Qi Gong for hips - Joanne Faulkner

Why Do My Hips Feel Stuck?

Understanding Hip Tension, Energy Flow & the Liver Meridian (and How to Fix It Gently)

If your hips feel tight, stiff, or completely stuck — you’re not alone. This is one of the most common issues I see, especially for women over 45 and for those managing long-term conditions where movement and energy feel limited.

But here’s the thing most people don’t realise:
Hip tension isn’t just about tight muscles.

In Chinese Medicine, the hips are part of a much bigger picture — one that includes energy flow, emotional holding, posture, and how your whole body connects from the ground up.

The 3 Most Asked Questions This Blog Answers

1. Why do my hips feel so tight or “stuck” even when I stretch?
2. How are my hips connected to energy flow and emotions?
3. What can I do daily to gently release hip tension and improve movement?

The Real Reason Your Hips Feel Stuck

When people say their hips feel “stuck,” they’re usually describing something deeper than stiffness.

It’s that feeling of:

A fixed pelvis
Limited movement when walking
Tightness deep in the groin or lower back
Low or sluggish energy

In Chinese Medicine, this is often linked to the Liver system, which is responsible for the smooth flow of energy (Qi) in the body.

When that flow becomes restricted, the body tightens — and one of the first places this shows up is in the hips and groin.

The Liver Meridian & Hip Tension (Why the Groin Matters)

The Liver meridian runs from the foot, up the inner leg, and passes directly through the groin into the pelvis.

Think of the groin and hips as a gateway.

If that gateway is:

Tight | Collapsed |Misaligned

Then energy can’t move smoothly from the lower body into the centre.

Stretching your hamstrings doesn’t fix the problem
Your hips still feel tight no matter what you try
Movement feels restricted or disconnected

Because the issue isn’t just muscular, it’s about flow through that inner pathway.

The Role of the Psoas (Your Deep “Emotional” Muscle)

Deep in the centre of your body sits the psoas muscle, connecting your spine to your legs.

This muscle:

Tightens with stress
Shortens with sitting
Holds emotional tension (especially fear and anxiety)

Over time, this can lead to:

A “fixed” pelvis
Lower back discomfort
Reduced hip mobility
That heavy, stuck feeling

This is why hip tension often feels both physical and emotional.

Rooting to Rise: The Missing Piece

Most people try to fix tight hips by stretching harder. But in Chinese Medicine, we take a different approach:

👉 You don’t force the hips open — you allow them to open.

This comes from the principle of “rooting to rise.”

Instead of pulling from the top down, we build from the ground up.

Alignment from the Ground Up (Your “Gates”)

To restore flow through the hips, we guide the body through a series of “gates”:

Start with your feet — feeling the ground, weight evenly distributed.
Then soften the ankles — responsive, not rigid.
Allow the knees to bend gently and track forward.
Move into the hips (Kua) — softening the crease at the front of the pelvis.
Let the pelvis settle neutral — not gripping or tilting.
Allow the spine to rise naturally.
Soften the chest and shoulders.
Let the head float gently on top.

When these gates align, something powerful happens: 👉 Energy can rise smoothly from the ground, through the legs, through the groin, and into the whole body. This is where real change begins.

Why Hip Pain, Sciatica & Low Energy Are Connected

When the hips are tight and the pelvis is fixed:

Circulation reduces, Movement becomes inefficient, Energy flow slows down

This can contribute to:

Hip discomfort or stiffness | Sciatica-type symptoms | Lower back tension | Fatigue or low energy

Again it’s about flow being restricted. Watch until the end of the video where Jo demonstrates OPENING THE KUA Qi Gong Movement in both seated and standing practice.

A Gentler Way to Release Hip Tension

You don’t need extreme stretching or complicated routines.

What works best is:

Slow, controlled movement
Breath-led hip opening
Consistent daily practice
Good alignment through the feet, knees, and hips

Even simple movements like:

Gentle hip circles | Soft knee bends | Standing weight shifts

…can begin to restore flow when done consistently. Watch the video for a demonstration of a simple hip opening Qi Gong movement (seated demo included)

Supporting Your Hips with Food & Daily Habits

In Chinese Medicine, the Five Element system teaches that different flavours support different organs and energy pathways in the body. Sour foods support the Liver, bitter supports the Heart, sweet nourishes the Spleen, pungent supports the Lungs, and salty nourishes the Kidneys.

The Liver system is especially important for the smooth flow of Qi and Blood throughout the body, particularly through the tendons, groin, and hips. When Liver energy becomes stagnant from stress, tension, poor posture, or inactivity, the hips can become tight, stiff, and heavy.

By supporting the Liver through movement, breathwork, and sour foods like cherries, lemon, or plums, we help restore circulation, improve blood flow, and encourage energy to move more freely through the hips and pelvis.

If you’d like to understand the full Five Element food system in a simple, practical way, along with how flavours, colours, and foods affect your energy, joints, emotions, and overall health, I explore this deeply in my books. They’re designed to help you bring Chinese Medicine into everyday life in a way that feels nourishing, grounded, and easy to follow.

To support smoother flow:

Add leafy greens (like spinach or nettle)
Include sour foods (lemon, lime, plums)
Reduce long periods of sitting
Move gently every day

These small shifts help reduce internal “stagnation” and support the hips naturally.

The Emotional Side of Hip Tension

The hips are often a storage area for:

Frustration | Stress | Unprocessed emotions

When you begin to open the hips gently, it’s not uncommon to feel:

Lighter | Calmer | More at ease

This is a normal part of the process.
You’re not just improving movement, you’re creating space in the body.

Where to Start (Without Overwhelm)

If your hips feel stuck, the goal isn’t to fix everything overnight.

It’s to:

Start gently
Stay consistent
Let the body open at its own pace

That’s exactly what we focus on inside Chi Flow with Jo — simple daily practices that build over time.

You get:

Weekday live classes
Recordings you can follow anytime
Q&A support
Acupoints, food tips, and guidance
A community moving with you

💛 It’s €39/month, reducing to €20 after your first 3 months.

Final Thoughts

If your hips feel tight, stuck, or disconnected, your body isn’t broken.

It’s simply asking for:

Better alignment
Better flow
A stronger foundation

When you start from the ground up… everything begins to change.

Ready to Start?

Join Chi Flow with Jo and begin gently opening your hips, restoring your energy, and feeling more like yourself again.

Go Deeper with Our Books

For those wanting to understand how movement, breath, and Chinese Medicine principles, Jo’s books provide practical guidance rooted in lived experience and clinical wisdom.

👉 Buy Five Element Wisdom cookbooks

Explore how to Find Your Flow and Live Well with Parkinson’s.

Movement does not need to be extreme to be powerful.
Small daily expansion reshapes the body.
Steady breath reshapes the nervous system.
Gentle repetition rebuilds confidence.

Every human body carries extraordinary capacity for renewal when given the right rhythm.

If April is asking you to soften into strength, come and practice with us.

Self-administered acupressure or Chinese Medicine is not a substitute for visits to qualified healthcare practitioners.

Knowing how to treat yourself and your loved ones with complimentary therapies like acupressure can be greatly beneficial and convenient. However, for serious and chronic conditions, you’ll want to visit an Shiatsu therapist / Acupuncturist or other qualified healthcare practitioner who can develop a treatment plan based on your unique medical history and combination of symptoms.

The information provided should not be considered medical advice.

Topics: Breathwork, Parkinson’s support, sleep practices, Qi Gong, acupressure.

Joanne Faulkner is a Qi Gong teacher – Chi Flow with Jo – teaching live daily online Qi Gong classes to hundreds of people; a Shiatsu practitioner specializing in the energy of food in Traditional Chinese Medicine and a published Author. Her residential and day Wellness Retreats focus on Chi Gong, self-Shiatsu & Conscious Cooking Demonstrations, and are extremely popular.

Until recently, Joanne was the Irish representative to the European Shiatsu Federation and is the former Chairperson of the Shiatsu Society Ireland.

“Good Food: Better Sex” and “Shiatsu & the Art of Conscious Cooking” , both written and published by Joanne, are modern cookbooks full of delicious recipes, Traditional Chinese Medicine plus acupressure points for health and wellbeing.

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Breathe into Your Power: Releasing Hip Tension and Reclaiming Your Lower Dantien

Energy Update

When we move stiffly, when our hips feel locked or our lower back aches, it’s more than just physical, it’s emotional, energetic, and ancestral. This month in Chi Flow with Jo, we’re bringing loving attention to the lower Dantien, the energetic centre in the pelvis that is key to vitality, power, and fluid movement.

Together with the incredible Julie Williams, practitioner of Consciousness Medicine and Family Constellations, who will give our Mid Monthly Health talk, we explore how trauma, rigidity, and emotional wounds, especially those from early childhood, can get stored in the sacral chakra and hips, creating tightness in both body and mind.

Emotional Baggage in the Hips

Julie shared from the Ayurvedic tradition, the sacral chakra, located in the lower abdomen, becomes active between the ages of five and eight. Any emotional upheaval or trauma during this period can create a dense energetic “wobble.” It doesn’t spin smoothly, and this disruption shows up as tension in the hips, lower back pain, stiffness, or even a sense of disconnection from joy, pleasure, and creativity.

Julie reminded us during our conversation that this trauma isn’t always ours alone. Much of what we carry is ancestral—deeply rooted emotional patterns passed down through generations. As we age, these patterns can harden not only in our beliefs but also in our bodies. Hips tighten. Shoulders stiffen. We become less flexible—not just physically, but emotionally and mentally too.

But here’s the good news: we can shift it. We can release the trauma. And we can restore flow.

Two Simple Practices to Unlock Hip Flexibility and Emotional Flow

Here are two powerful solutions from our Podcast that you can try today to soften your hips, boost your mobility, and breathe life into your lower Dantien:

1. Creative Expression

Creativity heals. Whether it’s cooking, painting, singing, dancing, or even choosing to wear a joyful colour, creative acts unblock the sacral chakra and invite movement into areas that feel frozen.

You don’t have to be an artist—simply engage in something playful and expressive.

Even something as gentle as pushing a pebble around on a blank page with a pen, letting your hand follow the flow, opens channels of expression. You’re giving yourself permission to move differently—physically and emotionally.

“Whatever we focus on grows. So focus on creation, not just consumption.” – Julie Williams

Start your morning with this mantra: Create first. Consume second. Before you reach for your phone, create something. Morning pages, a smoothie, a sketch. It sets the tone for presence, not reaction.

2. Breath into the Pelvis

Many of us have never been taught to consciously breathe into our sexual organs, the very space where life begins. But this area is a powerhouse of energy, and it’s often shrouded in shame, fear, or disconnection.

By simply placing your hands over the lower belly and breathing deeply into this space, you begin to reconnect with your power. The lower Dantien is where Qi gathers and transforms. It’s the energetic furnace of the body.

Try this:
• Sit or lie comfortably.
• Place both hands over your lower abdomen.
• Inhale deeply through the nose, imagining the breath travelling down to the pelvic bowl.
• Exhale through the mouth with a sigh.
• Repeat for several minutes, sending loving attention to this sacred centre.

Over time, this restores the flow of life force energy, allowing you to access joy, creativity, and mobility in the hips.

Trauma Needs Tenderness

As Julie shared, trauma release must be done with care. Working with a trauma-informed therapist ensures you don’t accidentally retraumatize your nervous system. It’s not about diving deep into the wound. It’s about gently acknowledging it, locating it in the body, and giving it permission to move and heal.

In Consciousness Medicine, practices like timelines, family constellation work, and NLP reframing help you see that you are not your trauma. You are the one who experienced it, and you have the power to transform it.

This Month in Chi Flow with Jo

In our daily Qi Gong practice, we’ll be focusing on hip mobility, pelvic breathing, and cultivating lower Dantien energy. These movements and breath practices help us connect with our power, release stored emotions, and move with grace and ease.

Later this month, Julie Williams will offer a Mid-Month Member Health Talk, diving even deeper into Consciousness Medicine techniques to support emotional release, creativity, and energetic resilience. Her work brings beautiful depth to what we practice each morning in Chi Flow.

You Are Not Just the Trauma

You are a radiant being, creative, powerful, and whole. The emotional body can expand and contract, but the spiritual self remains untouched, always intact. When you move, breathe, and create from this knowing, healing unfolds.

Come move with us. Come soften. Come reclaim your flow. Sign up for the LIVE Free Class at the end of the month and we’ll send you the recording too.