Psoas

The Psoas (pronounced so-as) is located at the gravitational midline behind the abdominal muscles deep within the belly core... The deepest fluid tissue is the psoas. It is not merely a muscle and does not respond well to muscular ways of toning, strengthening, or stretching.

– Liz Koch

Working with me can help you connect, nourish and restore your dynamic core psoas. I guide you through simple movement explorations that support and maintain a healthy, functional psoas. This can relieve pain through developing your proprioceptive awareness of who your are. In other words: I will support your body's capacity to dismantle layers of tension and a multitude of muscular and skeletal compensations.

When I discovered the world of psoas, I realized that most of my journey to learn how to dance was rooted in becoming a fluid being. When I started to take dancing seriously, I was fascinated by movers of any kind that locomoted easefully and timelessly with the ground. I admired how they seemed to fall through space always ready to change direction, their jumps and deep landings buoyant, their pirouettes effortless. A body coherence and spatial awareness I was in awe of. These bodies seemed to have access to something that I did not. By watching them dance, I felt a sense of transmutation into a more meaningful place to move from and ultimately to live from. I was exhilarated and jealous after being in their presence and my deepest desire was to have access to that magical juju. Now 25 years later, I recognize the fluid movement came from their felt sense between joints in their fluid environment. They could feel the bones move giving them an internal compass where they were in space internally and externally, trusting in the support of their bones and gravity.

As we are all beings submerged in the fluidity our bodies, no matter how dense and tense and traumatized we are, no matter how much we are told and believe we cannot, we can gain access to this fluidity. It is our nature, we are made of fluid tissue. All layers of living bone tissue reverberate to the tempo of oceanic movement.

Psoas territory is deep. We cannot go deeper. It touches on everything we lived through in this life. We need to tend, listen to its voice, its message. We need to be kind, observant and patient to unravel and soften to make space for our core to emerge and express and expand unboundedly. Psoas teaches us about humanity, about tenderness and about life as a process. It is a path to feeling whole – our source of power, integrity, safety, and agency. Let's go deep together and be in loving presence with ourselves.

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature,
one finds it attached to the rest of the world.”

– John Muir

Introduction of psoas "muscle" by Liz Koch:

The deepest fluid tissue is the psoas. It is not merely a muscle and does not respond well to muscular ways of toning, strengthening, or stretching. Psoas is a primal messenger emerging from the neuro-rich core of your being. It is part of your reptilian brain and primal movement for survival. A bio-intelligent tissue, psoas expresses integrity on every level and in many traditions is perceived as the guardian of your life force, center, Hara, or what is commonly referred to as the center of gravitational movement. Located deep within the center axis, and growing out from your spine, your psoas is a source of power, integrity, safety, and agency.

The Psoas (pronounced so-as) is located at the gravitational midline behind the abdominal muscles deep within the belly core. The psoas is a pendulum that spans from the solar plexus to the upper leg allowing free-swing of the leg while walking. Influencing every aspect of health and well-being, a healthy, dynamic psoas is a powerful expression of coherency and responsive functioning. The psoas is essential to:

• Skeletal balance
• Flexibility
• Range of motion
• Joint rotation
• Organ functioning
• Breathing
• Circulation
• Adrenal health
• Nerve functioning
• Emotional stability
• Natural birth

Additionally, working with the psoas helps to dismantle layers of tension and a multitude of muscular and skeletal compensations. Thus, gaining and maintaining a functional psoas is vital for recovering from symptoms and conditions such as:

• Low back pain
• Sciatica
• Excessive menstrual cramping
• Hip socket tension
• Groin pain
• Scoliosis
• Knee, neck, and ankle tension
• Bladder disturbances
• Digestive upsets

An essential aspect of the sympathetic neuro-core (fight-flight-freeze response), the psoas expresses a person’s innate sense of safety. The psoas is an involuntary muscle which is instinctive and emotionally responsive. By tuning into the psoas through awareness rather than deploying invasive techniques or manipulative releasing approaches, enables a person to gain a deep sense of calm, integrity, and empowerment.