All About the Psoas: A 3 Part Series
All About the Psoas: A 3 Part Series
This is a 3 part series where I discuss my view of the multifaceted nature of the psoas [So-As] muscle, some personal history, as well as tools, stretches and breathwork to release the psoas. There is much written about the psoas (see Continued Reading) and–
My intention here is to share my personal view of the psoas–its symbology- and why it functions as a weathervane for emotional state.
Let’s look at anatomy.
As you can see in the picture, the psoas attaches to the spine and to the femur, passing through the pelvis.
In other words,
The psoas connects back body to front body, and upper body to lower body.
The psoas is a bridge…meaning, a lot of traffic/energy travels through this region.
This is why the pelvis and thighs may tremor/shake as trauma is released through somatic exercises like TRE.
Because the psoas passes through the pelvis, the level of tension/tone in the psoas greatly affects the tilt of the pelvis.
Walk down any street in America and you’ll see tucked tailbones. As we age, hours spent sitting increase, and you see this even more.
However, just because you have suboptimal posture does not necessarily mean you will have pain. Just as spinal imaging can indicate disc herniations but the patient has no pain, our magnificent and unique human bodies are not clones. Thank God!
Our bodies are vessels of all that is lived and inherited – use patterns, injuries and lifestyle – and can therefore show much variation.
From an optimal wellness standpoint though, good posture is the posture of effortless standing.
Allowing the skeleton to hold neutral spine effortlessly, neither tucking or sticking out the tail or thoracic spine, brings the body into homeostasis. In the homeostasis state, breathing is optimized, standing is optimized, all functions of the body are optimized. The psoas muscle plays a major part in this.
Example? People with low back pain. A prolonged posterior tilt pulls on the low back muscles. They never get a break. At some point they will protest and start spasming. This is often the case when people report, ‘my back suddenly went out.’
And like all things with the body, there is a huge emotional component. Remember when I said the psoas is a weathervane for emotional state. Stressed out? The psoas can contract, also creating a posterior tilt.
This has primitive origin; in fear states, animals tuck their tails, the spine rounds and the front body caves in as a protective mechanism.
So how can we increase awareness of our psoas tone to optimize our lives? Hopefully you’re curious about this topic now, especially if you’re currently in pain.
In the next article, I discuss exercises and breathwork to aid psoas release. Psoas release can facilitate the following:
Low Back Pain Release
Somatic Release from Sexual Trauma
Increased Fertility
Easeful Elimination (helpful for constipation)
Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation
Namaste,
Catherine
Continued Reading
https://montgomerysomatics.com/emotional-release-of-the-psoas/
https://www.yogaeasy.com/artikel/the-importance-of-the-psoas-muscle
https://traumaconsciousyoga.com/psoas/
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Catherine Tingey
Entrepreneur, yogini, designer, award-winning filmmaker, personal trainer and former marathon runner. She left a career in finance to start her own business and along the way, became a yoga teacher. She has been practicing yoga for 33 years and teaching privately for 13 years.
About the Author
Catherine Tingey+ Entrepreneur, yogini, designer, award-winning filmmaker, personal trainer and former marathon runner. She left a career in finance to start her own business and along the way, became a yoga teacher. She has been practicing yoga for 33 years and teaching privately for 13 years.
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