Looking for a Psoas stretch

Mary Nightingale started this discussion · 11/27/2013

I have started to work hard on my leg flexibility a while ago, and though I'm seeing a great improvement in my hamstrings, my hip flexors are still stiff. My routine involves a series of stretches for the hamstrings and lunges for the hip flexors, but when I attempt to do the splits I feel intense burning in my Psoas muscles. I don't feel my psoas stretching in any of the stretches I do, but I feel that they prevent me from getting my splits. I'm looking for a stretch that specifically isolates and targets the psoas, or at least a stretch that works on it and other muscles in the area (and not hindered by the hamstring of the opposite leg). Any suggestions?

25 replies

Jacki C · 11/28/2013
It seems that the psoas muscle group really develops with pole, much so than other muscle groups which can cause a bit of an imbalance, especially if it is not getting stretched. You've got an angry overused psoas taking up the slack for other muscles. Also, I have found certain moves like the cupid really work the psoas like crazy (if you put weight on the bottom foot) and I have really pissed mine off working on cupid transitions for too long. It really has taken forever for it to calm down. After a few months I can still hear it talk a little bit when I first stand up in the cupid. From your pictures it looks like you probably can do the yoga pigeon toe stretch, which is a good beginner mild psoas stretch in certain positions. I also try to stretch mine by going into inside leg hang variations. Downward dragon, allegra, closed allegra, and general closed inside leg hang variations. I hope this helps but you seem a little more advanced than me. These are all things that I do at my level to keep my psoas happy.
Mary Nightingale · 11/29/2013
My psoas muscles are definitely angry from all these years of sitting behind a desk, not stretching them even and maybe even sleeping on my stomach for my entire life. Cupid was always problematic move for me, but I'm sure there where others that do the same. Pigeon pose just fails to click for me. If I bend my front knee all the way then I get stuck with an angle between my thighs, neither is touching the floor, and I don't feel a stretch. What I fail to understand even more is why bending forward helps. I can bend from my hip and lay down easily and I don't feel like it stretches anything, or gets my hips closer to the floor. If I bend my front knee at an angle close to 90, then I get an intense stretch on the outer side of my front hip up to my butt. No Psoas involved. I really don't understand this pose! I should have mentioned this - I'm looking for a stretch off the pole because I don't have access to a pole, and for stretching I'd rather do it off the pole anyway to focus on the stretch itself. But those where nice suggestions, I with I had a pole to work on these again.
Junes Pole Dance · 11/29/2013
I will follow on this discussion, cause i have the same problems. I also can't make the pigeon pose stretch work at all, and laying forward just eases it for me, like you say.
aliceBheartless · 11/29/2013
Pigeon pose does not stretch psoas on the front bent leg. If positioned properly with square hips, you might get a stretch on the psoas of the back leg, along with the stretch on the outer hip, more so if the front leg is at a 90 degree angle at the knee. As with lunges, taking the hips out of a square position will take the intensity of the stretch out of the psoas. Another issue I notice is allowing the abs to relax and back to arch. This also takes the stretch out of the psoas. Keep your abs tight, and shoulders stacked over the hips with back in a neutral position. In the correct position, you can drop your eyes (not your whole head) to look down and you can see your belly button (varies I would suppose depending large your boobs are ;)). You don't want your back arched or to be folded forward if you are trying to work psoas. Keeping that alignment will help bring the stretch back to the psoas, whether in pigeon or a lunge. Also, consider rotating legs inward from the hips when in splits or lunges. That can really help get the psoas stretched, especially with a neutral back position.
Veena · 11/29/2013
Hi Mary! These two lessons are good for targeting the muscle groups your looking for. I cover proper body mechanics with cues for training these muscles. So if you're looking for a visual of what Corby described check them out. Lunge Thigh stretch https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4dfb5178-ba64-438e-8bf4-5f360ac37250 Deep Lunge https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4dfca7ca-0fb0-4805-afbb-20310ac37250 The Side splits routine https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4e23973c-e724-4d0a-9b2e-79650ac37250 and the back mobility will help as well! Back routine https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4f5fbd45-6c18-4371-84a6-3f4a0ac37250
Mary Nightingale · 12/2/2013
@corbyOconnor: This makes some sense to me, and I try to work the neutral spine and contracted abs into my lunges. Though it feels like I'm stretching something (in lunges) now, it still doesn't feel as strong on my psoas as a split does. Also, the contracting of the abs feels more restricting to me, as in I can't relax into the stretch like I can with hamstring stretches. It could help me on the long run, but it's not the stretch I've been hoping to find. Yesterday I tried to keep my spine as neutral as possible in the pigeon stretch, and I couldn't because there was this small pain (more like an uncomfortable feeling in one spot than actual pain) on the back around where the back dimples are, on the side of the front leg. As if the bone of my pelvis was in the way so I couldn't keep it facing forward straight and keep my lower back un-curved. I'm really at lost with this pose! @Veena: Your videos where the first I came to when I realized I had problems with stretching my hip flexors. Though informative, I didn't find anything in them that I didn't know and tried before. The 1 variation of the lunge feels mostly like nothing to me at this point, the 2 variation is what I do and feel stuck at without stretching anything much, and instead of the 3 one I do the couch stretch (same thing against a wall, more intense and stable) which is heavier on the quads than on the psoas. I do the pigeon pose how you show it, lower back curved, but it doesn't stretch anything on the back leg. Laying forward doesn't make my hip go lower (on the contrary, I'm removing my weight from them). I'm just stuck at an angle there and it feels uncomfortable (but not painful) on my front hip.
Veena · 12/2/2013
Hmmm I don't cue anyone to keep their back arched for splits and psoas stretches. You always want to be pulling the hip forward, this is where her suggestion of contracting the abs helps. This goes for lunges, quad stretches etc. For any of the stretches you'll also want the hips squared. Maybe you're not sure of what squared hips and neutral spine is? Posting a video would be helpful so we can see what you are having issues with. Also if you have very tight quadriceps you may only feel the stretch there until they begin to relax.
Veena · 12/2/2013
Forgot to mention folding forward in pigeon doesn't change anything for the extended leg back leg as Corbi and I both mentioned before. By folding forward you are deepening the stretch of the front bent leg.
aliceBheartless · 12/2/2013
A video would be helpful, even if only you watch it. Often, I found that I think I am doing something a very specific way, only to find that when I see myself on video that my mental picture differs from reality. Being square is really important with these stretches. And definitely listen to your body! So, I realized after I typed up my response that I used the cue of back arching/back neutral. This is a poor cue on my part because it's the rotation of the hips that will help you find a psoas stretch. It works for me because back position is often dictated by the position of the hips. However, I feel like the hips are ground zero in this case. If the hips are tilted forward, the back is naturally in an arched position and there will be minimal stretching on the psoas. The rotation of the hips back (posterior tilt) is a good way to find a psoas stretch, so maybe think about the hip rotation more than you think about back position. In a kneeling lunge with 90 degree angles on both legs, I can get a pretty intense psoas stretch by adjusting my hip rotation from neutral to tucking tailbone under, similar to Pilates imprint position if you are familiar with that. Once in this position, try just pushing the hips forward to deepen the stretch. If you have a tight psoas, you will feel it with almost no forward movement, assuming the tail bone is tucked under and the hips are square. Definitely pad the knee on the floor! If you can find the stretch in this basic move, it will be easier to transition the same principles of hip rotation to other stretches. It's that same pulling of the hip forward that Veena mentioned, but thinking about it as a rotation instead. Intense stretching for the psoas is not going to be relaxing. By relaxing other parts of your body, you could be cheating your stretching efforts, usually by allowing improper alignment of the rest of your body. It's a big strong muscle, potentially with adhesions/trigger points if you already know it's tight, so I wouldn't expect to get huge results with relaxed stretching of the psoas.
Lina Spiralyne · 12/2/2013
If the case is that you're not happy with any of the mentioned stretches, do you think you wanna try this?
Lina Spiralyne · 12/2/2013
...continuation...I'm rolling into it from a basic bow and you can see it at 3:45 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3CZFkRN4ho I'm using it for a lower back stretch here as I think you'll notice, but it should work on the hips as well. Maybe it's possible to adjust with help from the arms where the stretch will work the most, hips or back. Depending on your current flexibility, it could be a challenge at first to get up on the thighs from the stomache.
Veena · 12/2/2013
I agree that working on back mobility can also help!
Mary Nightingale · 12/2/2013
@corbyOconnor thanks for the clarifications! I'll try to implement and pay attention to the things you talked about again tomorrow on my stretch day. I feel that I can still make lunges work for me and I'm just missing something. @Veena I didn't imply that you cued for arched back, but you didn't say anything about it in the video and maybe you're just bendy and it looks like that. One thing I'm certain about is that I try my hardest to maintain square hips. I know many novice stretchers always try to do splits with unsquared hips, and I can't place my legs and hips unsquared in a splits even if I try on purpose. As for a video - I'll try to film that damn pigeon tomorrow, maybe we'll be able to sort it out after all. @Lina I'll try this this tomorrow, though I have low hopes since my back isn't too flexible and it probably restrict the stretch too much. But who know? I might be pleasantly surprised.
Lina Spiralyne · 12/2/2013
I can see one advantage and one disadvantage with the stretch I proposed if your back isn't flexy: Advantage: You may be able to focus the bend to the hips without the back bending too much instead. Disadvantage: Getting into it the way I showed. Try it and let us know! Even if you'd fail tomorrow, you may get it after a few practices.
Veena · 12/2/2013
Yes let us know, take video when you can even if it's for your own visual use.
Mary Nightingale · 12/3/2013
I had very poor light conditions today and the video is all dark, so the pigeon pose will remain a mystery to me for at least few more days. Lina's stretch: I tried to get into it by supporting my upper body on a bed, but I couldn't feel it in my hips, only (rather strongly) in my lower back. I'm nowhere near as bendy as Lina, and as I suspected, the inflexibility of my back overshadowed the inflexibility of my hip flexors in this stretch and making it a good one for a whole other set of stretches. I have found one stretch that clicked for me, so I'll put here for the rest to benefit from it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AUxDA5k1Wg In this stretch I can actively push my hips forwards without compromising the angle. I didn't feel my psoas burning up but the stretch focus on my inner thighs opening up, and the ability to push forward lets me control the intensity of the stretch instead of just being stuck there like in the pigeon. Despite the fact that the knee passes the toes I haven't felt any pressure on it at all, so I'm not concerned about it much. Also, I can lay flat on my leg in her hamstring test, so I consider myself halfway to my splits already. :D Nothing like a little morale boost, right?
Junes Pole Dance · 12/4/2013
Is'nt this the same as Veenas Lunge Thigh Stretch Mary Nightingale? This stretch is also the one that works best for me in my hip-stretching. I also very much like another one (i use it in addition to the lunge), where my back leg is bent and the calf up against a wall (the whole calf is ON the wall). Front leg i bent about 90 degrees, and let hip drop down and lean forward on to your front leg. This is a stretch for hips that i feel i can lean and more rest into, thant other hip-stretches.
Veena · 12/4/2013
Yes Norway, it's the same 😊
Mary Nightingale · 12/4/2013
Norway, is this the stretch you are describing? http://www.mobilitywod.com/2010/08/episode-02-dont-go-in-the-pain-cave/ I do it and I find it's intense and opens up the front of the thigh well (though not so intense on the psoas, otherwise I wouldn't be here asking). He first leans forward for one type of stretching and then gets straight up for another, and I do like the second part for a deeper stretch. Both Veena's and Kino's stretches are variations for a lunge. But I felt Kino's works for me because of the ability to push with the back foot. A passive stretch doesn't seem to work for me in lunges for some reason, but if Veena's variation works for you then all the better!
MobilityWODM|WOD Pro - MobilityWOD
Veena · 12/4/2013
These are all great stretches!! For those reading who need to protect your knees (for some this is an issue) then stick with lunge variations that keep the front, bent leg at 90 degrees. Also by keeping the front bent leg with the knee over ankle you can really drop down into the hip, if you are doing the lunge with the knee far beyond the toe you can't drop as far down into the stretch. For those looking for the Lunge stretches I'm referring to you can find a nice sequence in the Side/front splits routine. Around min 9:12 https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4e23973c-e724-4d0a-9b2e-79650ac37250 I love Kino btw!
Lina Spiralyne · 12/4/2013
@Mary: Use it for the back instead :)
Mary Nightingale · 12/5/2013
@Lina, will do ;) In the meanwhile I found another way to stretch the psoas. It's still the same old split, but instead of doing it the regular I lay on a bed with both legs straight, one foot tucked under a heavy object (ie a desk), and a theraband wrapped around the other. I then pull the band over my head, increasing the intensity by grabbing it closer to the foot. Since I controlled it, I could focus on my bottom (back) leg stretch and I really felt my hip flexors well. And it's easier to relax when you lay down.
Mary Nightingale · 12/6/2013
So I got a video of my Pigeon Pose for you to see: https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/52a27109-0648-4c44-b652-1b7d0a9aa0eb I can see that I'm not entirely upright, but when I try I get an uncomfortable feeling in one spot, and no stretch on my back leg or between my inner thighs even though I'm not all the way down to the floor. What am I missing?
OopseyDaisey · 12/6/2013
This blog from a dancer/therapist in Canada is very helpful in understanding the hip flexors. Even though she mentions hyper mobile people, the mechanics are the same. She says "allow me to explain why stretching your hip flexors hasn't been helping your “tight” hips. It might even be making things worse." http://danceproject.ca/advanced-hip-flexor-stretching-for-the-hypermobile/
danceproject.caDance Project
Mary Nightingale · 12/6/2013
Although I have symptoms of a mild anterior pelvic tilt, it is not caused by years of dancing or stretching. In my case, I think, stretching the psoas would still help to open it. It's not compensating other overstretched parts of my joints, but being short from my inactive lifestyle prior to pole.