Exploring your psoas muscle

You may be surprised to know that you can feel your psoas with your fingers. You can try this
out in the following class – Psoas, sacrum and core. [If you want to go straight to the
demonstration, skip to minute 16:27 of the class]. Bear in mind, that the psoas feels very
different to any other muscle in your body. Although it is an incredibly strong muscle, it can feel
delicate and vulnerable, and may have a strong physical response to touch. 
It requires a bit of exploration and practice, but you may be able to feel the psoas from the inside
too. Simply lying on your mat and bringing your attention to the psoas will eventually bring
awareness in a sensory way. 
As you develop this awareness and learn to feel the psoas when it releases and tightens, it will
become easier to feel it off the yoga mat too. This is especially true in stress-inducing situations
where it will tighten. At the other end of the scale, you may also feel the psoas releasing when
you are relaxed. 
Sensory exploration of your psoas, combined with the practice of yoga asana will increase your
ability to feel the muscle and work with it in a positive way. This can include learning to relax
and improving your posture. When you are well-aligned, many yoga asanas can help to stretch
out this habitual tension. But other causes of a cramped psoas, such as deep-seated tension and
trauma, need to be released by the psoas itself.