Hip circles

Question...

whenever I do standing hip circles and push my hips out to the side I feel a pain much like a pinch nerve sensation from within the side ( ball joint) of my hip sometimes runs down my leg....

1) is it sciatica 

2) what can I do about it

This is not normal it think, a physio will give you a more professional opinion.

Mike, I'm sure following up on Alessandro's suggestion to see a physio would be a good idea.  But for what it's worth, I think I know what you are referring to, as I have been experiencing something not dissimilar myself.  Not quite going as far as sciatic nerve pain, but certainly an extreme tension with occasional 'zingy' pain, that feels quite different from a muscular stretch.

I know that I have very, very tight glutes, piriformis and TFL, which generally stiffen up my whole hip area and cause impingement on a number of exercises requiring hip opening.  This iM really seems to test those limitations.  I have found that pushing the iM to the point of what you are feeling on the first couple of circles, then backing off a bit, has enabled me to make pain-free progress over the weeks I've been working on F1 now.  It's by no means fixed yet, but I can feel definite improvement and a gradual loosening in the hip area.