48
february 2017yogajournal.comfemale reproductive organs. From the spine,
the psoas continues forward and down, cross-
ing over the front of your sacroiliac joint and
joining with the iliacus muscle (which origi-
nates on the inside of the pelvis, or the ilium).
The psoas and iliacus work together so closely
that they’re often referred to as one: the ilio-
psoas. The iliopsoas then runs over the brim
of the pelvis to insert into the lesser trochan-
ter, a knoblike structure on the upper inside
of the femur (thighbone).
It’s because the psoas crosses multiple
joints that it’s able to move the body in so
many ways. For starters, the psoas acts to fl ex
the hip: Contracting the psoas either bends
the trunk forward or draws the knee up. If you
contract your psoas on one side, it laterally
fl exes the trunk, as in Extended Triangle Pose.
Contract the psoas on both sides, and you’ll
be able to tilt the pelvis forward, bringing the
thigh and the torso toward each other, as in
Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend).
The process of awakening your psoas
begins with learning how to access it at will.
You can use certain cues within your yoga
poses to do this, even if you’ve never inten-
tionally activated this muscle. Interestingly,
what I’ve found with my students and in my
own practice is that shortly after you start to
engage the psoas intentionally in certain yoga
asanas, you will fi nd that the brain starts to
engage it unconsciously, even in other poses.
It’s as if the brain is saying, “OK, so now we’re
using the psoas in yoga poses,” and starts to
anticipate using this muscle. I call this “body
clairvoyance,” meaning that the unconscious
mind sees clearly what to do and then does it
automatically. So essentially, by awakening
your psoas, you’re trying to learn how to
more readily access the muscle’s unconscious
actions, ultimately creating the ability to con-
sciously—voluntarily—engage it.
As with any muscle, you want to be able
to balance contracting and stretching the
psoas. This helps keep the psoas in balance,
which goes a long way toward stabilizing the
spine and pelvis and preventing lower-back
and pelvic pain. The poses on page 46 help to
awaken the psoas, activating different parts
of the muscle so that it’s ultimately easier for
the brain to fi re it up.OUR PROS Teacher Ray Long, MD, is an orthope-
dic surgeon in Detroit and the founder of Bandha
Yoga, a website and book series dedicated to
the anatomy and biomechanics of yoga. Model
Caitlin Rose Kenney is a yoga teacher based in
Boulder, Colorado.ANATOMY
practice well
® continued from page 44ANNOUNCING a newly released
comprehensive Iyengar book on
Yoga for Scoliosis. For students with
major scoliosis, fused spines and
minor imbalances, and a guide for
teachers. Complete with anatomy of
scoliosis, more detailed instruction,
additional poses and photos
than the previous Yoga for Scoliosis
booklet. A guide to empower you to take
charge of your own back.Yoga for Scoliosis DVD and booklet
The DVD provides a beginning home
practice with a booklet to supplement.To purchase Elise’s products, for information on teacher training and workshops, go to
http://www.yogaforscoliosis.com • 650.493.1254