The Psoas: The Muscle That's Holding Your Trauma

You have tried stretching your hip flexors. You have tried foam rolling your lower back. You have done yoga, gotten massages, and maybe even tried chiropractic adjustments. But that deep, aching tightness in your lower back and hips just won't let go.

Why? Because you are treating a nervous system problem as if it were a mechanical problem.

Deep inside your core lies a muscle that bridges the gap between your physical body and your emotional state. It is the only muscle that connects your spine directly to your legs. It is the muscle that allows you to walk, run, and stand upright.

But more importantly, it is the muscle that contracts when you are terrified. It is the psoas (pronounced so-as), and it is the physical archive of your unprocessed stress and trauma.

The Anatomy of the "Muscle of the Soul"

To understand why the psoas holds so much power over your well-being, you have to look at its anatomy. The psoas major attaches to the bottom of your thoracic spine (T12) and runs down along all five of your lumbar vertebrae (L1-L5). From there, it travels down through your pelvis, joins with the iliacus muscle, and attaches to the top of your femur (thigh bone) [1].

Because of this unique positioning, a tight psoas doesn't just make your hips feel stiff. It literally pulls your lumbar spine forward, compressing the discs in your lower back and tilting your pelvis out of alignment. This is why so many people with "bad backs" actually have tight psoas muscles.

The Fight, Flight, or Freeze Connection

The psoas is intimately connected to your central nervous system and your reptilian brain. When your brain perceives a threat—whether it's a physical attack, a car swerving into your lane, or a toxic boss yelling at you—your sympathetic nervous system triggers the fight-or-flight response.

Instantly, adrenaline and cortisol flood your system. And the very first muscle to react is the psoas. It violently contracts to pull you into a fetal position to protect your vital organs, or it tightens to prepare your legs to sprint away from danger [2].

In the wild, once an animal escapes a predator, it will literally shake or tremble to discharge that massive buildup of nervous system energy. This resets the psoas and returns the body to a state of calm.

But humans don't do this. We experience a trauma, a stressful event, or just the chronic low-grade anxiety of modern life, and we hold it in. We sit at our desks. We grip the steering wheel. We clench our jaws. Because we never physically discharge the energy, the psoas never gets the "all-clear" signal. It stays in a state of chronic, low-level contraction.

"The psoas is so intimately involved in such basic physical and emotional reactions, that a chronically tightened psoas continually signals your body that you're in danger, eventually exhausting the adrenal glands and depleting the immune system." — Liz Koch, author of The Psoas Book

How to Release the Psoas (and the Trauma)

You cannot simply stretch a traumatized psoas. If you aggressively yank on a muscle that is contracted out of fear, the nervous system will perceive it as an attack and tighten it even further. You have to coax it into releasing.

This is where somatic work and targeted deep tissue release come in. One of the most effective tools I use in my practice for this specific muscle is the Pso-Rite. It is designed to mimic the hands and elbows of a massage therapist, allowing you to safely access the deep abdominal cavity where the psoas lives.

When you first apply pressure to the psoas, it will likely feel intensely uncomfortable. This is not just physical pain; it is the sensation of encountering a deeply guarded area of your body. The key is to breathe slowly, allowing your parasympathetic nervous system (the "rest and digest" state) to take over. As you exhale, the muscle will slowly begin to melt.

Do not be surprised if you experience an emotional release during this process. Many of my clients report sudden trembling in their legs (similar to TRE, or Trauma Releasing Exercises), spontaneous sighing, or even crying when their psoas finally lets go. This is a healthy, necessary discharge of stored nervous system energy.

Healing the Root Cause

If you have been chasing chronic pain for years without success, it is time to stop looking at your body as a machine made of isolated parts. Your physical pain is deeply intertwined with your emotional history and your nervous system's perception of safety.

By addressing the psoas, you are not just stretching a muscle. You are telling your body that the threat has passed. You are finally giving it permission to let go.

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References

[1] TeachMeAnatomy. (2025). Psoas Major - Attachments - Actions.

[2] Koch, L. (1997). The Psoas Book. Guinea Pig Publications.