CORE RESTORE METHOD | Lesson 5| Psoas. Clam Shell. Hip Rolls.

Published: Fri, 10/12/18

Hey

Before we delve in to today's fascinating topic a gentle reminder that next week is our last week of classes for this Core Restore Session.

Registrations for the next Core Restore set live here.

I aim to start promoting this next set of classes come Sunday, so if you intend to stay with the class please grab your spot soon-ish, before they all fill out (you know how fast that can happen!)

The next session is slightly longer than the current one we are in - so the slightly higher price reflects that difference.

Inevitably, every time Core Restore session ends, I hear:

"How long does it take before I get better at this?"

complemented by,

"Should I stay for the next set of Core Restore classes or move to a different class?"

As far as the first question goes - I can only speak from my own experience.

I've mentioned to many of you in private conversations it took me well over two years to really understand + embody the concepts that I now teach.

At first, the learning was purely intellectual - I could make sense of what it is I was trying to achieve, but lacked body awareness to isolate the movements and pin point whether I was getting them right or wrong.

At about 1 year mark the light bulbs started to go on - not for all of the movements and not all at once, but rather gradually, slowly flickering in as I studied and practiced more.

I am still very much in the process of learning and figuring things out - especially for more complex and integrative movements - and this is why (those of you who have been in Core Restore for a while know this about me!) every time I present this material, I teach it differently.

And the second question - this is where your inner guidance comes in.

The only suggestion I might have here is to listen more to the body, and less to the head. Drop me a line if you need help navigating this terrain!

Registrations for next Core Restore session ( October 23 - December 11) are here.

I also wanted to answer an excellent question that was asked this week in class:

" When I am short on time,

what kind of movements can I do to help me be better?"

The truth: I totally get where that question comes from - decision fatigue is real, and most of us by the end of the day don't have neither the energy nor time to engage in a full blown yoga sequence and / or sift through what we need to practice.

The problem is that every body is different, and every day is different - so the suggestion that I make to you today will not necessarily be relevant to your tomorrow's version of yourself, or to another person.

However, here are 3 practices that can make a significant difference for anyone - anytime and anywhere. These are my go-to things, my first and foremost recovery tools for any type of body-mind emergency, be it driving for 12 hours or a full-on mental breakdown. These tools are super simple, but that doesn't mean they are easy {not eating sugar, for example, is also simple... but is it easy?}

1. Walking.

I can write an ode to walking but I won't. We got stuff like hip flexors to talk about. Walking is an essential human motion and our bodies - INCLUDING YOUR BODY - are literally built for it. It needs the movement of walking to keep the joints lubed up and happy, the muscles awake and functional, and digestion / elimination easy going. Yes, pun intended!

{Research suggest that most of us need AT LEAST 5K of daily walking on an uneven surface. I recommend starting with what you are capable fitting in - time wise and body wise, and growing from there}

2. Diaphragmatic breathing.

Again. Can write a full novel + a book of poetry about the breath (hmmm, that sounds like a good idea!), but won't, at least right now. Our breath patterns in "real life" reflect the hurried + stressed + often anxious state of our minds.

Lie on your back. Put you hands on your belly. Breath into your hands.

Anywhere between 1 minute and an hour. An excellent tonic for insomnia!

3. Ball rolling.

This is a self-care tool extraordinaire! It relieves pain and tension, calms the nervous system, puts us in touch with the body (Oh, I didn't know I hurt IN THERE!), and empowers us to know that we have the tools to help ourselves.

Here are the guidelines for ball rolling - if you don't yet have a set of yoga therapy balls, I highly recommend getting them. I also regularly teach ball rolling for specific body parts - the next one is coming in early February.

Ball101

Ball 201

Now over to our awesome topic of the day: HIP FLEXORS:

Let's start with "where the hay are they?" {This is just a reminder - we covered some of this already last week.}

As you can see from the image, the shorter one of the pair (some people have 3!) connects the leg to the pelvis {called Iliacus}, and the longer one of the two {called Psoas} connects the leg directly to the spine.

Here is what happens in the rest of the body when the hip flexor group (particularly psoas - the long muscle of the hip flexor group that starts deep in the groin and attaches all along the entire length of the lumber spine} is shortened:

~ Psoas has a lot of influence on the lumbar section of the spine. If / when it is shortened, it can pull the lumbar spine forward, changing the relationship between the front of the body (lengthens) and the back of the body ( shortens)

~ Back bottom ribs might slide down toward pelvis, and also forward, jutting the entire bottom rib cage forward (this will affect shoulder girdle function and breathing.)

~ It can also tip the pelvis forward, creating a more pronounced lumbar curve.

This is, of course if both left and right side are uniformly short, which, of course, never ever happens. In real life situations all of the above most often will be accompanied by a rotation of the rib cage or pelvis - because one side might be shorter / longer than the other.

In addition to that:

A psoas that won't release can compress the disks in the spinal column, contributing to degenerative disk disease, prolapsing discs, and damaged spinal ligaments.

Psoas runs the entire length of the digestive system, so tension in psoas can also create a "standstill" in the intestines.

Psoas houses the lumbar plexus - a dense collection of nerves responsible for innervating abdomen, pelvic floor, deep hip rotators, and most of the muscles of the thigh. Contracted psoas can and will contribute to chronic pain below the deck.

If fact, symptoms of psoas syndrome may include:

(I've experienced most of these. Seriously, when psoas isn't happy, no one is!)

Lower back pain

Pain in the lumbosacral region (between lower back and buttocks) when sitting or changing positions

Pain when trying to stand in a fully erect posture

Pain in the buttocks

Radiation of pain down the leg

Groin pain

Pelvic pain

Limping or shuffling gait

Now that I've scared you enough, we'll spend the majority of our time together focusing on harmonious engagement through the back and front of the hip joint.

Here are instructions for Wall Clam and Hip Roll:

Wait!

Before you get all excited and dive into this week's homework, take a look at this (this image, by the way, serves as a segue to our next week's topic - Breath. Pressure. Stability), or better yet - suck your belly in, hold your breath, and then test your hip range of motion... especially extension.

You will quickly discover that holding the breath limits your hip mobility.

The reason is, yet again, the pesky psoas {technically, it is psoai for plural} and their connection to the diaphragm.

Here is an image of that connection:

Now here are, without further ado, your movement instructions for this week:

Wall Clam:

~Start on your R side, with your hips and knees bent to 90;

~ Have your both feet planted firmly on the wall - R foot along the baseboard; L foot hip distance apart from R foot; (in class we've used a bolster between the knees to help the top leg relax and minimize the passive load on the glut).

~ Press both feet into the wall once or twice - listen to what happens when you do: you want to feel the movement happening from your gluts rather than you entire trunk sliding up and down.

~ Once you were able to identify this, proceed to wall clam - working with the L leg only, slowly lift your left knee up toward the ceiling (your L foot will come to its outer edge) and then return it to original position.

~ Listen to sensations as you are moving through the clam - you want to feel it in the upper / outer part of the glut - the cheating strategies here include using quads and adductors instead of gluts. Do 5 - 10 repetitions, then switch to the other side.

Here are instructions for Hip Rolls

And a few reminder of what we already covered (seemed there was some confusion regarding marching legs)

Neutral Pelvis

Pelvic Rocking

Marching Legs

Marching Legs in Bridge Pose - we haven't quite got there yet, but we did have one foot on the ball to challenge the gluts just a tad more.

See you on the mat!

Julia + SATORI YOGA TEAM