Psoas Stretch: 3 Hip Flexor Stretches & Anatomy
Let me introduce you to your filet mignon muscle,
your psoas. And you'll also meet his kid brother, iliacus. Before we get into that, let me
ask you a question. When you're in a lunge, do you feel tightness on the top of your back
leg? When you're in upward facing dog, do you feel compression in your lower back? And lastly,
do you suffer from excessive anterior pelvic tilt? If so, this video is for you. We'll start off
by looking at the anatomy and the biomechanics of these two unique muscles. Then we'll
look at three poses to stretch them out, using principles of the Science of Stretching.
Let's start off with the anatomy. The psoas muscle, it's your filet mignon, your tenderloin,
your flank muscle. It's very unique in that it's the only muscle in our bodies that starts at your
spine, crosses your pelvis, and then attaches on the inside of your femur, your leg bone, your
lesser trochanter.
It actually starts way up here at thoracic vertebrae number 12,
and it also connects to lumbar one, two, three, and four vertebrae, before crossing
the pelvis and connecting to your leg bone. This gives it a very unique role. Every
time we crunch, every time we lift our knee, so many different movements, our psoas is
involved. So why is it that we're including his kid brother along with the conversation?
Well iliacus is another important hip flexor and it starts on the inside of the elephant
ears of your pelvis, here on your iliac fossa, and then it scoops down and also attaches on the
inside of your femur, on that lesser trochanter. And the two muscles really become one. They're
actually wrapped in the same piece of fascia, called your iliac fascia.
So we can't really talk,
or work, or strengthen, or lengthen your psoas, without inadvertently working on your iliacus
as well. In fact, they're often referred to collectively as your iliopsoas muscles. The
combination of the two. So why is it that these hip flexors get so tight? There are two main
reasons. The first and biggest reason is because we spend so much time sitting. When you're sitting
down your hip flexors are shortened and your body adapts over time to that restricted range of
motion and both your psoas and iliacus shorten up. The other reason, that's often overlooked, is
that most of us have been wearing heeled shoes for decades, and I don't necessarily mean high-heeled
shoes, I mean Nike running shoes, I mean work boots, I mean just about any type of shoe you
might buy at the store has an elevated heel which puffs your chest out, sticks your bum backwards,
tilts your pelvis forward, and again shortens both of these two important hip flexors. It
should be noted that your psoas and your iliacus, they're not the only muscles that flex your hip,
but they are the biggest and most important.
So that's where we'll put our focus. Let's first
take a look at the biomechanics of these hips and then we'll take a look at some stretches to
open them up. When your psoas and iliacus contract it flexes your hip, meaning your leg bone moves up
towards your chest. When they contract, your leg lifts. You could think of crunches, you could
think of running, you could think of walking, so many different movements. Iliopsoas muscles
are also involved in lateral rotation of your leg bone at your hip. Lateral rotation meaning your
hip opening to the side.
Now that we understand where they are, now we understand what they do,
and now that we understand the problem of why they get so tight, let's take a look at three
poses with progressive levels of challenge, to systematically lengthen and loosen up these
important hip flexors. The first pose we'll take a look at is called a standing hip flexor stretch.
You can see that I have a table here, but you could use a desk, a kitchen countertop, or even
a kitchen table.
The ideal height is somewhere between your knee and your waistline. I've put a
yoga mat on top for cushioning. If you don't have a yoga mat, it doesn't matter, just put something
soft for your back knee. I'll stand next to the table, I'll lift up my right leg and place my
leg on top of the table. Option number one, flat down on your belly. Option number two is lift up
onto your forearms, drop your head. Option number three is begin to straighten your arms. And option
number four would be to straighten your arms up, have your foot right underneath your
knee, or maybe even a little bit in front, drop your head and relax. While we're here in
this pose I'd like to remind you if you take two fingers and poke around on the back of your
right hip we are stretching that psoas muscle, your filet mignon muscle, and also
your iliacus, your iliopsoas muscles, your primary hip flexors back there.
When we
do Science of Stretching practices there are three principles you need to keep in mind. The
first principle is called wet noodle. What this principle teaches us is that muscles, our iliacus,
our psoas, and the fascia that surrounds them, they're going to stretch best when fully
relaxed. So do your best to wet noodle, relax into the pose. Second principle is
breathe to relax, and what this principle states is that when we breathe a specific way it
stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system. It reduces our stretch reflex, our body's nervous
system's tendency to fight us in the pose, and it really helps us to go deeper naturally. Here's
how it works. Inhale through your nose for four. Exhale through your mouth for eight. Keep breathing like that throughout the pose.
Then the final principle of practice is time under passive tension.
I'm setting a timer for three
minutes. With all of our Science of Stretching poses we use between two to five minutes. We
never go longer than five minutes, but we never go shorter than two minutes, or you just won't see
changes. Do three minutes here on the right side. After that timer goes off, I'll switch and I'll
do three minutes on the other side. This next pose is a little bit more intense. Let's give it
a try. We'll need a stool, and you will need a cushion for your back knee. Let's start off on our
hands and knees, like a child crawling. Take that cushion and place it underneath your left knee,
just for padding. Step your right foot in front of your right hand on the outside, and we'll use this
stool in front to rest your arms as your hips move forward and down. The reason we have the stool,
and you can place it right next to your knee, is so that I can take most of the pressure onto
my back leg.
Why? Let's take two fingers and poke around back there. Remember that psoas muscle
and your iliacus, there they are getting a really nice stretch. Hit my timer and I'll come back
to my three principles of practice. Number one, wet noodle. Relax as much as you can. Principle
number two, breathe to relax. I'll inhale for four. Exhale for eight. And principle number three,
my timer is going. I'll do three minutes on either side.
This pose is called blaster. This final pose is quite intense,
but I think you'll be surprised, with modification most of you will be able to
practice this. It's the full split. Before you freak out, get a whole bunch of pillows. I've got
four, you might even use eight, different pillows, bed pillows, couch pillows, they all work
great. Here's what I'll do.
I'll straddle the pillows, so the pillows are right underneath
my pelvis. Shoot your front leg forward, position those pillows right underneath your groin, you
might have a couple of blocks or books on the side of you for support, and now relax into
the pose. See how I'm bending this front leg? I'm doing that so that the majority of the
stretch goes back here under those hip flexors, my psoas and my iliacus muscles, that's why
it can be helpful to have these cushions and it can be helpful to have these blocks on
the side. Here's what's happening in this pose. My iliopsoas muscles are getting stretched, of
course my hamstrings are coming along for the ride as well, but that's just fine. Let's come back
to our three principles. Principle number one, wet noodle, means I relax into the pose.
Principle number two, I breathe in for four. Breathe out for eight. And principle number three, timer is going
and I'll do three minutes on either side. The splits can be a really great pose for those
hip flexors, just like our first two.
With all of these stretches that we've looked at here, it's
really important that you're consistent. If you have problems with tight hip flexors you'd want to
focus on doing at least five minutes of hip flexor poses per day. Thanks so much for tuning in. I
hope this video about your psoas, your iliacus, collectively known as your iliopsoas muscles, both
their function, their anatomy, their tightness, and most importantly how to open them up, hope
that's been helpful for you. If you'd like more science-based yoga videos, please subscribe
down below. If you have questions about these practices or anything else that we've covered,
please just drop a note down below as well..
