Get to Know Your Glutes

 A strong, supportive bottom is key to a safe, pain-free practice. Here’s what you need to know about the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus muscles; why our sedentary lifestyles are overstretching them; and how to use your yoga practice to balance your backside. 

- Jill Miller

For many people, appearance is the top priority when it comes to their posterior. But yoga practitioners also know that the gluteals can do so much more than look great in jeans: They’re the primary players in many of the movements that make it possible to do yoga. The gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus—along with many other smaller, supporting muscles—act as a base of support for the pelvis and hips. What’s more, these hardworking muscles stabilize your femur (thighbone) in your hip socket, rotate your femur internally and externally, and draw your leg back. And yes, all of these actions also help us stand and walk, and even support us when we sit.

Unfortunately, there are a number of ways we jeopardize the health of this important muscle group. For starters, our increasingly sedentary lifestyles are leading to what experts call “gluteal amnesia,” in which the butt muscles become overstretched and underused (read: weak). On the flip side, it’s also possible to overuse and overexert these muscles— whether we’re excessively clenching the tush in certain asanas, such as Warrior Pose II or Wheel Pose, or pushing too hard while running or hiking. Not only do under- or overworked glutes affect range of motion in the hips and sacrum, but strength imbalances can also lead to instability or pain when we’re on our mats. Here’s how to find a happy medium.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE: ANATOMY OF THE GLUTEALS

GLUTEUS MEDIUS