest joint to your horse, and they're large joints. And if you can think about it this way, so you know where your leg attaches to your trunk, right? The crease. Like if you, if you're standing or even if you're sitting and you just lift one leg, right, and have your fingers just kind of like in the crease, okay, on the top of your leg.

And you'll feel how your fingers kind of get smushed a little bit when you lift your leg. So right in there, close to the center, are your hip joints. And as a matter of fact, make sure you check out the little three minute video I have for you that's going to walk you through a little awareness exercise and show you, with a skeleton, et cetera, exactly where the hip joints are and the difference between the hip joints and the pelvic bones.

Because it's kind of confusing. You know, in our culture, we often say, put your hands on your hips and people put their hands on top of their pelvic bones, okay? And you know, it's like that position. So for, for those of you who are unclear, it's like if you're mad at somebody, you want to make a point, you put your hands on your. On. On what we call the hips.

Those are not your hip joints. But I find a lot of people are confused or they think the hip joints are way out to the side of the leg. Okay? So make sure you check out that video. It'll be in the description. So whether you're listening to the podcast or watching a video, it'll be in there. So, but let's talk a little bit more about the hip joints.

As a matter of fact, if you have pants with pockets in the front, you kind of stick your fingers in the pockets, like right down in there, more or less. Are the hip joints. Okay? And they're really amazing joints. You know, they're. They're ball and socket joints and they're designed for both stability and mobility. They're amazingly mobile your hip joints. The thing is, so many people tell me that that is their number one issue, right?

The reason they have problems riding or walking or running or even sitting often has to do with their hip joints. Okay? But think about all the things your hip joints are involved in when you ride, right? They allow you to drape your legs around your horse. They allow you to absorb movement and maintain your balance and to of subtle aids to your horse. So they truly are your connection point with your horse.

But here's the thing. Your hip joints don't work in isolation. They're part of a whole body pattern. Includes your lower back, your pelvis, even your head position, right? So it's like, have you ever noticed when you're maybe you feel like your neck is stiff, you have tension in your neck and that actually can disrupt how your legs drape around your horse, right? It's harder to follow your horse's movement.

So no part of us works in isolation. So this is really important to think about because tension anywhere affects tension everywhere. Okay? So, you know, you'll find that like a lot of riders, they'll try to improve their position by like forcing their heels down or sitting up straight or doing something like that, that. But if your hip joints are not moving freely, those so called solutions actually create more problems for you, okay?

They create more tension. It's kind of like trying to steer a car with the parking brake still on, okay? It, it, it takes a lot more effort and it has a lot more wear and tear on the system. So what we find is that when you understand and you become more aware of exactly where your hip joints are, your brain automatically maps them better so you can use them more fully.

Now this doesn't mean that all your aches and pains and tension in your hips will go away just by knowing where they are. But it's a really important first step, okay? So that's why I have that video for you. So make sure you check that out. But we're going to talk more about how you can help your hip joints and you know, and how this approach works. Okay?

So, and this is where the Feldenkrais method, you know, I teach the Feldenkrais method. If you've listened to any of my other podcasts, and this is where it really shines. It's real, it's, it helps your brain really map in a gentleman, mindful way. Okay? So we use gentle, easy movements to help your brain kind of remap your body parts, basically. Hey, have more overall awareness, better coordination which results in better balance, more flexibility, and all kinds of good stuff.

And I'll tell you a little bit about my personal history. When I came into the Feldenkrais method decades ago. Okay, we're talking a long time ago. I had a lot of hip problems, specifically in my right hip was the worst, like, by far. And it started when I was a teenager, and I had constant pain. I had lots of tension. You know, riding would hurt, hiking, running, all those things.

I mean, I still was very active, but I paid a price for it. And I thought I had to live with it because I had gone to different doctors, different therapists, and I didn't get any solutions. And it wasn't until I got into the Feldenkrais method, I kind of stumbled on the Feldenkrais method, very fortunately for me that it all went away. Now, it didn't go away in one magical session or anything like that.

It took. It took time. But little by little, I could feel that I was getting better. It got to the point where my hips stopped being a problem altogether. And now it's been decades since they were a problem. And it's just so amazing to me because, you know, I'm definitely the. You know, the years have gone by. You would think there would be more wear and tear, more aches and pains, and instead, I feel like I've gotten younger compared to how I felt in my late 20s.

Okay, so keep that in mind, because I will be. I just want to say I will be offering a series about improving your hips through the Feldenkrais method. Okay. So, you know, using the Feldenkrais method. So I'll be offering that. So make sure you're on my email list because that's the way you're going to know right away. You'll be the first to know. And just real quick, if you.

If you don't know if you're on my list, please go to marydebono.com rider and you're going to get three videos over a period of three days. And they'll help. They'll also be helpful for your hips. They're not specifically for your hips, but they will help your hips. And it'll make sure you're on the. On the email list. So you'll find out when I'm going to be offering these additional Feldenkrais classes.

Okay. Okay. So let's get back to your hips. So this is what I've noticed. So you see, you might think, I don't know if I have a hip problem. Which, by the way, that can be the case because we get so habituated basically to our limitations, to our restrictions to our habits, then we don't know it's a problem. But maybe you've noticed that your stirrups are different lengths.

You have to set them, you know, different lengths. Maybe you notice that you lose one stirrup more than the other. Maybe one leg kind of hikes up a bit. Maybe you sit crooked in the saddle. That is sometimes from a hip problem, or it's often actually a combination of things happening up in the trunk as well as in the hip. But, you know, maybe you've noticed things like that, or maybe you have actual pain or maybe your feet stick out kind of like a duck, right?

So those are all ways that your, your body is kind of compensating for maybe some restrictions in the hip joint, either one or both hip joints. Then here's another interesting thing. Pay attention to the posting trot. Do you find that you always, you know, post to the same diagonal until you change it? Like, in other words, if you were to just post, you know, without thinking about it, would you always rise on the same diagonal?

And what's funny is this is one of the first things I noticed about myself when I got better. I remember doing this Feldenkrais lesson. I know that I know the particular one. It was, it was kind of mind blowing. And yes, I will offer it in the series I'm going to teach about hips. But this, I mean, was a complete game changer for me for how I used my hips.

And I remember after I did that Feldenkrais lesson and then I rode my horse, that was one of the things I noticed right away was, oh, because normally, you know, I, I would always rise to the same diagonal until I, you know, would change it, right? And I noticed I didn't that day. And I was like, oh, that's really interesting. And then I noticed I could do things with my horse, or, excuse me, the way I looked at it was my horse could do things.

Suddenly, magically, his performance improved. It was really me. I stopped getting in his way. I was able to move with him better and give more subtle, clearer aids. And that was due to the big changes I had in how I used my hips. So it was really pretty fascinating. And it just, it just like solidified for me this desire to share this work with you because it is so life changing.

Because not only did I feel so much better and I could do things, you know, without pain and I could, you know, ride better and all the things. My horse benefited so much from it as well. That's what I want for you and your horses also. So, you know, maybe you find, again, that you're uneven, you sit heavier on one seat bone. Maybe you find that you're gripping with your thighs or your knees.

You know, there's all kinds of ways that hip issues show up in your riding. Or maybe, maybe you don't do much riding, and maybe you just notice that your hips are sore a lot, that they get really tight. Maybe you spend a lot of time sitting down either at your desk or behind the wheel of a truck or whatever you're doing, and you find that, oh, when I get up, I'm really stiff, okay?

So the Felton Christ method could really help with that. So now, this is the key difference, though. There is a big difference between the way the Feldenkrais method approaches it than a lot of other stretching and strengthening programs. So a lot of people will tell, you know, give you kind of these hip stretching exercises. And that can really backfire because if your brain has decided that there's a reason have tension around the hips and you just try to, like, quote, unquote, work it out or stretch it out, your body's going to create other compensations because that's going to feel very unsafe, okay?

So we want to think about movement in a different way. We want to join with your nervous system and kind of like show your nervous system that having more freedom in the hips is a safe thing to do and it feels better. And then your brain will want to, you know, recreate that and it'll change your habit, okay? So we want to work with your nervous system and not try to fight against your nervous system, okay?

So because think about it, when you're feeling stiff or something like that, it's your body's way of creating some stability. It's trying to keep you safe. I know it may sound counterintuitive, but there was a good reason why it started that in the first place, and now maybe it's outlived its usefulness now, maybe it's a maladaptive habit, but at one time it was useful. So we want to tell the nervous system, and we do this through gentle, mindful movements.

We want to say, look, it's safe now to let go. We can now move in these freer ways and the hips can feel better, okay? So it's really, really important. And it's like, for example, maybe at some point you fell off your horse, okay, you took a fall, and your nervous System, again, in an attempt to keep you safe, decided to, like, create a habit of keeping excess tension around your hips.

Okay? So again, that was, you know, like, kind of like an intelligent response to a problem, but that's not helping you in the long run, okay. And it's actually limiting your movement and making your riding less secure now. So we have to be intelligent with how we approach this, okay? And this is where Feldenkrais method, again, really, really shines. It's total game changer. And what we know in the Feldenkrais method is that gentle, mindful movements are incredibly powerful, right?

And that's what creates the lasting change. So we want to get the nervous system on board with what we're doing. You know, it's like, you can think of it this way, you know, have you ever tried to make friends with a nervous kitty, right? A nervous cat. You don't go up to the cat with a loud voice and kind of touch the cat really, you know, harshly. No, you, you, you maybe sit sideways to the cat.

You bend down. You, you know, extend your hand and then maybe just gently stroke in a very soft way. Think of that, okay? That you want to kind of win over your nervous system to say, look, this is going to be much better. This is going to feel better. We have to kind of take it slow with the nervous system, okay? And so that then your nervous system will feel safe and then you'll be able to explore more variations, more possibilities.

Okay? New possibilities. And then you can increase the speed and the power of your movement. It's not like you're going to stay stuck in these small, slow movements. Not, not at all. Right? That. So that's really important to remember. So. And here's something else to remember. Even though today we're talking about hips, in the Feldenkrais method, we don't segment out parts of the body. We work with you, your whole self, right?

The whole body, mind. So a lot of times you find. And I know I found this personally for myself, and I've helped a lot, a lot of students over the years the same way. It's, it's not just about. So if the problem is the hip joints, it's not just about the hip joints. It's helping you use your trunk in a different way, helping use your pelvis in a different way.

Again, going back to, you know, neck tension, perhaps issues with the shoulder. The shoulder and, and the pelvis, for example, are very closely connected and that they're going to influence your hips. So it's definitely A whole body system, okay? And we have to remember your hip joints are part of a very complex system, okay? And by improving how the whole system works together, find that the specific problems just kind of naturally resolve.

So it's really important. So think about it like this. Instead of like forcing a rusty hinge to move, you're gently kind of oiling that hinge and moving it slowly in different ways to kind of just gently work out the kinks. And really what you're doing is you're helping the nervous system experience all these different possibilities of movement and realizing they're safe and they're pleasurable, and then your nervous system will want to expand on them, okay?

And that's what creates lasting change because we're working with your nervous system's ability to learn and adapt. Okay? So I hope this gives you some food for thought. Different way of thinking about your hips. And please, please, please, two things I ask of you. Number one, check out that little three minute video. It's going to walk you through how to differentiate your hip joints from your pelvis. Okay?

Gives you a little exercise to do just standing up. You don't need any equipment. And also have a skeleton so you can see, you know, this is a hip joint, this is a pelvis. And then make sure you sign up for the free Rider Masterclass marydebono.com Rider and thank you so very much for listening and subscribing to the podcast. I so appreciate you and I can't wait to talk to you again.

Bye for now.