this week’s “every day” pose: Setu Bandha Sarvagasana

15 Jul 2013 this week’s “every day” pose: Setu Bandha Sarvagasana

Lately, I seem to find myself doing a fair amount of sitting in chairs. As a result, my psoas as well as erector spinae and quadratus lumborum muscles tighten up. I’ve noticed this tightness in all of my poses lately not to mention that achey feeling in my back, particularly on the right side.  So, I wanted my “every day” pose to put a spotlight on the psoas, one of the hip flexors that runs from the five lumbar vertebrae through the pelvic bowl to attach to the lesser trochanter on the femur.

There are lots of choices for lengthening the psoas: lunges, Vira 1, and pigeon to name just a few. In this week’s “every day” work, I wanted to both lengthen and strengthen the psoas. So, my “every day” pose will actually be three: several rounds of Surya Namaskar, Setu Bandha Sarvagasana, and Supta Padangusthasana.

The rounds of Surya Namaskar (and the low lunges contained within) will help with lengthening the psoas. Setu Bandha Sarvagasana will help with strengthening as well as give me a indicator of how long my psoas is at that moment. Supta Padangusthasana will be my counterbalance as well as my indicator of the length of quadratus lumborum, namely do I feel a release in QL in the pose or not.

Keep in mind, my “every day” pose is mine, chosen for my body, for my specific effect. This is my personal practice and not necessarily a prescription for how to work with your psoas.

Check out these two articles for more information on Setu Bhanda and the psoas.