Learn 3 different ways to stretch your psoas!
What is the psoas?
It’s important to know a little but of information about the anatomy of your muscles so that you can get the most out of stretching or strengthening.
The psoas muscle (full name is iliopsoas but we’ll just shorten to psoas) is one of the major muscles of our hips. It’s a hip flexor, meaning it lifts your leg up and in.
Although it’s a hip muscle, the psoas muscle also attaches into the lumbar spine (the low back).
Due to this reason, it’s commonly tight in people experiencing lower back issues. It also tends to be tight in people dealing with pelvic health issues.
Sitting causes the psoas muscle to be in a shortened position so this muscle is also commonly tight in people who sit a lot. Click here for my FREE 5 day program to reverse the effects of sitting.
Keep in mind, a muscle can become both tight and weak, so you may need to do some strengthening in addition to stretching, but we’ll go into that in another post.
Where should you feel this stretch?
Based on the location of the psoas, when you are stretching this muscle you want to feel the stretch in the lower abdomen. For example, if you are stretching the right side, you should feel the stretch in the right lower abdomen.
You may also feel some stretching in the front region of the hip.
There is another muscle in the body that is also a hip flexor called the rectus femoris. This muscle runs down the front of the thigh. With the stretches I am going to show you, we are targeting the psoas not the rectus femoris but you may feel some stretching in the quad region if the rectus femoris is tight.
1. Low lunge stretch
This stretch is really great at lengthening the psoas muscle but if you have difficulty kneeling, one of the other two stretches below might be better for you.
1. Kneel on the back knee and place the other leg in front with your foot on the floor.
2. Make sure that the front knee stays in good alignment by ensuring that the knee stays in line with the ankle.
3. You may want to fold up a towel and place it under the back knee for extra cushion.
4. Keep your torso up tall and stacked over the pelvis and drop your tailbone down. (Do this instead of just leaning forward into the stretch. When you drop the tailbone down this places the pelvis in the proper position to stretch the psoas.)
Hold 20-30 seconds and repeat 3 times on each side.
2. Stride stretch
This stretch is like a modified version of the low lunge stretch.
1. Stand facing a wall.
2. Place hands on the wall.
3. Place one leg in front with the knee bent and the other leg behind you with the knee straight.
4. Keep both toes pointing forward.
5. You may feel a stretch in the calf of the back leg but to isolate this stretch to the psoas, drop the tailbone down.
Hold 30 seconds and repeat 3 times.
3. Supine hip flexor stretch
Option 1: 
Option 2:
Just a quick note: I recommend performing this stretch on a higher surface. My couch in this photo is pretty low and isn’t ideal for this stretch. You can do this stretch lying on your bed as well.
1. Start by lying on your back pretty close to the edge of a bed or couch. If you’re too far away from the edge, your leg won’t be in the correct position for the stretch, but obviously make sure your pelvis is still supported.
2. The leg closest to the edge is going to come off to stretch that side. Make sure the other leg has your knee bent and foot flat on the surface.
3. You want the leg toward the edge to come off the bed/couch and just let it hang there. (Really try to let it relax.)
4. If this doesn’t feel like enough of a stretch you can move to option 2. Here you hug the opposite knee into your chest to intensify this stretch.
Hold 30 seconds and repeat 3 times.
So there you have 3 different options for stretching your psoas.
There are so many options for stretching and strengthening different parts of the body and it’s important to find what works best for you.
Enjoy stretching your psoas! 😃
Disclaimer:
All the information on this website – drtarasalay.com – is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. Dr. Tara Salay does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. Any/all information provided by Dr. Tara Salay is of general nature and should not be taken as medical and/or other health advice pertaining to any individual specific health and/or medical condition. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website (Dr. Tara Salay), is strictly at your own risk. Dr. Tara Salay will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website.
From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone ‘bad’.
Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their “Terms of Service” before engaging in any business or uploading any information. Our Privacy Policy was created by the Privacy Policy Generator.
Consent
By using our website, you hereby consent to our disclaimer and agree to its terms.
Update
Should we update, amend or make any changes to this document, those changes will be prominently posted here.
Exercise and physical activities:
Before beginning any of these exercises, you should consult with your physician, assess your fitness level, and follow all safety instructions.
Any/all information provided by Dr. Tara Salay is of general nature and should not be taken as medical and/or other health advice pertaining to any individual specific health and/or medical condition. You should be in good physical condition and able to participate in these exercises and you should understand that when participating in same, there is the possibility of physical injury. If you engage in these exercises, you agree that your participation is voluntary and that you are participating at your own risk. By engaging in these exercises you agree to assume any/all risk(s) of injury. Should your participation in these exercises result in injury, you agree to release, discharge, and hold Dr. Tara Salay a harmless from any/all losses, liabilities, injuries, and/or damages resulting from any/all known or unknown claims and/or causes of action.