Psoas is an important hip flexor. This muscle flexes the hip joint by moving the thigh closer to the body.
In most people it’s one of the tightest muscles, usually due to prolonged sitting.
Flexibility of this muscle is important in many sports, such as Gymnastics, Martial Arts, Pole Dance, Figure Skating, Cheerleading.
Having tightness in this muscle also prevents one from doing many yoga postures, such as Pigeon Pose or Lord of the Dance Pose.
In dance such as ballet, tight hip flexors will prevent good splits or grand jete.
The biggest challenge to stretching the Psoas is that it’s hard to isolate with traditional stretches. A traditional flexibility exercise for psoas in sports is a long lunge. This exercise often predates the warmup sequence for other skills. For example, before splits in pole dancing, cheerleading, dance or figure skating or front stance in karate or tae kwon do or bridge in gymnastics.
A lunge stretch does not isolate the psoas but stretches it together with other muscles. 10 muscles are stretched together. 6 hip flexors and 4 adductors. That is a large flexibility requirement and psoas may not even be elongated, due interference form others.
Isolation is the key, regardless of what sport or activity the flexibility of the muscle is needed for.
A great Easyflexibility technique (called ZST’s or Zaichik stretching techniques) targets the Psoas directly. It’s a unique technique of its kind.
This ZST is called Stability and looks like this.
Zaichik Stretching Techniques are dynamic flexibility exercises.
The Psoas Muscle – EasyFlexibility
PSOAS Stretch Kinesiological Stetching ~Stability~ EasyFlexibility System
The stretch takes advantage of the uniqueness of each muscle, and it’s special kinesiological action, in this case the psoas.
You can see the difference between a lunge stretch and Stability ZST, just by looking at it. You can learn more about this and other Easyflexibility techniques here (Easyflexibility.com)