I am an anatomy nerd.
This post may feel like it’s aimed at my anatomy nerd friends only, but it’s not. So please stick with me for a moment.
There’s this very cool muscle deep inside the very centre of your body called the Ilio-Psoas (silent ‘p’) muscle. As all muscles do, it attaches to bones somewhere, because that’s our muscles’ job: moving bones.
The ‘psoas’, as it’s known, has a top end and a bottom end. This muscle, like other leg and arm muscles, comes in a pair – right side and left side.
At the bottom it’s attached to the inside of each thighbone, just below the groin. It’s long and on each side, it weaves over some pubic bones and ascends diagonally back toward the spine. Its top end attaches to the spine just below the ribs, the right side attaching to the right side of the spine, the left to the left, tucked right up against the diaphragm.
Still with me? Because IT’S SO COOL!! Why?
Well, this amazing muscle connects the upper and lower body. It literally connects your legs to your backbone. A powerful elastic band.
It also connects your legs and backbone to your main breathing muscle, the diaphragm. Think about it. As you step each step, your breath is impacted and as you breathe, walking (if you’re walking) is impacted. If your spine is weak or debilitated, walking and breathing can be affected.
And that’s not all! The psoas provides a nice little shelf for the abdominal organs to rest on. Every time we step, the movement of the psoas gives your innards a little massage and improves circulation in the abdomen.
Some of my students complain of tightness in the low back after a long walk. Maybe that psoas needs to be released and relaxed. Maybe it’s so tight it’s pulling your back forward. But that’s another post for another day.
My main aim in this short blurb is to introduce you to one section of the miraculous orchestra of connections playing inside us.
Connections, folks. Attuning to them, understanding them, respecting them – that’s where healthy fluid movement starts. When we work with one part in isolation, we are not maximizing our potential.
