The power of the psoas muscle
Sometimes in the past I woke up feeling tired and exhausted, my back was hurting, and I felt irritable. Since I started yoga, I noticed I sleep better, my metabolism is better and my aches and pains lessened.
What is the secret? Why do we feel good after yoga and sleep better? One reason is how yoga poses affect our body, one muscle in particular – the psoas muscle. In simple terms, the psoas muscle connects the spine with the leg, crossing over the pelvis. This muscle is the first to react to stress and so it tightens up and can get shortened through repetitive activities, such as running, cycling or sitting at a desk. Because the psoas muscle is right in the centre of our body, its tightness can affect our day to day. Some of the symptoms are: lower back pain, leg pain, sleeping and digestive problems, decreased focus and concentration, feeling exhausted and tired.
As a yoga teacher I am mindful of how this muscle affects our physical, emotional, and mental health. I regularly build multiple yoga poses into my sessions to lengthen the psoas, but the importance is to align these poses with the breath. Breathing in helps us lengthen, and breathing out to let go, to soften and release. Camel pose, upward facing dog and gate pose are some of my favourites.
