Unlocking the Psoas: How Hip Release Frees the Body’s Deepest Stress Muscle

Curvora Fitness
6 days ago
3 min read

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When we experience prolonged stress, we tend to feel it in our hips — that deep, gripping tightness that no simple stretch seems to release. The culprit often lies in the psoas muscle, a powerful hip flexor that connects your lumbar spine to your femur. What makes the psoas unique is its dual role: it’s both a postural stabilizer and a messenger of the nervous system. Understanding how the hips influence its state is key to finding lasting release.

The Psoas: Your Body’s Built-In Alarm System

The psoas works like a bridge between your spine, pelvis, and legs. Because it’s directly linked to the lumbar plexus (a network of nerves arising from the spinal cord that control core and hip function), it’s highly sensitive to emotional and physical stress.

When your brain perceives danger, your sympathetic nervous system triggers the fight-or-flight response — and one of the first muscles to tighten is the psoas. This contraction helps you prepare to run or brace. However, if stress becomes chronic, the psoas stays shortened, sending a continuous message to the brain that the body is not safe.

Why Hip Tension Keeps the Psoas Tight

Because the psoas attaches to the front of the hip joint, limited hip extension or tightness in surrounding muscles (like the iliacus, rectus femoris, and tensor fasciae latae) can restrict its ability to lengthen. Research shows that dysfunction in these hip muscles alters pelvic tilt and spinal alignment, maintaining a state of mechanical and neural tension (Jiroumaru & colleagues, 2025).

In essence:

The hips act as the gateway for psoas movement.
When the hips are restricted, the psoas stays shortened.
The shortened psoas keeps signaling “danger” to the brain through continuous neural feedback loops.

This creates a bi-directional cycle — the brain signals the psoas to brace, and the tight psoas reinforces the sense of stress.

How Hip Release Helps Calm the Psoas

True “psoas release” isn’t achieved by digging into the muscle — it happens when the hips are free enough for the psoas to lengthen naturally. The following evidence-based mechanisms explain why hip release works:

Restoring Hip Extension: Gentle hip-opening movements that extend the thigh (such as low lunges or supported bridges) encourage the psoas to lengthen through its natural range of motion. Studies show that targeted hip mobility work can improve muscle balance around the lumbar spine and pelvis, reducing compensatory tension (Sığlan & Çolak, 2022).
Breath and Diaphragm Connection: The psoas and the diaphragm are connected via fascial tissue — when one tightens, the other compensates. Deep, diaphragmatic breathing activates the parasympathetic system, signaling safety and allowing both the diaphragm and psoas to relax (Jiroumaru et al., 2025).
Neuro-Muscular Reeducation: Conscious stretching and mobility drills retrain proprioceptive feedback loops between the psoas and the central nervous system. Once the hips begin to move more freely, the psoas stops over-recruiting, and resting tone decreases (McGill et al., 2010).

The Takeaway

Your psoas doesn’t exist in isolation — it’s part of a neuro-muscular web connecting your hips, spine, and stress response. The more you restore hip mobility, the easier it is for your nervous system to interpret safety, and the psoas finally lets go.

Hip-release practices — from mindful stretching and controlled breathing to mobility-based movement like Curvora™ — allow the brain to update its signal from “danger” to “ease.” That’s when true release happens — not just in your hips, but throughout your entire nervous system.

References (APA 7th Edition)

Jiroumaru, T., Ogiwara, T., Saito, Y., & colleagues. (2025). A pilot study on the influence of diaphragmatic function on iliopsoas and other hip flexor muscle activities in individuals with chronic ankle instability. Frontiers in Neurology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2023.1188799

McGill, S. M., Cholewicki, J., & Kraemer, W. J. (2010). Torso stiffness, muscle coactivation, and the biomechanics of stress. Journal of Neurophysiology, 85(2), 679–691. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.2001.85.2.679

Sığlan, Ü., & Çolak, S. (2022). Effects of diaphragmatic and iliopsoas myofascial release in patients with chronic low back pain: A randomized controlled clinical study. Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies, 30(6), 217–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2022.09.029

Tufo, A. (2012). Psoas syndrome: A frequently missed diagnosis. Kansas City University Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.kansascity.edu/studentpub/1459

Walford, M. (2024, September 30). The psoas muscle: The myofascial lines, sympathetic nervous system, and emotional release. DrMelodyWalford.com. https://drmelodywalford.com/blog/the-psoas-muscle