Psoas soothing movement

by | Jul 10, 2023 | Exercises, Lower body | 0 comments

This movement is really quite simple, but somehow really quite powerful in soothing a grumpy psoas.  This can be the muscle that gets tight over a day being sat down in a chair, so it can be really nice to do just as you settle down to sleep.

Equipment

None, except maybe a pillow for you head.

Steps

Step 1 – just rocking
  1. Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Have your feet roughly hip width apart, and reasonably close to your bottom.  Place a pillow under your head if your chin is pointing up in the air, you want the face parallel to the floor.
  2. Start by gently pushing your feet into the floor, which should tilt the pelvis so the tailbone lifts slight from the floor.  The pelvis is not fully lifted from the floor, this is not a glute bridge.
  3. Notice what the low back does: the lumbar spine should flatten as you push down.
  4. Ease off the pressure into the feet and the spine should return to a resting position.
  5. Make the feet lighter on the floor, not actually lifting them off the floor, and the pelvis should rock towards the tail bone.
  6. Notice what happens to the lumbar spine: it should arch up a little bit.
  7. Let the feet come back to rest on the grond and the pelvis should return to a neutral position.
  8. Repeat. Making the movements slow and steady, maybe keep doing it for 10 to 15 repetitions.
Step 2 – rocking with the breath

This is a fuller and possibly more effective way of doing it, as this involves the breath.  For some people this is too much, so just stick to the movement without worrying about timing it with the breath.

  1. Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Have your feet roughly hip width apart, and reasonably close to your bottom.  Place a pillow under your head if your chin is pointing up in the air, you want the face parallel to the floor.
  2. As you breath out, start gently pushing your feet into the floor, which should tilt the pelvis so the tailbone lifts slight from the floor.   The pelvis is not fully lifted from the floor, remember this is not a glute bridge.
  3. Notice what the low back does: the lumbar spine should flatten as you push down.
  4. As you come to the end of your exhale, ease off the pressure into the feet and the spine should return to a neutral, resting position.
  5. As you breath in, make the feet lighter on the floor, not actually lifting them off the floor, and the pelvis should rock towards the tail bone.
  6. Notice what happens to the lumbar spine: it should arch up a little bit.
  7. As you come to the end of the inhalation, let the feet come to rest back on the grond and the pelvis should return to a neutral position.
  8. Repeat. Making the movements slow and steady, maybe keep doing it for 10 to 15 repetitions or for 5 minutes or so.

Thanks for reading this my lovely Interonauts.

Tim