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Looking for a Psoas stretch
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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. 😀 Nothing like a little morale boost, right?
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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.
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Yes Norway, it’s the same 😊
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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!
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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!
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@Mary: Use it for the back instead 🙂
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@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.
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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? -
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/ -
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.
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