“The Psoas is wise & essential. As precious as a newborn and as wizened as a sage, psoas as fluid messenger speaking truth to dissonance.Nothing is required than to sense & listen so that balance and integrity may be restored.”
-Liz Koch
If you’ve been in any of the Om Births Livestream Prenatal classes recently you’ve heard me waxing on about the importance of releasing and lengthening our Psoas. But as one student recently, and appropriately, asked “Bec, what the heck is the Psoas anyway?”
As usual I had to remind myself that not all of you are anatomy geeks like me, but understanding this deep, powerful muscle can truly be revolutionary in not only our movements to prepare for and recover from birth, discovering our psoas can actually shift our own relationship to trauma, our nervous system, and ultimately the function between our body and mind.
I know it sounds too grandiose, so here’s the true breakdown.
Your Psoas is one of the largest and strongest muscles in the body. It starts on the front of your spine all the way up by your floating ribs (bra line for those not familiar with that landmark). It then runs down from each subsequent vertebrae in a ropey drape, crossing over the pelvis and ultimately attaching into the upper inner corner of our thigh. From this position it can both flex the hip (ie lift the leg) or support the spine in a standing position, anchoring it against the legs. From the point of view for labor and birth, the psoas acts like a guide-line for channeling the baby into the top of the pelvis (and not into your side hip) and then allows things to open and spiral as labor progresses.
But the reason the Psoas is so powerful isn’t just the postural role. At the top end the psoas tendon intersects with the central tendon for the abdominal diaphragm. This means that a tight psoas influences not only posture but also BREATHING! If you read the earlier Om BIrths blog post about breathing and labor you know that our breath is the physical expression of the nervous system. So anything that influences our breathing is therefore also able to influence our emotional regulation as well. And it goes both ways, stress and anxiety can lead to tension in the psoas thereby contributing to restricted breathing and an overall more activated nervous system.
When the psoas is in a tense state, the fibers contract along the vertical line pulling the lower back forward and compressing the ribcage into the lumbar curve and lower organs. This can drag the upper body forward and restrict the movement available within the ribcage to expand during inhalation. This response can result in increased stress, but it can also be caused by trauma or unresolved issues. The sudden ducking movement we associate with a loud noise or a car backfiring is an example of a Psoas contraction. It is the muscle of self protection as well as standing upright, and the effects of imbalance can be dramatic. I once had a psoas spasm so powerful that I could only walk bent over at a 45 degree angle because the internal muscle line refused to release. The additional result of this contraction was an intense sheering force against my SI joints in the back of my pelvis. This was because with the psoas forcefully trying to flex the spine forward, the back of the pelvis began to strain under the weight of the two opposing forces (trying to stand up and bend over at the same time). This is also often true to a lesser degree when we encounter conditions such as back pain during pregnancy. The psoas muscle is shortening due to changing in the spinal curves to accommodate the postural shifts in pregnancy, and the pelvis is still trying to remain upright against the forward movement of the center of gravity. The result is compression of the lower back and posterior pelvic joints and discomfort as a result! Balancing the action of the psoas by finding way to not only stretch but also release it can have a massive impact on the overall body function and healing.
As if being free of lower back pain wasn’t reason enough for balancing and releasing the psoas, the compression of the lumbar spine also compresses the available space in the top segment of the pelvis where baby must engage during labor. Pulled forward by the tightening Psoas (tightening either from posture or from emotional anxiety in labor or otherwise) the top segment of the sacrum rocks forward, narrowing the space available front to back in the top of the pelvis. And with a tight pathway created by ropey psoas muscles the baby may find themselves being pressed into a tense and tight opening rather than gently guided into a welcoming open basin.
Cue the need for a pliable and balanced Psoas! Having a deep front postural line that is able to lengthen and support rather than grip and compress allows for deeper, more full breathing and better function and movement throughout the pelvic floor, as well as helping to break through the Fear-Tension-Pain cycle which can further interfere with the release of labor. In many ways we can take the temperature of our nervous system regulation by looking at how pliable and responsive the psoas is. Rigid and reactive? Shows more upregulation and overall stress, not great for life or birth. Supple and pliable, shows better overall coordination between the different systems within the body, muscular and neurological.
And post birth, our ability to breath smoothly not only helps the pelvic floor re-find its balance, but we are also able to better navigate the changes of parenthood that inevitably shift the ground under our feet. It’s an all around good muscle line to make friends with.
Simple exercise for releasing Psoas?
Constructive Rest: Lie on your back (supported if you are more than 20 weeks pregnant), bend your knees and bring your heels apart and toes towards one another. Allow the knees to knock together and release the creases of the hips. Now simply focus on letting go right in the upper inner thigh where the pelvis and legs meet. Breathe normally and easily and simply feel your body resting.
That’s it. Stay for as long as you like (I usually go for 10-20 minutes, but I’ve been known to take naps here)
Leg swing: Stand on a yoga block with one foot (or on the edge of a stair) holding the wall or something solid with one hand. Let one leg dangle while standing solidly on the other leg. IMagine the dangling leg starts not at the hip but all the way in the back ribs (where the psoas begins). On an inhale, draw the free leg back engaging the glutes while still standing tall. With an exhale let the leg release and swing freely using very little muscle work to move back and forth. The idea is to imagine the leg swinging like a long pendulum gradually slowing down like a grandfather clock that hasn’t been wound up. Gradually let the leg come to rest, then step down and feel the difference from one side to the other. Repeat on the second side.
Psoas stretch: Lying on your back, bend the knees and place a low yoga block or rolled towel under the hips. (This can also be done with the hips on the edge of a bed or massage table.) Pulling the knees into the chest (or around the belly) hold one knee with both hands while extending the other leg out and down towards the floor. Focus on rotating the thigh gently inward so the inner leg drops towards the ground. As much as possible keep the leg in line with the hip- a tight psoas will want to swing to the outside. Let the extended leg dangle, controlling the stretch by drawing the bent knee into the chest. The extended knee can bend slightly if needed. Stay for about 60 seconds per side, breathing into the ribs and back.
To come out, bring both knees to the chest again and either roll side, or put the feet down to lift the hips and remove the block before rolling side to sit up.