Releasing the Psoas: Trauma-Focused Yoga Sequence

Practice Trauma-Focused Yoga with me and release your Psoas!

In this sequence, we will be helping to release tension from the hips; particularly the psoas. The psoas is also known as the fight or flight muscle. When we are nervous, hypervigilant, overstimulated or hyperaroused, it is our body's instinctive response to contract inward toward its core for protection. The psoas, a deep hip flexor, is one of the core muscles that enables that inward protective contraction. Every time we are stressed or startled the psoas contracts, thus it accumulates a lot of tension and trauma that needs to be discharged, should the body be able to relax.

Not only this, the psoas is overused on a daily basis, as it helps us sit up, bend over, walk, run, ride a bike...any action that causes a flexion in the hip. My point? We could all benefit from doing some psoas release work on a regular basis.

The psoas and hips also relate to second charka, our emotional center. Not only does the psoas relate to our emotions but also functioning related to reproduction, sexual function or dysfunction, and intimacy.

The primary issue that results in an imbalance in the second chakra is Guilt, a feeling of having done something bad and being undeserving. The mantra I will invite you to use in this practice is "I deserve."

I hope you enjoy this sequence. In case there is a part of you that wants to know what's coming, here are the yoga poses we will approach:
1. Reclined Knee to Chest Pose with Bolster
2. Supported Final Relaxation Pose- Savasana
3. Reclined Pigeon Pose- Raja Kapotasana
4. Reclined Ankle to Knee Twist
5. Reclined Cow Face Pose- Gomukasana
6. Wisdom Pose/Child's Pose- Balasana
7. Downward Facing Dog- Adho Mukha Svanasana
8. Wide-Legged Standing Forward Fold- Uttanasana Variation
9. Mountain Pose- Tadasana
10. High Yogi Squat- Malasana Variation
11. Lizard Pose- Utthan Pristhasana

We will also be practicing Ujjayi Pranayama in this video- a foundational deep breathing practice that helps to calm body and mind. To learn Ujjayi Pranayama, watch these videos:

Please remember to *subscribe* to this channel to get more breath tutorials, trauma-focused yoga practices, and yoga/trauma education.

Experience your capacity to integrate mind, body, heart, and spirit!
Thanks for joining me!

Namaste

Nityda Gessel, LCSW, E-RYT
Somatic Psychotherapist - Yoga Teacher - Yoga Teacher Trainer
iTunes: Meditations with Nityda
IG: @Nityda_Mind_Body_Psychotherapy

[CurlsnCaramel]

here from your website seeking this healing to ascend as a reiki pt. thank you for being here.

[CurlsnCaramel]

lots of tears. lots of shaking. loads of benefits to arrive from release.

[brianab.]

So helpful and amazing, I keep coming back and the sensations are getting deeper!! Thank you for sharing!! ❤

[katiejackson]

The best trauma yoga I’ve EVER done, and I’ve done quite a lot!. Such deeply genuine compassion, deftly blending science, knowing and curiosity. I shall be sharing with all my tribe. Big thank you. Namaste 🤗

[theprodigyhq]

This is straight ASMR. Love watching stuff I can try out and relax to I love the medical space and tried majoring in it before switching, and hearing these rambles are so soothing for me

[libertybell]

Absolutely marvelous! I cannot adequately describe how great it is to find you! I found my body even tighter than I thought it was. The tension/constriction feels more relaxed. I love the mantra "I deserve". The things you said about the second chakra are so, so, so helpful to me. Some of this information explained more about myself....sometimes I knew, but sure needed to hear someone else say some things touched on subconscious beliefs that I don't experience consciously, but all the work I've done on myself made me able to guess certain feelings were there----but now are confirmed. So, so, so helpful. You are so sweet!

[DivineLove]

I really felt a shift from this practice. I really needed this more then anything. I truly appreciate it. I be using this twice a day daily.

Thank you beautiful soul 🦋

[renatadallposso]

Watching your video I realized how my hip inflexibility is related to emotional issues, since I was a little girl. It's curious, because, for other movements, my body responds so well, with so much flexibility, but when it comes to hip opening it doesn't go the same. Thank your for sharing. Gratitude from Brazil 🙏

[loahyvalley]

I just love this class🥰Thank you so muchT❣

[WhoAreWeAnyway]

Wow. This opened up my hips like no other video I’ve tried before!! I feel so light! Thank you, looking forward to following more of your videos 😊♥️

[cloudyspiral]

Thank you for this video, it helped me tremendously. Not only the great yoga postures but also the compassion you convey. And all my thoughts to the trauma (whatever they are) survivors out there

[studiotinneluyten]

🤍🙏🏻🍃 heartfelt deep release. thank you so so much.

[echocollector]

Thank you so much! I've worked with several acupuncturists, massage therapists, counselors, structural integrationists, chiropractors and numerous YouTube yoga teachers and you are the first person I've come across that linked "fight/flight/freeze" responses to the psoas. The release part at the beginning also helped so much since my muscles actually had a chance to relax before doing the more active stretches. Lot of emotions moving around. Thank you again.

[milap]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I feel so much gratitude and love for myself, for your gentle mantra offering and for this practice. I will be back to your channel daily. 🙏

[crypto_investor_mom]

My psoas muscles have been tight walking around with so much back pain and curved like a letter C. Thank you I found your video. I felt so much release in my back. I feel close to normal. I’ll be doing this daily. Thank you so so much!

[san]

Hi Nityda, your practice is absolutely wonderful and I could feel and experience the release of trauma. I never did so intensely in my life! Also, thank you for teaching us intuitively to listen to our bodies: pause the video to remain in a pose longer or tweak it to answer our needs. While doing the Wide-Legged Standing Forward Fold my legs were shaking so much I think I remained in the pose for like 7 minutes. I wanted to release it all once and for all LOL I was also intuitively moving my arm along on my feet and further inside and was feeling more intense shaking. Combined with the mantra "I DESERVE" this has been extremely so soothing to me this morning. Thank you very much. Namaste.

[MatrixMasteryUnlockWealth]

Amazing, I'm so grateful this video randomly came along! thank you

[stevenstegs]

I did a 10 min savasana, went and washed my face, noticed some weird sensations in my feet, did an overhead stretch, then burst into tears... didn't see it coming. Great release.

[bonjazza]

thanks so much. help that could not find elsewhere. been dead/sleepwalking for 70+ years.

[paigeandrews]

Hi Nityda, I've done this particular video sequence before but I would like to do this with my girlfriend who is hard of hearing. At present the only auto captions available are in Spanish, could you please activate those in English please?