Finding a Deeper Seat

29 Oct 2012

Hey Everything Cowboy Readers,

Today I am going to be talking about the iliopsoas muscle and how it contributes to your riding. The proper phonetic spelling of iliopsoas is ˌil-ē-ō-ˈsō-əs, my phonetic spelling is pronounced ill-eo-so-as.

Your iliopsoas muscle is made up of two muscles the psoas major and the iliacus. The iliopsoas is a large muscle that starts on the first vertebra of the lumbar spine and runs through the front of the hip/pelvis and reattaches at the top of the femur bone. The iliopsoas muscle moves the bones of the low back, pelvis and hips, you use them for walking and even standing. Because we use them all the time, they become tight and begin to shorten. Iliopsoas muscles can also over compensate for a weak core and lower back muscles. When the iliopsoas muscles become stiff and shorten it causes the pelvis to tilt forward bringing a sway into the low back.

When your pelvis is tilted forward its difficult to find a deep seat in your saddle. A truly deep seat extends from below the pelvis into the inner thighs, the iliopsoas connects both the area of the pelvis and the inner thighs. When you allow your iliopsoas muscles to release and lengthen you are able to find a deep, balanced seat and can draw the horse up and under you.

The low lunge is a great pose to lengthen the iliopsoas muscle. In the video below is a break down on the low lunge and variations on it so you can start stretching and begin to find that deeper seat!