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There is an intricate relationship between Yoga and the human anatomy. One cannot learn yoga effectively without understanding how the physical exercise and breathing exercises affect the different parts of the body.
Yoga therapy and yoga training have very much to do with building up the muscles, elongating and strengthening the bones. For example, poses such as the Paschimottanasana, Bow and Warrior I strengthen the psoas muscles. A brief description of yoga and anatomy of the psoas pair of muscles is given below:
The psoas muscles are a pair of muscles that start from the rear and sides of the backbone to the back of the thighs, right up to the femur bone. It also connects the pubic bone and is the key muscle in all vertebrates. It is the psoas that helps the body bend itself and move forward and backward. The center of gravity in our body is over our sacrum, and the psoas muscles are on its sides. The muscles perform a balancing act as it maintains balance on both the sides.
How does yoga help the psoas muscle?
Asanas that strengthen the lower back are the Bow, Cobra, and the Camel. These asanas basically are stretching exercises which open up the front of our bodies, making the psoas flexible and enabling the body to bend backwards easily. A tip, as per yoga is to pull in the tailbone while bending backwards which will help you to expand and elongate the lower backbone.
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