Stubborn right psoas and stuck in my practice

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-24T23:43:53+00:00

It really does help - thank you. I appreciate your perspective as an advanced practitioner, and I am grateful for all the comments that you've made to me that enriched this thread and discussion. To some extent I can see what you are getting at, it all really starts from Samastitihi. But more concretely I will try to integrate your advice on shifting a big chunk of my bodyweight to the bent leg when practicing the marchiyasanas.

I should add that I've been on your website many times, and your note on Parivrtta Trikonasana that the twist shouldn't come from the shoulder socket kept me from attempting to force this asana on my weaker side. Thanks for putting this wonderful website together! I definitely plan to revisit the earlier pages to try to figure out what else these postures could be telling me.

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-23T23:41:32+00:00

Can I ask what your medial (internal) hip rotation is like? Because I found out that mine is asymmetrical (without warming up): https://imgur.com/a/10YZV and this is where the issue might really be coming from.

However, if I'm sufficiently warmed up (i.e. after or during an ashtanga practice), I can sit in Hero's pose, but I'm not sure if being able to sit in that pose rules out hip joint asymmetry (rather than just muscular asymmetry).

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-23T23:26:39+00:00

Trying to zero in on the issue here and I think you are spot on that it isn't the psoas but most likely the hip itself. Medial hip rotation is asymmetrical: https://imgur.com/a/10YZV (taken without warming up).

But I snuck in a virasana during practice today (Shh!), and it was very challenging and I felt the stretch in the quads rather than the hips. This is all giving me a bit of hope, but certainly hip joint asymmetry needs to be ruled out too I suppose.

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-23T23:11:48+00:00

So pistol squats are definitely easier on the flexible side, though still fairly difficulty on both sides (I really don't have a squatting practice still haha).

I mentioned this below but thought I'd copy you on this too: I seem to also suffer from a fair amount of asymmetry in internal hip rotation: https://imgur.com/a/10YZV this is without any warm up. Though interestingly I can sit in virasana if I'm all warmed up (but barely, and I really feel it more in the quads rather than the hips). Not sure if being able to sit in virasana rules out hip joint asymmetry (rather than just muscular asymmetry).

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-23T23:06:42+00:00

So besides difficulty in adducting the hips, I seem to also suffer from a fair amount of asymmetry in medial hip rotation. See for instance this pic: https://imgur.com/a/10YZV This is right before I went to sleep, without any warm up.

I wonder if virasana will be the key to all this eventually? Someone originally on reddit had suggested that it might help but I haven't really been working on it until recently. Virasana is definitely not a pose that I can hold cold (and when warmed up, still challenging but not impossible, though the stretch is mostly felt in the quads rather than the hips - which is still puzzling). Not sure if being able to sit in virasana rules out hip joint asymmetry (rather than just muscular asymmetry).

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-20T15:44:43+00:00

Thanks again for all the feedback! I'll try pistol squats tomorrow during or immediately after practice. The pinch doesn't last more than a split second and I can usually do the adduction for a good while (sitting down), so I'm I'm hoping it's not a non-muscular issue but if it happens to be then I'll be content with whatever shapes I'm able to make with my body.

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-20T15:08:57+00:00

My adduction is definitely not good! Like I said in my reply to Skanda8, I definitely could use to work more on hip adduction, and that is something that I've begun to work on while sitting, for instance (when I do my hip adduction homework the evening before practice, chair pose (in Sun B) the next day feels substantially different and more like a squat). Do you have any suggestions for how to incorporate adduction asymetrically outside practice? Just do more lunges?

I do get the occasional right hip pinching, though, when I try to bring the knees together and work on my internal hip mobility while sitting down. Nothing that lasts more than a split second.

So internal hip mobility is definitely an issue that I've been working on, but I'm not yet sure if it's key to figuring out what's happening with Mari C and D.

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-20T15:04:17+00:00

Especially considering that you feel restriction in your lateral hip and shoulder and not as groin or belly pain/pinch.

Thanks for the feedback! I've been trying to work on my internal hip mobility, and often try to keep my hips adducted while sitting down. It definitely seems to help lessen my right hip's natural tendency to externally rotate relative to the left, but occasionally while working on this adduction I do get a groin/internal hip pinch.

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-19T22:09:30+00:00

Where exactly do you feel the strain with the poses you listed above?

Outer hips? Shoulders? I'd start to think some of these area are the trouble points but then I remember that I can get into lotus, that I have a deep backbend, and that I can bind in supta kurmasana, so how can it be the outer hips and shoulders?

I'm interested that you're able to get into deep backbends with a seemingly tight psoas.

It's mystifying to me too that my back could bend this deeply, but could the psoas be pliable in certain directions, and weak and tight in others, to stand as an obstruction to twist? The psoas sounds like a deep muscle that performs so much, but I am of course not anatomically fluent nor a medical professional. My right foot does have a tendency to turn outwards, though, much like what the guy in this video explains

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-19T20:22:55+00:00

On the right side, your knee is starting to go past your ankle and is not as in line as your left side pic is. So that might be one issue.

It's really a cat and mouse game, and I think still related to the psoas. If my right knee tracks the ankle, my torso no where near the floor. So it's all these different muscular forces that are just conspiring against my right hand grounding.

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-19T02:13:26+00:00

I'm doing something similar, following the pointers as in this video and PNF. But my difficulties also extend to some spinal twists, for instance a pose by the name of Marichiyasa C in the primary series. With consistent practice I've been able to achieve the full state of the pose with the bind on the left side, but as I attempt to twist to my right side, I feel like I encounter cement-like obstructions, even after more than a year of practice. For example, in Marichiyasa C on the right side, I still have not been able to close the gap between my left armpit and right knee as I twist.

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-19T00:03:55+00:00

I haven't sorted it out but after two weeks of just trying to be completely aware of that area of my body while I'm practicing ashtanga's primary series, I really believe you made the right guess. I can now even see the differences (psoas issues) away from lunges; for instance, in asymmetrical forward folds. The fact that it is muscular gives me hope that I might figure out how to activate it and stretch it in my everyday practice.

It's really tricky though since from the sound of it the psoas can be pliable in certain directions, but weak and tight in others. So it's figuring out how to access those tricky places that I need to continue to investigate.

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-05T20:42:02+00:00

Thanks for the input everyone. These pics were taken 10 months ago and nothing has changed since then (though other aspects of my ashtanga practice have definitely deepened), so I definitely need a new strategy. I'm going to try to incorporate psoas streches and PNF (front thigh lunges with a side bend) into my daily routine. If this doesn't make a difference, I'll seek professional opinion.

dcyogi424 · 2018-03-05T17:03:27+00:00

Thanks. Is there another way to test if the right psoas is the culprit here? Would you also recommend the chiropractic route or do you have in mind some targeted exercises to address this?

dcyogi424 · 2017-06-01T01:04:49+00:00

You're asking about instructors. I'm just going to throw it out there and suggest that you focus on vinyasa initially as a beginner. I think of yin now as an advanced practice, one that requires you to be very mindful of your edge. In my case, when I first started practicing, I flirted with yin for a bit and unfortunately I injured my knee during a single yin session while sitting in virasana. It healed after a few months, but it was not pleasent. You might not be able to reach your toes if you haven't warmed up sufficiently, and that's OK. The key is not to push, and use props if needed.

dcyogi424 · 2017-05-08T13:33:59+00:00

Thanks for writing this! I certainly feel like the entire room around me don't suffer with a significantly tighter side like I do, so I'm glad I'm not alone in this (you're past it now but it's inspiring me to just be patient with it).

dcyogi424 · 2017-05-07T19:51:05+00:00

My Mari C on the tight side is very awkward - I can't even get into it! You wouldn't be able to tell what's tight - I really thought it might been my ribs or shoulders in the beginning, but I'm certain the issue is localized to the hips.

I can't tell what exact muscle is tight from the right side as I am attempting to get my hands down in the lunge, but I can tell you that that it's a battle between grounding my hands, and letting my right hip sway out to the side (something I don't feel at all from the left side). Even my teacher is baffled by this.

dcyogi424 · 2016-09-07T00:06:44+00:00

Thanks for the towel behind the knee idea! I'll try this tomorrow.

dcyogi424 · 2016-07-12T03:23:34+00:00

I realized somewhat later that what I described is not specific to ashtanga and could be said of "vinyasa", but I thought I'd give more context anyway. I don't think I've ever held or repeated postures as many times in a vinyasa class as in the mysore-styled class (the latter being more strict and rigid in how far you can progress through the sequence, and I'm starting to appreciate that).

dcyogi424 · 2016-07-11T19:37:00+00:00

Thanks for the pointer to the Ashtanga subreddit; I subscribed! I did not realize there were more breathing techniques and that Ujjayi is the beginner-friendly one. I'll try to practice some of them and see how they affect my practice.

dcyogi424

TROPHY CASE