Yoga East

The Junk Drawer 
by Maggie Myers

Yoga East 2022 200 Hour Training, June 2022

Introduction

In various yoga classes I have taken throughout the years, I have often heard instructors talk about emotions being stored in the hips. Some teachers even describe the hips as “the body’s junk drawer.” They say stretching your hips can cause a release in which suppressed memories or pent-up emotions might bubble up to the surface. Sometimes the release is so profound, it can bring a student to tears. 

I have never witnessed anything like this in a class; however, I am familiar with the uncomfortable feelings that arrive in my own body when practicing a hip opener such as Agnistambhasana. I’ve wondered if there is any truth to this concept that emotions can actually get trapped inside our hips–or, if teachers just use this idea to simply encourage a mind-body connection with the imagination. Luckily, plenty of recent scientific evidence has demystified why a yoga practice can be so cathartic. Basic anatomy of the hips and the muscles that control these joints helps to explain how tension builds up in this area of the body, and recent psychological research shows that emotions are directly linked to this tension. This remarkable link can be explored through the gift of yoga.

Anatomy and Function 

The pelvis plays a crucial role in how our entire body functions. We can consider it as our true core, both physically–since it connects the upper body to the lower body–and emotionally–since it contains our creative, reproductive, and elimination organs (Ishler, 2021). Its shape varies widely from person to person, especially among females. Its uniqueness is determined by genetics and environmental factors. (Swanson, 2019). We depend on our hip joints, which are located on either side of the pelvis, to bear our weight, stabilize our core, and move our legs around (Ishler, 2021). And, the tighter your hips are, the less overall mobility you have. Decreased hip mobility can result in pain and hinder daily activities as simple as walking or climbing stairs. Tight hips can also create an anterior tilt of the pelvis–meaning the pelvic bowl tilts forward out of neutral alignment–which leads to poor posture and a misaligned head and neck (Ishler, 2021). 

The hip flexors are a group of muscles attached to the hip joint. They include the sartorius, the tensor fascia lata, the rectus femoris, the pectineus, the adductor brevis, and the iliopsoas (Kapit & Elson, 2002). The psoas major is a deep postural muscle that is woven through the hip joint on either side, and connects to the lower spine. Much like the pelvis, there are no two sets of psoas muscles alike. A recent scientific discovery shows that some people even have an extra muscle in this area, and it’s referred to as the psoas minor. Approximately 40% of people have this variation (Swanson, 2019). When the psoas or any of the hip flexors become tight, the sensations we feel are not exclusive to the hip area. In fact, one may not even be aware that the hips are tight at all. We typically experience the pain from tight hips indirectly, meaning it isn’t your psoas that is going to hurt, but rather, adjacent areas, such as the back or even the shoulders (“The Psoas,” 2018). Nestled into the psoas muscle are the kidneys, which are responsible for filtering toxins in the body. Moreover, the adrenal glands reside here, and are the command center for the fight, flight, or freeze response. (Ishler, 2021).

Stored Emotions 

The fight, flight, or freeze response is your body’s natural reaction to any kind of threat, whether it be physical or psychological. First, briefly consider your reaction to a physical threat. Think of what you do when you are scared, threatened, or experience something shocking. Our natural response to a physical threat is to draw our knees into our chest and coil up for protection. The action of drawing the knees in, no matter how subtle or dramatic, starts at the hips (“Hips Don’t,” 2018). On the other hand, when you’re under any kind of mental or emotional stress, your psoas muscle tightens up the same exact way it would in response to a physical threat (Ischler, 2021). If we hear some devastating news that brings us to tears, we are compelled to retreat to the fetal position to weep. Even if we don’t actually curl up into a ball, those hip flexors still clench deep inside of us. After the initial stressor, real or imagined, is over and done with, tension will still linger in the hip area, thus “trapping” the emotion there (Ischler, 2021).

Oftentimes, modern humans do not even realize how stressed they are in the first place. We unconsciously engage the hip flexors all day long, either seated at a computer or behind the wheel (Swanson, 2019). Once one becomes aware of it, this kind of tension is not easy to shake off. In fact, it might have already been there for decades. Michael Lee, who is the founder of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy in West Stockbridge Massachusetts, remarked:

Whenever something happens to us as a kid, our body is involved. This is particularly true of trauma. The body comes to the defense of the whole being. In defending it, the body does things to stop the pain from being fully experienced. Emotional pain is overwhelming for small children, because they don’t have the resources to deal with it. So the body shuts it off; if it didn’t, the body would die from emotional pain. But then the body keeps doing the physical protection even long after the situation has ended. (Raskin, 2007)

How Yoga Helps

Undeniably, if something is bothering you mentally or emotionally, it will show up in your body. Yoga has the power to awaken emotional issues within us, allow us to observe them on the mat, and ultimately, with time, release them. Yoga is considered a somatic practice because it puts emphasis on perception (Swanson, 2019). While proprioception is about where your body is in space, interoception is about how you feel inside your body. Practicing yoga can help you cultivate and strengthen this inward awareness. The more sensitive we become, the easier it is for us to understand the link between the body and the mind. 

One can begin to dissipate unconscious muscular tension simply by tuning in to the breath. The diaphragm is situated right near the psoas, and so each breath we take expands the diaphragm and actually massages these postural muscles. Shallow breathing may encourage the psoas to tense up, while deeper breaths can help it start to release (Swanson, 2020). This is one of the countless reasons why conscious breathing is integral to all yoga, whether or not you are practicing the asanas. 

We can begin investigating the hips by shifting our awareness to unexpected places. One scientific study shows an interesting connection between the jaw and the hips–when the jaw is clenched, the hips are gripping as well. When the jaw is released and the tongue softens, the range of motion in the hips increases (Fischer et al., 2009). Another area of the body which is surprisingly linked to the psoas muscle is the arch of the foot (Ischler, 2021). Dr. Martha Eddy, a leading educator in somatics, explained: 

“If you’re massaging your foot and this arch in the foot is collapsed, then you might have an overstretched psoas, or if it’s really held tight, you might have a tight psoas. Working this lateral arch of the foot in reflexology means you’re going to be working with the lower back or down [in the hips].” (Ischler, 2021)

Incorporating asanas which engage the hips will not only help increase mobility and improve one’s posture, but it will also improve their ability to cope with fear and stress (Swanson, 2020). The psoas muscle itself is slightly challenging to target, because not many people can actually perceive it within them. It is recommended to first practice asanas that, in part, engage the psoas, and then focus on lengthening it out (Gudmestad, 2011). 

A suggested sequence could start with Supta Padangusthasana, which will make the psoas contract as it holds the leg up against gravity. Navasana will also create a similar contraction. Once the psoas has become warm and engaged, the hip muscles can then extend. It can be beneficial to first work with one side at a time, such as in Virabhadrasana I and Anjaneyasana. Then one can progress to seated postures such as Baddha Konasana, which externally rotates the hips and gets deeper into the groin and the pelvic floor muscles. Any backbends should come later in the practice, since they require full hip extension on both sides. Setu Bandha Sarvangasana is a great backbend to start with. In this asana, one must take care to set the pelvis to a posterior tilt, which means to tuck in the tailbone, or “spill” the bowl backwards to protect the lower back. Consecutive repetition of this pose may allow one to lift higher each time, which indicates the psoas is lengthening gradually (Gudmestad, 2011).

Conclusion

Though nothing can compare to your own personal, experiential evidence of healing with yoga, there is scientific evidence that the practice can help us process and release trauma by primarily focusing on the pelvis and hips. While yoga may be the ultimate tool to release stored emotions, we must be careful to proceed with caution. Though it may sound obvious to some, forcing the body to release during a yoga practice is counterintuitive. Richard Miller, Ph.D., who is both a yogi and a licensed psychologist, warned that an attempt to conjure an emotional release within the body is, “a subtle form of violence,” because it suggests that “you need to be other than you are,” (Raskin, 2007). The focus should not be on change, but rather self-acceptance. If we meet ourselves on the mat, just as we are, healing and liberation will come naturally. 

References

Fischer, M. J., Riedlinger, K., Gutenbrunner, C., & Bernateck, M. (2009). Influence of the temporomandibular joint on range of motion of the hip joint in patients with complex regional pain syndrome. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics, 32(5), 364–371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2009.04.003 

Gudmestad, J. (2011). How to Stretch and Strengthen the Psoas. Yoga International. https://yogainternational.com/article/view/how-to-stretch-and-strengthen-the-psoas 

Hips Don’t Lie: How Hip Openers Release Old Emotions. (2019, September 23). Yoga Today. https://blog.yogatoday.com/hips-dont-lie-releasing-old-emotions-though-hip-openers/ 

Ishler, J. (2021, September 16). How to Release ‘Emotional Baggage’ and the Tension That Goes with It. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/mind-body/how-to-release-emotional-baggage-and-the-tension-that-goes-with-it 

Kapit, W., Elson, L.M. (2002). The Anatomy Coloring Book. Pearson Education.

Raskin, D. (2007, August 28). Emotions in Motion. Yoga Journal. https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/emotions-in-motion/ 

Swanson, A. (2019). Science of Yoga. Penguin Random House. 

Swanson, A. (2020, August 11). The Key To Releasing Stress And Paving The Way To Better Poses? Caring For Your Psoas. Yoga Journal. https://www.yogajournal.com/teach/anatomy-yoga-practice/psoas-anatomy/https://www.yogajournal.com/teach/anatomy-yoga-practice/psoas-anatomy/ 

The Psoas Muscle: How it Holds onto Trauma and How to Let it Go, with Yoga. (2018). The Trauma Conscious Yoga Institute. https://traumaconsciousyoga.com/psoas/