Open the Front of the Pelvis for release in the Back???? Really??

Hip Pain, back pain, running strides, pain when sitting and standing can all be caused in some part by  short and tight hip flexors, and before reaching for the ibuprofen try these at home exercises.  No muscle is alone in the body, which begs the question: Which hip flexor is tight? (There are quite a few of them) Just one stretch won’t cut it.  There is also the art of strengthening the opposing muscles to facilitate release.  Its just 5-10 minutes, but the relief you will feel after doing the following workout is legendary.   These exercises can be done before any exercise class or pilates class.  They will assist in establishing a balanced pelvis so that you can access strength in your core.

The following workout also considers the muscles that become tender as a result of locked hip flexors.  How does the back of the ribcage feel?  What about the knees and the feet?  What about the low back and sacrum?  Is your breath restricted?  Try the following series and let us know what you think! 

1.    Releasing the Psoas with Breath – First lie on your back and hug both knees to your chest.  Take deep breaths into the back of your ribcage.  Imagine as you inhale that the space between all of the ribs in your back body are expanding and lengthening.  Think about the base of your ribcage.  Let the breath move the floating ribs.  Use the breath to expand the tissue below the rib cage.

2.    Lengthen one leg – Now lengthen one leg long along the floor.  You are still hugging one leg into your chest, and you are still breathing into the back of your ribcage.  Be sure to connect the heel of the leg that is long along the floor to the ground.   Begin to make circles with your ankle using the heel as an focal point.  As you continue these circles notice your femur or thighbone. Is there tension in the tissue in the front of the thigh?  Is this tissue preventing the top of your thigh from connecting to the floor?  As you continue these ankle circles periodically switching directions.  Notice if the thigh’s relationship to the floor changes.  Is the thighbone releasing towards the floor?  After a few ankle circles in each direction hug both knees to the chest and reach the next leg long along the floor and repeat on the other side.

3.    Introducing rotation to the spine – The following exercise is one of the basic six Bartenieff Fundamentals.  It has been called the knee drop or knee reach.  Lie on your back and let your arms reach out to the sides in the “Y position” Your feet are planted in the ground with your knees pointing up to the ceiling. As you inhale, while keeping your feet connected to the ground, let your knees drop gently to the side.  Establishing a diagonal line between your knees and the opposite hand.  Then exhale as you bring your pelvis and head back to the center line.  And then finally pick up your knees.  Inhale as you begin the sequence on the other side.  The rib breath will keep your upper body grounded and will continue to release the base of the ribcage

4.    Sidelying Leg Lifts and Circles – After the knee reach, roll over onto your side.  Lengthen your legs long beneath you and be sure to reach through the top of your head so that your spine is as long as possible.  Then begin with side lying leg lifts.  Reaching through the heel with each exhale as you lift the leg.  After approximately ten of these reach the heel even farther behind you and begin making tiny circles with your thighs.  Approximately ten circles in each direction.  Continue to lengthen the front of the hip as you complete these circles let the hamstrings and glutes assist you as the hip flexors continue to soften.  Use your belly muscles to keep your waist lifted.  Repeat on the other side.

5.    Clam Shell - Roll back to your first side.  This time bend your knees and allow your heels to line up with the S.I.T.S bones with your knees pointing to the front.  Inhale to prepare and then exhale as you allow your heels to squeeze together while lifting the top knee in external rotation.  Repeat on the other side

6.    Quadruped Breath Work– Now make your way to your hands and knees in quadruped position.  Take a few breaths here and begin finding your neutral spine.  Remember that your head is part of the spine.  If you are in a true neutral spine your head ribcage and pelvis would be in line.  Now as you exhale imagine two magnets on each end of your spine.  These magnets pull your head away from your tail (Then thank the great mind of Eric Franklin for that image) Inhale as you maintain the length of your spine but continue to expand the tissue at the base of your ribcage.  Let the floating ribs float on air. Continue for five to ten deep breaths

7.    Quadruped Leg Extensions – Continue the breath work and as you exhale (still lengthening the spine as before) extend one leg behind you on the floor and then into the air.  Make three circles with your leg in both directions and then return the knee back to the floor and repeat on the other side.  Repeat this pattern on both sides 5-10 times.  Be sure that your leg is moving without effect at the pelvis.  The spine is supported with lengthened strength in the abdominals.  Every inhale continues to expand tissues in the back, and every exhale lengthens the spine. 

8.    Illiacus Stretch – Stand on one knee with the other foot in front of you.  Continue using the breath pattern from the quadruped series.  Use your hamstrings and glutes to tuck your pelvis underneath you, which will add length to the front of your hip.  Continue focusing on your breath as you continue to stretch. Repeat on the other side.

9.    Tensor Fasciae Latae Stretch – While sitting in a chair cross one ankle over the other. Place one hand on your thigh and grab your ankle with the other hand.  Very gently begin to press down on the thigh while pulling up on the ankle.  Continue breathing as you remember those magnets.  Repeat on the other side.

10.  Psoas stretch – Now return to the position of the illiacus stretch and then shift your weight to the front leg as you lengthen the back leg behind you.  If you can, curl your toes underneath your foot and lift the back knee.  Reach your heel away from the already long spine.  Remember the Eric Franklin image, but now put the magnets at the top of the head and below the heel. Let your belly lift the spine away from the ground as the new length allows your pelvis to release towards the ground.  Repeat on the other side.

11. Roll Down - Now stand.  First notice the length in the front of your pelvis and the ease in your low back and at the base of your ribcage.  Then maintaining this length, roll down vertebra by vertebra until your hands touch the floor in front of you. (or a box if your hands can’t reach the floor)  Then inhale into the back of the ribcage expanding the tissues of the back even more.  After this exhale return to standing in the same sequential manner as before.  Repeat twice. 

12. Take a walk or keep moving– After completing this series, the best way to implement real change in the body is to continue moving.  Either take a 5-10 minute walk, or begin a pilates class or any exercise class for that matter.  Just keep moving so that the new lengthened anterior pelvis gets to learn how to move with ease.

If you are a client at The Pilates Studio, let me know how this feels.  How does your back feel after doing it!  Have Fun!

Katrina Hawley C.M.A., R.S.M.E

Co-owner The Pilates Studio

The Psoas and World Domination

 My dear friend and client often comes into the studio and says, “It’s been a tough week so my Psoas is yet again vying for world domination.”  We laugh and then she heads to the Cadillac to stretch her Psoas.  What is the Psoas? And how might it vie for world domination…Let’s think about the metaphor.  Is the Psoas a dictatorial tyrant?  Controlling?  Powerful?  Can it be manipulative?  Is it stubborn? Can it change?  Well the answer to all of these questions depends on as many factors as there are people in the world.  There are so many opinions, and so many disagreements that sometimes when I think of the Psoas I think of it laughing maniacally in the background as our bodies try to organize themselves around it.  So yes, it is possible for the Psoas to vie for world domination, but there are also ways to empower the tyrannical Psoas into benevolence and diplomacy so that it gives up on such a quest. 

Ok…The first question to answer is what the &^$& is the Psoas?  I have found some pictures to illustrate the location.

So you can see from the pictures that the Psoas originates at the Twelfth Thoracic Vertebra and has a slip that attaches to each Lumbar Vertebra and then inserts at the lesser trochanter of the inner thigh.  There is no need to know all of the fancy words to understand the Psoas, so if you want to disregard the anatomical description picture this:  Close your eyes and picture your belly now imagine your way through the layers of abdominals to the visceral cavity (organ bag) behind this is the spine and running along the sides of the spine is the Psoas.  It is a large meaty muscle that swings the leg when walking.  Also remember two dimensional anatomical pictures often make us think that the Psoas is flat or linear.  Rather try thinking of the Psoas as a column of support for the spine; it has depth and thickness.  I also sometimes think of it as a triangular sail that is blowing in the wind. The Psoas gives the image of long beautiful legs an entirely different meaning.   Picture a graceful gait where the legs are swinging easily and the ribcage is floating in an easy rotation with the spine, and then pay homage to the power of the Psoas.

Now what strategies are there to create a benevolent philanthropic yet powerful and strong Psoas? Like I’ve said before the strategies vary from person to person, modality to modality, and personality to personality.   In my experience, the Psoas craves aware breath.  It needs the kind of breath that fills the body cavity with air three-dimensionally.  It needs the kind of breath that might make someone dizzy because there is so much more air.  The Psoas also craves a complete exhale and softening. It wants the kind of exhale that triggers a sudden inhale.  The Psoas also craves strength in length.  It wants to move through its full range of motion, and it wants to perform all of its functions in a balanced way.  The Psoas wants to be nurtured…cared for…released.  The Psoas wants to be benevolent.  Really I promise it does! 

There are many teachers out there who have written about the Psoas.  Tom Myers, Irmgard Bartenieff, Nancy Topf, Liz Koch are a few of my favorites. Check out their websites, and start your Psoas journey today!