Can you stretch your psoas while sleeping?
Unfortunately, you can’t stretch your psoas while asleep. Stretches that lengthen and target your psoas would be impossible to maintain while you're asleep. However, you can avoid curling your legs toward your chest, which shortens the psoas muscles and causes pain during the day. You can also stretch your psoas in bed before and after you sleep. The psoas muscle is located deep in your pelvis and helps you flex your hip joint, lift your leg while you’re lying down, and fold your body over your legs.
What's the best sleeping position for your psoas?
Lie on your back and place a pillow under your knees. Slightly raising your knees will let your psoas relax so you can sleep comfortably. If you sleep on your side, put a pillow between your knees to keep your hips aligned. Try to keep from bending and curling your legs, which can shorten the hip flexors.
Stretching Your Psoas in Bed
Band supported leg lower exercise Personal trainer and strength coach Brendon Rearick says this exercise includes “a hamstring stretch on one side” and “a psoas stretching activation of the opposite side leg, so you're killing two birds with one stone” and increasing “both flexibility and stability.” Sit on the bed with your legs straight out in front of you. Put your left foot inside an exercise band and hold two sides of the band with your hands. Lie on your back with both legs together, sticking straight up. Hold the exercise band looped around your left foot, breathe in, and lower your right leg down to the bed as you breathe out. Repeat 2 to 3 times, then switch legs.
Legs-up-the-wall stretch In this restorative yoga pose, lie on your back with your butt against the wall and stretch your legs up to the ceiling against the wall. This pose causes the backs of your legs to stretch and your hip flexors to relax. This pose is great to do before you go to bed because it can also improve your circulation and help you de-stress, which can help you sleep better. Sit on the floor facing a blank wall. Lie down and roll over onto your side with your butt against the wall and your knees bent. Roll onto your back and stretch your legs against the wall, with your feet at least hip-distance apart (or whatever distance feels most comfortable). Place your arms at your side with your palms turned upward. Relax your arms, shoulders, and legs. Stay in this position for at least 10 minutes. To come out of the pose, bend your knees and roll over to your side. Repeat once or twice a day.
Supine hip flexor bed stretch This stretch works best when you’re lying in bed or on a high table. Try this exercise before you fall asleep or before you get ready for your day to help improve strength and mobility in your hips. Lie on your back on the left edge of your bed with both legs stretched out. Bend your right leg for stability with your knee pointing up and your back and foot pressed flat against the bed. Drop your left leg off the bed, keeping your back flat and your left knee bent slightly. For a deeper stretch, grab your right knee and pull it gently towards your chest. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, then switch to the right edge of the bed to stretch the other hip flexor.
Seated butterfly stretch This is an easy yoga pose that stretches your hip flexors, inner thighs, groin, and the muscles around your knees. For this stretch, sit up in bed with your back straight and your legs out in front of you. Bend your knees, bringing your feet towards your body until your soles touch. Grab both feet with your hands for extra support. Slowly lean forward until you feel a stretch in your hips and upper legs. Hold for 30 seconds.
Child’s pose This beginner-friendly yoga pose is perfect to do right before you go to bed. Not only can it stretch the muscles of your lower back and inner thighs, which work together with your psoas, but it can activate your relaxation response and may lower or regulate your blood pressure. Kneel down with the tops of your feet pressed against the bed. Touch your big toes together, widen your hips, and sit back onto your heels. Reach your arms straight out in front of you and fold down so your forehead rests on the bed. If you can’t rest your forehead on the bed, put a small pillow or yoga block underneath it to keep your neck straight.
Stretching Your Psoas during the Day
Half kneeling hip flexor stretch This stretch specifically targets the hip flexors, increasing your flexibility and improving the range of motion in your joints. Repeat this stretch on both legs, about 2 to 4 times each. Kneel on your right knee and place your left foot in front of you, bending your knee. Place your left hand on your left leg for stability. Personal trainer and strength coach Brendon Rearick says to make sure “your rib cage and pelvis are stacked on top of each other.” Rearick also recommends “pressing down your hands either into a stick or a bench or a wall.” That way, you’re less likely to use your spine to stretch, which can cause injury. Lean forward, shifting your body weight to your left leg. You’ll feel a stretch in your right thigh. Hold for about 30 seconds, then switch legs and repeat.
Seated pigeon stretch This popular stretch takes the pigeon pose yoga move and modifies it so you can do it while sitting at a desk. Try repeating this stretch 2 to 3 times throughout the day to loosen your hip flexors. Sitting upright in your chair, cross your right ankle over your left knee. Flex your right foot up until you feel a stretch in your right glute and upper hip. If you don’t feel a stretch, slowly lean forward at your waist into your right hip. Hold for 30 seconds, then switch sides.
Forward fold hamstring stretch In yoga, a forward fold can loosen up the back of your legs and your lower back. If you’re sitting at a desk all day, try this similar pose you can do by elevating your heel on a shelf. Place one or both heels up on a stable elevated space like a pile of boxes or a shelf. Pull your belly in towards your spine, then fold forward, hinging at your hips. Reach over toward your elevated toes. Hold for 30 seconds, breathing slowly. If you only elevated one heel, switch sides and repeat.
Bent-knee forward swing This exercise specifically targets the hip flexors and makes a great exercise to do before bedtime. To stabilize yourself during the stretch, stand alongside a wall or fence and place your right hand on it. Stand on your right leg then bend your left knee in front of you at a 90-degree angle. Keeping your hips pointing forward, pull your left knee up toward your chest, then drive it straight out behind you. Repeat 10 times, then switch legs.
Why do your psoas get tight?
Sitting for long periods can cause your hip flexors to feel tight. Spending time parked in a chair, sitting in a car, or curled in bed without stretching regularly keeps your psoas in a shortened position for longer than they should be. To combat tightness, take 5-minute breaks every 20 minutes to stretch and walk around. When your muscles shorten, it means they’re weaker and unable to extend all the way when you go to exercise. This can put you at risk for joint and back pain, strains, and other injuries. Personal trainer and strength coach Brendon Rearick doesn’t recommend using a foam roller to stretch your psoas because they lie “underneath many vital organs.” Instead, he recommends “hiring a physical therapist or a massage therapist” who can “release that muscle tissue for you.”
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