Psoas Quotes

When the psoas muscle is chronically tense, it constantly sends the message: “We are in danger; we are under persistent threat” to the mind. The mind attempts to determine the source of this threat but can’t locate it. It sends a signal to the body that the environment is calm and that the muscle can relax. However, the energy that got “stuck” in the psoas muscle in the moment of shock is too strong and simply can’t just go away and allow the muscle to relax. The muscle becomes “jammed” in tension and continues to send the signal: “We are in danger; we need to stay alert” to the mind. The mind has to listen to this message again and again, which forces it to keep monitoring the environment for danger. As a result, the person develops groundless anxiety; it seems to them that something is threatening them, but they can’t identify what that threat is.

Wandering, meandering, and leaving the familiar are quintessential impulses of longing. Similar to a seed nesting in the darkness that emerges into the light, longing is a growth gesture essential for connection, transformation, and innovation. It is also a voice from deep within that cannot be ignored even when we think what we long for is forever lost.

In addition to getting up and changing your position, you need to work on restoring function to the tissues that become adaptively short and tight after long periods of sitting. As a rule, you should mobilize for four minutes for every thirty minutes of sitting. For example, you could do the couch stretch—a brutal hip opener you can find on see here—for two minutes on each side every half hour. The idea is to tackle the areas that become restricted, specifically your glutes, psoas and other hip flexors, thoracic spine, hamstrings, and quads (to mention a few). Think of it as a mobilization penalty based on sitting time.

The supine groin progressive, the most inconvenient, unusual, and time-consuming of the five, is the singular most effective tool I’ve found for eliminating psoas and other hip flexor tightness to unlock the pelvis and relieve hamstring tightness.

By listening to our deep primal messages, we reclaim our birthright as expressive, dynamic, and innovative beings. As we turn toward our core, nourishing gestures, similar to a blossoming flower, feel lush within and enrich all who witness the splendor. Sustaining every gesture, our wild psoas speaks the language of the heart, and communicates what is held most dear within our bone—the felt-sense of being alive.

To become human, one must make room in oneself for the wonders of the universe. South American Indigenous saying