Over the years I’ve never thought much about my psoas muscles (pronounced SO-as), let alone cared about them. Big mistake! Here’s why we need to take better care of these incredible muscles:
- They are the primary connectors between your torso and your legs. They affect your posture and help to stabilize your spine. A tight psoas will cause back pain, neck pain and various other issues, like chronic constipation.
- The psoas is the only flexor muscle connecting to the diaphragmatic breathing system. A tight psoas muscle therefore, leads to shortness of breath or chest breathing, adding to more stress.
- When you are startled or under stress, your psoas contracts and literally stores the stress.
What causes a weak or tight psoas? Sitting all day, practicing bad posture and succumbing to a lot of stress are the main culprits. Sound like you? It sure describes me …too much of the time.
There are two practices that will heal a chronically tight psoas. I am practicing these on a daily basis now:
- “Constructive rest is an easy position for releasing tension in your psoas muscle. After work and before your evening meal take 10 – 20 minutes to rest in constructive rest and feel the benefits.”
- Practice active stretching as described in this excellent article by Dr. Christiane Northrup.
You’ll find these easy-to-do practices are very soothing and healing. I hope you’ll take the time and let me know how it’s working for you.
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