PSOAS by Liz Koch

PSOAS By Liz Koch

Pulling It All Together: Psoas, Fear, & Core Strength

 

What if protecting ourselves at a moments notice depends not on muscular gain but on a flow of ancient biological reflexes in motion?

9/11 woke a deep sense of fear among my fellow Americans and ignited an almost immediate plethora of ads and articles on how to develop Core Strength in both health and fitness magazines across the nation. It has not stopped. The questions I pondered then continue to be pertinent today: does building abdominal strength make a person feel more confident, does strong abdominals make one’s fear go away, how much core strength does a person need to feel safe? Although sitting at a desk all day does make for flabby abs, there is a deeper need that is addressed by exploring the Psoas and its role in our sense of safety.

Core strength usually equates with building strong layers of abdominal, back, and pelvic muscles. But what if stabilizing our core only masks true strength? What if protecting ourselves at a moments notice depends not on muscular gain but on a flow of ancient biological reflexes in motion?  If resourcefulness provides the life saving response in the face of the unpredictable, could all this focus on sculpting our core be simply pointing out how really afraid and therefore pained we really feel?

When fear strikes, responsiveness, not knee jerk reaction, saves lives. Responsiveness is the key to survival.  Different from brute strength, core integrity is found quite literally at the center of our being. The muscle/tissue responsible for this inner power is called the Psoas (pronounced so-as).  Located behind the abdominals, organs, and major artery, the Psoas literally grows out of the siders of the spine and spans from solar plexus to inner thigh, and it is the major player responsible for the fear response.  Prime mover of our flee/fight/freeze survival instinct, it is your Psoas that drives you into that fast run, thrusts that high kick in the air, rolls your spine into a ball protecting you from a blow or the impact of falling through space, and in a heightened state of fear, stops you dead in your tracks.  Only a supple, dynamic, and quite frankly expressive Psoas provides the resiliency, agility, and subtle balance necessary to achieve a sense of safety in a time of trauma.

In his ground breaking book Waking The Tiger: Healing Trauma author and therapist, Peter Levine, explains, “The roots of trauma lie in our instinctual physiologies… it is through our bodies, as well as our minds that we discover the key to its healing.” Levine acknowledges our biological origins.  By watching for clues of how the animal kingdom shakes off trauma, he recognizes the means for living a healthy productive life in face of continual danger.

Fear is a biological process and if we step outside our cultural or religious conditioning we can recognize as one we share with all sentient beings. Having spent over 23 years in war-torn communities of Africa, Ireland, and the Middle East, international trauma recovery expert David Berceli clarifies that regardless of belief or social norms, “Every human being in every culture expresses unresolved trauma through a biological process.”

Within the ancient reptilian brain, humans like all animals, recognize danger and like all beings prepare to flee, fight, or freeze.  An orchestrated chemical, neuro-muscular response moves us into action. In a blink of an eye you grab your child from an on-coming car or ward off an attacker.  It is the somatic awareness not muscular density that frees your responsiveness in any given moment.

But don’t look for ways to “strengthen” your Psoas.  People do not have “weak” Psoas muscles as they do “weak” abdominals muscles rather they have exhausted Psoas muscles. Eventually this exhaustion will reflect on every other muscle group and therefore understanding the expression of the Psoas empowers true core strength.  It is here where the Pilates instructor will benefit most from understanding the Psoas. The Psoas is a communicator; letting us know if one is simply too exhausted to expend much energy.  Slowing down, attempting fewer repetitions, and focusing more attention on subtle movement will all benefit the exhausted Psoas. 

It is also unnecessary and not recommended to have your Psoas directly manipulated.  As an involuntary muscle, your Psoas is reflexive in nature. This means you cannot control it and neither can anyone else.  It is tight, inflamed, and/or weak for a reason, so don’t shoot the messenger instead learn to understand the message.  Manipulation and invasive techniques only drive fear and the traumatic response deeper. Instead, you can heal an exhausted Psoas, which goes a long way toward feeling safe by eliminating any misuse (created by muscular compensation and/or lack of joint mobility) and overuse (by providing increasing awareness to body cues for relaxation without the use of drugs or alcohol) of your Psoas.

Practical steps include eliminating or reducing adrenalin provoking substances, such as coffee, chocolate, sugar, energy drinks, and chemical additives (such as MSG, aspartame, nutra-sweet), which keeps your flee/fight response on high alert.  By going to bed by 10PM you will gain the necessary time for repair and replenishment. Nourish your brain transmitters responsible for quick reflexes by eating fresh, organic, nutritionally dense, seasonal foods. And most importantly, slow down.  Our body time is based on the earth’s biorhythms not on computer, TV, or electrical pulses. Unplug and take a leisurely walk.  Enjoy a simple flat seat/backed rocking chair for its easy flow in awakening and nourishing your Psoas.  Add Constructive Rest Position for 5-10 minutes before beginning any Pilate exercise to enhance core awareness and a neutral spine (see description below). Slow down your explorations so that you can experience subtle movement, sensation, and thus follow your internal cues.  Remember your Psoas is an intelligent communicator of where you are in space and time. Think of it as your inner GPS system.  By gaining sensory awareness, you will mature your reflexes and deepen your human responsiveness. Your frustrated, overwhelmed, exhausted Psoas muscle will thank you.

Constructive Rest Position

Rest on your back, knees bent with feet placed parallel to each other, the width apart of the front of your hip sockets. Place your heels approximately 16 inches away from your buttocks.  Do not push your low back to the floor or tuck your pelvis. Arms rest at your sides, on your belly or across your chest.  When done, roll to your side before slowly getting up. Do not perform any fast or deep flexion immediately after being in constructive rest, rather walk for a few minutes allowing yourself time to assimilate the internal changes.

Liz Koch author of The Psoas Book is an international somatic educator and workshop facilitator.  Core Awareness: Enhancing Yoga, Pilates, Exercise & Dance, Unraveling Scoliosis Cd and Psoas & Back Pain Cd are all available through www.coreawareness.com.  Listen to her free podcast with trauma recovery expert David Berceli on Fear/Trauma & The Psoas available on her website.