This past weekend, I attended the Yoga Expo in Fort Lauderdale and even though I didn’t really have time to attend more than one or two of the sessions and browse the vendors section, I decided to attend the class called Psoas Release for Anxiety Relief, by Janie Larmour. Since I had arrived at an odd time, where I could not join any of the already started sessions, I decided to just wait at the door of the room where the class would be held. A very nice lady was also waiting with me and actually told me she had driven across the state to make sure she could attend this session. That was comforting since I didn’t know much about Janie, until then.
The Psoas, being the main hip flexor, is one of the most difficult muscles to stretch since we have it contracted for long periods of time in particular when we are seated. The Psoas muscles attach the the lumbar spine and go through the pelvis to attach to the upper side of the femur, acting across three joints: the hip joint, the sacroiliac joint and the lumbosacral joint. All this makes stretching and releasing the Psoas muscles a task not easy to achieve, even for those of us that practice yoga on a continuous basis.
When the previous class ended, the room started to fill very quickly, it was definitely one of the most popular sessions in the Expo, and I was able to get a great spot! The class started promptly and it ended up being a journey into the release of a muscle that has been an issue for me for the last couple of years. The exercises she guided us through were not complicated in nature and could be performed by anyone regardless of their level of flexibility, however the effects could be felt almost immediately.
As the class ended, I felt a relief in my left hip that I had not felt in a long time. It was almost as if my left hip finally belonged to me again. After the class I found Janie in her booth at the Yoga Expo and I had the chance to talk to her one on one. As a Yoga Teacher, this has been an incredible discovery since I will be able to integrate some of her exercises in my regular classes being able to help my students with any psoas issues they may have. Janie was very nice and informative, and it was a true pleasure to meet her and take her class. I enrolled in her annual plan to have access to her classes online at any time, anywhere, and since then I have been practicing some of her exercises. I do have to indicate that afterwards, I could feel the whole area of my left hip flexors in a way I had not felt in a long time. The sensations keep popping up, and I know it is nothing more than the soreness after a good work out.
If you want to find out more, I highly recommend you go to Janie’s website www.zenkiyoga.com and check out her classes. And if for any chance you have the luck that I had of meeting her in person, please do not let that opportunity go by. Thank you Janie! Namaste.
Maurizio Caputo, RTY-200 Yoga Teacher teaches Yin Yoga and Beginners Yoga in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In his blog mauyoga.com, Maurizio brings yoga to everyday life by reaching people interested in practicing as well as experienced yogis. Currently, Maurizio is enrolled in the Social Media Marketing Specialization offered by Northwestern University through Coursera (http://bit.ly/2M2ZSi5). He can be reached via Facebook at http://bit.ly/mauyogafb, Instagram http://bit.ly/mauyogaIG, and Twitter at https://twitter.com/mcaputod
This past weekend, I attended the Yoga Expo in Fort Lauderdale and even though I didn’t really have time to attend more than one or two of… Read more “Finding Zen Ki Yoga – Release of the Psoas!”Read More
