PSOAS and backpain. My workout on the Aeropilates reformer.
The Psoas is one of our a strongest and most important muscles as it connects our upper body to the lower half, from the mid back to the femur and when it is imbalanced is the cause of crooked posture and much back pain.
Eve’s Lunge with a twist is the best reformer exercise to address the weakness and or tightness of the Psoas and if done regularly will eliminate many back issues.
When starting out make sure that the standing foot is near the edge of the reformer and that the standing leg is bent. The deeper the bend the more forward will be your hips, getting the most out of the stretch. Make sure your hips are parallel to the floor and facing forward evenly.
As you begin to lunge deeply, staying forward, you will feel the stretch in the front of your hips, the hip flexors and in the quad. As you turn your shoulders away from the reformer the stretch will move effectively into the Psoas.
You can then straighten the standing leg and work on lengthening then hamstring.
Remember that stretching a muscle is most effective as you exhale and needs 30 seconds for a full deep, long lasting stretch.
Be careful to pay attention to the depth of the stretch on each side and aim for balance and symmetry at all times.
Look for my class “Intermediate Full Body Workout for PSOAS with Cardio Rebounder” on the lighterlivinglibrary.com or on my YouTube channel (membership only). More info on the library website vs YouTube: here.
images and animations:
BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science licensed under CC Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan.
written by Marjolein Brugman
Marjolein Brugman is the founder of lighterliving and Aeropilates. “lighterliving is a movement and lifestyle choice we can all make. Let’s make it simple – make one decision a day to be better and watch