Vital Psoas Muscle

by Jo Ann Staugaard-Jones

Located deep within the anterior hip joint and lower spine, the "psoas major" (usually just referred to as the psoas) is critical for optimal postural alignment, movement, and overall well being. The psoas is the only muscle in the human organism that connects the upper body to the lower body, and its importance extends to the nerve complex and energy systems. As modern-day populations grow more sedentary, psoas-related lower back and hip pain, and the ailment of "sitting too much," are on the rise. Even the most active of athletes can suffer from psoas imbalance and pain. "The Vital Psoas Muscle" demonstrates how to keep the muscle in balance through specific exercises designed to strengthen and utilize this amazing muscle, and discusses its vital role in the emotional and spiritual state of the human being. The interconnection between the psoas and the root chakra is explored, along with yoga poses and postures that stimulate the psoas. Eighty full-color illustrations depict anatomical details, and show the key stretching and strengthening exercises in this practical and comprehensive treatment of the most important skeletal muscle in the human body.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Psychology, Spirituality, Sports, Bodies

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered the importance of the psoas muscle when I strained it three months ago. It's possible that a disc herniation had made it extra spasm-y, or that straining it caused the disc herniation.

Either way, it's been an extremely painful adventure, and yet another wake-up call that I need to make regular exercise a habit in my daily life.

The book looks at the psoas muscle from a physical (including anatomy information plus stability, stretching, and Pilates exercises), emotional, and spiritual (including yoga) perspective.

While I'm not totally convinced that this one little muscle is worth special reverence, I can attest quite personally that it deserves care and respect just like the rest of the body. The book will help teach you where the psoas is, what it does, and how to take care of it better (hint: don't sit so much without taking a break).

I can also believe the emotional connection to the muscle and its role in fight-or-flight response. While I was unable to do much at the peak of my injury, I had a lot of time to consider my Type A personality and the stress that I usually put on myself to do everything perfectly. Though the injury brought me to a low point, it was helpful to me to understand that other people literally and figuratively have my back. There were a lot of tears, even some waves of grief for lost loved ones, grief that I thought had been resolved. One day when my chiropractor helped release my hip muscles, I found myself sobbing uncontrollably on the table. That had never happened to me before. I blame the psoas, and this book backs me up (no pun intended).

As far as the spiritual dimension goes, I find the idea of "chakras" and whatnot pretty out there, and the author calls some claims "scientific" which I didn't think were scientific at all, but it does make sense to me that energy moves throughout the human body and could become kind of stuck if we're not taking care of our bodies. I've also found the spiritual practice of mindfulness in yoga useful and not at all incompatible with my Christian faith. Some Christians are very skittish of yoga, but I tend to agree with the author that yoga is not a religion--it's more a physical and spiritual tool to help us take care of our bodies and stop being so much inside of our heads that we forget the beauty that's around us.

I will probably hang onto this book for the exercises. It's a very quick read if you skim through the exercise instructions--I just put it down for quite a while before finishing it.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh. Not what I thought it would be. There's questionable anatomy, but cool theories on psoas involvement in energy work.

[Kyle Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the info, she’s spot on. The brain body gut connection, the depth of the problem with the muscle and people’s unconscious stress attachments and their association. I enjoyed it and will reference it often and recommend it to everyone I see with stress, addiction and lower back problems.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I pretty much got what i needed from this short book about the "Mighty Psoas muscle".
This muscle is damn important since its the only one that connects the upper to lower body , starting from the first lumbar vertebrae and attaching to the Trochanteric joint.
Its a stabilizer muscle that can also assist in movement.
However it gets involved in so many movements that if other muscles are weak like core , buttocks , quads , hamstrings and even lats , this dude takes on the load, and for a while it might manage , but in time it can have dire consequences including , bad posture , lordosis , hip arthritis and can go down the whole kinetic chain to knees and ankles.
Besides explaining how it works thorroughly (i still not got it 100% though) , exercises and stretches , the author also goes into the energy , yoga and chakra realm which i found quite interesting.

Decent read , and definetly a good one if you are looking to improve posture , heal back or hip pain and -going futher- emotional trauma etc (not sure bout the last one)

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. A very good book on the psoas, including lots of illustrations and exercises for both strengthening and stretching. I liked that the author included both Pilates and yoga as well as exercises not associated with either, rather than limiting her recommendations to just one method. The illustrations are great throughout - simple drawings with the psoas and other muscles described in another color. The book is broken down into 3 sections:

Part 1: Anatomical Prelude - I think this section was the most complete with detailed anatomical information, including drawings. I found some of the writing in this section complex, but I think this would not be the case for someone like a bodyworker or physical therapist. The drawings helped me visualize a lot of the biomechanics and you can really see how the psoas connects the upper body to the lower body and how important it is. This section also includes core strengthening and stretching exercises and a whole chapter on Pilates with drawings for every exercise. I am familiar with the exercises already, but really liked that you could see how the psoas or other hip flexors are engaged in each exercise.

Part 2: The Psoas and Emotions - the shortest section in the book, which was a bit disappointing. The author briefly covers the topic and includes a couple of case studies from other practitioners. I thought the topic of how issues with the psoas connect to our emotions was very interesting and personally meaningful so I wish there had been a bit more to this section.

Part 3: The Psoas and Spirituality - "Energetic Anatomy" - In this section, the author covers the spiritual chakra system. In the beginning, she suggests that readers keep an open mind, which I found thoughtful. I am familiar with the chakras and liked how she connected this topic back to the psoas, focusing on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd chakras in one chapter for each. This section includes suggested yoga poses for each chakra with some simple pointers at the end of each chapter (e.g. breathe deeply, belly laugh, volunteer, take risks, etc. for chakra 3). My one complaint with this section is that only some of the yoga poses are illustrated. I realize I can look these up elsewhere and probably should since the descriptions were a bit hard to follow, but the illustrations throughout are so nice I missed them in this section.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about his or her body along with ways to improve the health of their "mighty psoas". Finally, I'm glad I purchased a paper copy since it will be a lot easier to flip through than an ebook.

[Keryn Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suffer from a world of hip/groin pain as a result of sitting at a desk, driving, running for decades as does most of the planet. Who knew the Mighty Psoas could be such a nasty little beast. This is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to understand the role of Psoas in back and hip pain. This readable book adopts a scientific and metaphysical approach to understanding the connection between the spiritual, emotional and physical through the Psoas muscle. With some sobering statistics on how our sedentary lifestyles affect our lives, this book is a good place to start for anyone who suffers nagging lower back pain or hip pain that won't go away. It comes with both Pilates and Yoga movements for releasing that testy muscle. It's also an excellent resource for anyone working in the fitness industry or field of movement. I read it from cover to cover in a single afternoon and will putting into practice some of her suggestions.

[Nicole Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Easy read & loads of insightful information that answered a lot of questions. The link Bren the Psoas & holding onto strong emotions due to trauma was very enlightening. Once I realised what I was holding onto through fear & trauma , I was able to with my Myotherapist begin releasing this muscle. Viola...hips freed up, splits becoming easier & a lot more freedom of movement with my running & no more pain.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a anatomy person so I found this book SO very HELPFUL in understanding the psoas muscle and its importance to an overall healthy back. I like the fact/fiction layout at the end of each chapter to "test" the reader's comprehension of the facts presented. The visualization exercises for finding final relaxation and release are a bonus. Highly recommend for all yoga instructors to read, even if anatomy is a strong point, it would minimally be a good review.

[Karl Tammik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explains what is the main role for a muscle which we mistreat daily, by working out incorrectly or sitting all day. How, if not taken care off, can be the main cause for most of the known back pains and lower back issues.
Author helps you prevent this with adding different simple stretching exercises and joga poses to relieve lower back from stress or strengthen it to live more harmoniously with your back.
Simple easy read!

[ed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very misleading advertisement

First, I was not looking to improve my mind and spiritual well-being in the gym, nor to review my thoughts on the "cosmos". Advertised photos turned out to be a series of line drawings talking you into various yoga poses. If you've looking for yoga, save your money and buy a yoga book. For me, this was a complete waste of money.

[Sian Lile-Pastore · Rating 3 out of 5]

No great shakes here - this is a book about the psoas muscle and it's a pretty handy overview if you're into yoga or bodywork.

[Herman Kaljo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book explaining the importance of a vital, yet forgotten muscle in our bodies.

[Marina Quattrocchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book to further your understanding of the psoas--how it works, and which exercises are best to promote healing. Great diagrams--easy to read and informative.

[Jeffrey L. Morin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well rounded book and got my psoas off the couch!

I really like that it covers physical, mental and spiritual sides of the psoas. Highly recommended for anyone who sits alot

[Leah Hortin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lemme sum this up for you. Do pilates or yoga regularly, stretch frequently, move more, sit less.

You're welcome.

[Charley · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Sharoncameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

Loved it...so interesting ..This shall.be my new bible .. The exercises target areas I didn't even know I hadn't been using, and others I am guilty of overusing.. A great read.

[Heather Fryling · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Vital Psoas sets out basic information about and exercises for the psoas major in a quick, understandable way. I would have liked more detail.

I was also a bit surprised to read that "It has finally been scientifically proven... human intention (is) capable of affecting both the properties of materials ... and what we call physical reality." This is news to me. I am a spiritual person, and I believe strongly in mind body medicine, but I'm uncomfortable with assertions like this that do not stand up to scientific scrutiny.

[Amita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just started physical therapy for my psoas, and I found this book to be very helpful.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a must read for anyone who has lower back, hip and core issues. There is so much involved in this part of our bodies. I can relate to the emotional aspect of this muscle.

[Sandra]

Can borrow from Emily

[Eric C Cassidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

essentially a summary of all my intuitive learning post lumber spinal cord surgery 7.5 years ago.

read on kindle in a day. purchasing hard copy for hand book referencing. great work.

[Gabriela Petrovajová · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book!