Ah ha! The *do not sink into your left leg or hip* is the key, I believe. Yay!

I don't believe I have a bad hip as much as a lot of weight being supported on the hip during those bumps. I think this because doing them on the other side irritates things too. I'm sinking into my hip. I observed that about myself today.

Ah, well. Another opportunity to enjoy the moves on a deeper level! :) The yoga comment helps tremendously too.

Thank you :).

Andrea.

...."The one-sidedness of ATS can irritate it. Although FCBD ATS only does hip bumps etc. with the right hip, standing on the left foot, it would probably be good for your body to practice them on both sides to even things out a bit. ......"

If you study the BlackSheep Format of ATS, Kajira's, she teaches to use both hips so you are not dealing with the "one-sidedness" that may be the root cause...

Just a thought.. I'll run and hide now...

Lori, thanks for this. I'm gonna check and see if I actually have my weight distributed evenly between both feet on this move. I suspect not. I think this will be a big change for me, but it's worth a try.

Fantastic help! Even weight distribution with the quads doing the work.I think you are right about it being the piriformis... But it seems to be only the attachment points on the "shoulder" of the femur and the sacrum that are painful. There isn't a shooting pain going down the back of my leg. Yet. ;o) I agree with you that going both ways will still tend to cause pain. The Pigeon (I think that's right) yoga posture seems to help a lot in stretching it and helping it to feel better.

Thank you :).

Andrea.

"One thing to make sure you're doing is keeping your weight distributed evenly over BOTH legs when doing hip bumps. This means you'll have to use your quads more for the movement but it will help."

Wow--- really interesting stuff here-- I have of course noticed the fatigue and tension that you develop on the opposing side when doing many hip bumps--and particularly drilling them in class! This helps immensely. Thank you!

OMG that is great advice. I'm having lots of piriformis issues and all the shooting pain leg butt stuff is driving me crazy, it's all in the left leg.
I will check out my weight distribution.
Thanks!

And that's *extremely* helpful. Something to say to myself during the move. "Up-Neutral-Up-Neutral..." Thank you!

{blows kisses in your direction} :)

Andrea.

Have you ever tried Arnica?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnica

It's an all natural pain reliever. You can pick it up at a health food store or someplace like Whole Foods. Works like a charm!

To add a few more yoga moves...

The "butterfly" position, with your heels coming in towards the pelvis is crucial to keeping those ligaments loose and your hips open. Try nose to toes, and alternating leaning over each knee. As you do, keep the crown of your head in line with your spine and imagine pouring out all that excess tension and energy. Ground yourself to the floor and you will literally feel the energy draining from your hips. I begin and end each practice with this stretch.

Someone mentioned pigeon...also a must to really open your hips. This stretch will also do wonders for your hip circles because your body will be used to easliy moving with the hips in a square position.

A modification on the seated forward bend that I have also found helpful is to reach for your ankles, and in a very relaxed state start moving your hips on the floor in a very loose shimmy. This gently opens the pelvis and hip sockets. Rock back and forth, enjoying your breath.

When the searing pain has stopped, try this one:

Lie down on your side and support your head with your hand. (Kinda like you're going to go some old school leg lifts.) Take a deep breath, and on the exhale lift both legs off the floor while keeping your feet together. Try to get your feet, calves, and thighs as high as possible without straining yourself. You can place your opposite hand in front of you for balance. Hold for several breaths and repeat on the other side. This one is great because it engages the abs, lower back, and all of your hip muscles, and is a great strengthening exercise, while still getting a good stretch. The first time I tried it, I could barely lift my ankles off the floor. Now after a few weeks of incoporating it into my warm up, I am able to lift both legs completely off the floor, and can balance solely on my hip and elbow.

Overall I would say that if you can incorporate a weekly yoga practice (more never hurts either!) you will find that your overall flexibility and muscle control will enhance your dancing tremendously, as well as minimizing injury.

Feel better!

My left hip is killing me!

As someone who is also having this problem I am wondering how you are doing and what has worked and what has not?

Can i just add to this great discussion, I'm not sure if anyone has actually specifically mentioned it but to protect the left hip joint, if you think of engaging the left glute to ensure you go back to neutral and use the right glute to give structure to the bump you will be able to do this move without experiencing fatigue in the left hip joint. Stretching out the glutes after practise is also important.