Psoas it was the best day of my life

Think about a time where you expected the day to be ordinary. You have nothing outstanding planned, no birthdays, holidays, weddings, or graduations. You didn’t meet anyone who became a part of your life, you didn’t have a significant accident, you weren’t on vacation, and didn’t make a big purchase. Think about a day like that, and later it became among the best days of your life. It might take a while to think about, but I bet if you try, you can find one.

It’s ok, really take your time to think about it.

Take a moment to relish the feeling you have from that day. This blog will wait.

Now I’ll tell you about mine. It had to do with my psoas.

It was early in the summer of 2013, and we were visiting my family in Western Maryland. I could barely stand up straight.

On paper, I was in the best shape of my life. I was working out every day, sometimes twice a day. Eating healthy, losing weight, looking strong. But my body ached. Not in the usual post work out way, but something more serious. The intense pain in my low back that shot down my left leg was something to which I’d grown regrettably accustomed. It had been months of dealing with this sciatica. Walking even short distances felt like dragging myself uphill. It would take several careful, calculated steps before my body would cooperate enough to fully stand. Stretching, self talk, deep labored breaths, and tears were a normal ritual just to get myself from sitting to standing. Pain was my norm at the time. I was 23 years old.

My aunt recommended her massage therapist, she said he was the best there was. She put $100 in my hand and said I’d better go take her appointment. Over the years, I’d had great massages and not so great massages, physical therapy, hot and cold therapy, prescriptive meds, pain management, chiropractic, and so many other methods, only to find myself frustratingly back where I started within a few hours of the treatment. I was not one to turn this sort of thing down: massages were among the long list of things that helped. The key word here is helped. I’d feel a modicum of relief, able to stand and function, but STILL I’d feel that deep ache in my lower back.

This time was different. He worked on deep muscles, he guided me through breathing as he dove into some of the muscles that are rarely addressed in a massage. Sometimes we think of “deep tissue” as a massage with heavy pressure. a practitioner with advanced experience will tell you that deep tissue does not lie just in the amount of pressure, but the muscles the technique is addressing.

I distinctly recall his query “have you ever had your psoas addressed?” “I don’t know what that is.” I replied, as he advised I remember my yoga breathing, and pressed into my lower abdomen with stacked hands. This deep core muscle connects from the lateral processes of the lumbar spine and snakes down through the pelvis to attach on the femur. It's hidden, complicated, and often responsible for chronic back pain. But hardly anyone goes there. For the first time in my life, this practitioner did.

I felt a release I didn’t even know was possible. For the first time in what felt like years, I stood up straight without wincing. I walked. Not just a few feet—I walked miles. And I wanted to keep walking.

My family and I then spent the next few hours exploring, laughing, and soaking up life. I don’t remember how good it felt to be in motion. To be free in my body.

The car ride home was long, but peaceful. We listened to music and sang together, all four of us. My sister fell asleep on my mother’s lap. I offered to take the wheel, but I was just as happy in the passenger seat—content, comfortable, and for once, pain-free.

Over a decade later, I doubt that practitioner even remembers me at all. I distinctly remember him, and consider him among the wide list of inspirational influences in my career. That day didn’t change my career in an instant, but it lives in the lexicon of experiences that shaped my path. It was a seed, quietly planted. I learned that the right touch, the right intention, and the right knowledge could change someone’s life. It changed mine.

Now in my work, I try to go where few MTs have gone before. To consistently increase my knowledge so I may provide the highest quality service. Amongst the muscles I’m sure to address is very squarely the psoas.

Many people have asked why I chose the career I have, and for that, there really wasn’t one moment. A culmination of many experiences in my life filled the basket of contributions to my decision. This moment, and the knowledge of deeper and less comfortable work, sits within it.