The Psoas is a bit of a mysterious muscle because it has become strongly linked to our emotions. As you can see we have two Psoas muscles (each Psoas is made up of Psoas Major and Psoas Minor) one each side of the body. They are often combined with the Iliacus muscle and are known as the Iliopsoas Complex.
It is one of the hip flexor muscles
It is the only muscle that connects the spine to the leg
It is said to help guide the passage of a baby during birth.
It is associated with stress and the fight/flight/fear response in the body.
It is hard to locate as it is deep within the body
When tense and constricted - usually due to too much sitting, the Psoas can disturb digestion, put road bumps in the way of babies progress through the pelvis and interfere with reproductive functioning. It can become tight through stress and trauma too.
A nice way to relax and release this muscle gently and with care is to come into 'Constructive Rest Pose' (Picture above)
Lie on your back on the floor/mat with your arms relaxed by your sides. Place your feet wide (about at the outer edges of a yoga mat) and allow your knees to drop into the centre. Your spine should be in a natural position, relaxed NOT pushed into the floor.
Breathe naturally
Relax into this position for 10 - 20 Minutes whilst enjoying a peaceful, quiet time or perhaps listening to a relaxation recording.
This pose is really nice for relieving low back, leg or pelvic pain or anytime that you feel that you would like to just take sometime out ....