Introduction
Hello, everyone!
I’m Hidefumi Otsuka, offering Rolfing sessions in Shibuya, Tokyo.
What It Means to Organize the Central Axis — Cultivating the Power to Judge by a Personal Axis
Since June 2015, I have offered Rolfing sessions in Shibuya, Ebisu, and Daikanyama.
Rolfing is one method in which, once every one to two weeks, using manual technique, treatment is carried out each time along a theme. Because it polishes “bodily sensation” while organizing the body, the body’s troubles (stiff shoulders, low-back pain) improve as well.
In Rolfing — in the first session, organizing the breath; in the second, organizing the soles of the feet; in the third, organizing the front-back balance — by polishing bodily sensation, the way of seeing the mind and the world shifts. All of these treat the superficial, visible muscles.
What is interesting is sessions 4–7. Because they treat the central axis (on the inside of the body), they treat the invisible deep muscles.
And I myself believe that organizing the central axis makes it possible to acquire — through “bodily sensation” — a personal standard of judgment for deciding things independently.
The Procedure for Organizing the Central Axis — From the Lower Body to the Upper Body
In sessions 4–7, the organizing proceeds in the following order.
Session 4: the lower body (the adductors to around the pelvic floor)Session 5: the front side of the spine in the upper body (the iliopsoas, the viscera, the diaphragm)Session 6: the back side of the spine in the upper body (the shins, the gluteal muscles, the sacrum, the spine)Session 7: the shoulders and the whole neck in the upper body,
Last time I summarized session 4, so this time I’d like to take up session 5.
Session 5 — The Front of the Spine — The Movement of the “Viscera” and the “Iliopsoas”
Whereas session 4 was a session for heightening awareness of the “adductors” and the “pelvic floor,” session 5 works mainly on the front of the body, by way of the adductors and the pelvic floor, and organizes the upper body.
For reference, session 6 works on the back of the body and organizes the lower body.
The iliopsoas (sometimes taken to include the psoas major, the iliacus, and the psoas minor) is the only muscle connecting the lower and upper body. As the anatomical figure above shows, the muscle attaches to the front of the spine.
It is a muscle extending from the front of the spine (the lumbar vertebrae), by way of the pelvis, to the leg (the lesser trochanter of the femur), and it is important for maintaining posture. In terms of position, it lies near the body’s “center of gravity,” the “tanden.”
The Japanese name for the iliopsoas — 腸腰筋 — combines the character 腸 (“bowel,” as in the iliacus) and 腰 (“lower back,” as in the psoas), and as the name suggests, the muscle has a close relationship with the intestines. For example, the place in the intestine where stool most easily gets stuck is the sigmoid colon, at the last bend connecting to the rectum. The sigmoid colon lies just inside the iliopsoas. When the iliopsoas stiffens, it becomes a cause of constipation.
The relationship not only with the intestines but with other internal organs is interesting as well. Normally, the intestines, kidneys, liver, spleen, pancreas, bladder, stomach, reproductive organs, and so on move together with the breath, and this is said to be a secret of health. When the diaphragm moves, the liver and stomach move in the directions shown by the arrows below.
In fact, around the iliopsoas there are internal organs, and in collaboration with the diaphragm, the iliopsoas gives a massage effect to the viscera. As a result, it organizes an environment in which the viscera move easily.
And the iliopsoas serves as a passage for the aorta and the nervous system, improving circulation and the flow of the nerves.
It has various roles like this, but unfortunately, because it is a muscle deep inside, it is difficult to touch directly. For this reason, organizing its movement consciously becomes necessary.
The iliopsoas consists of two muscles, the psoas major and the iliacus; it is involved in flexing and extending the hip joint, and is known as the muscle that works when raising the thigh. When the psoas major is weak, the effect on “walking” and “running” becomes strong, and tripping becomes easier.
Furthermore, in relation to the abdominal muscles, it has been pointed out that the iliopsoas can be weakened. In fact, overtraining the abdominal muscles is a problem. Why? Let me summarize below.
Overtraining the Abdominal Muscles Is a Problem — The “Viscera” Become Harder to Move
This is because, for the iliopsoas — especially the psoas major — to work, balance with the abdominal muscles (especially the rectus abdominis) is important.
Yoga, Pilates, strength training — “the core is important, so train it!” is what is said… To make the body look good, many people are seen training the abdominal muscles (the rectus abdominis). But this makes the psoas major harder to work.
This is because the psoas major becomes harder to move, in the following order:
- The abdominal muscles (especially the rectus abdominis), the muscles connecting the bottom of the rib cage and the pelvis, become too strong.
- The internal organs surrounded by the abdominal muscles want to move, but because the space is narrow, they become harder to move.
- When the internal organs become harder to move, they compress the psoas major inside them.
- The body becomes one in which the psoas major is hard to move.
The Iliopsoas — A Muscle of “Fear”? — Its Relationship to the Chakras
The “iliopsoas” connects to the “diaphragm” involved in breathing, and this is the position known as the “solar plexus.” The solar plexus (the Manipura chakra) has the role of organizing the flow of life energy that circulates through the whole body. It is said to organize the autonomic nervous system, and to have a relationship with the second brain and the gut-brain axis…
As keywords for the role of the solar plexus: trust, fear, intimidation, self-esteem. It is a chakra also important for valuing the self, for self-responsibility, and for judging things independently. When there is a traumatic experience in which “anger” or “fear” grows strong, this place tends to become hard to move. In fact, in many cases, people who hold trauma find that the iliopsoas does not work.
The Iliopsoas and the Diaphragm — Their Relationship to the Parasympathetic Nervous System
The iliopsoas and the diaphragm have a relationship with the parasympathetic nervous system. Both muscles, too, attach to the front of the spine. The point is that the muscles attach to the front of the spine. In addition, as in the figure below, the muscles that support the heart also attach to the front of the spine.
When these all release at once, within the autonomic nervous system, the parasympathetic becomes dominant. When session 5 is done in Rolfing, there are clients who relax and fall asleep; I think this stimulation of the deep part of the muscles is a large reason.
Session 5 — What Is Actually Done?
What is done in session 5 is to loosen the surrounding muscles so that the “iliopsoas” is in a state easy to move. After securing the space (the room) for the “iliopsoas” to move, the environment is organized so that the “iliopsoas” can move. Surprisingly, when this is kept in mind, the “iliopsoas” comes to move of its own accord.
The way of approaching has something in common with the approach to the deep muscles: when an appropriate stimulus is given to the deep layer, “the body, of its own accord, chooses and heads toward the place it feels is ‘here!'” The practitioner’s role, I believe, is to become neutral and devote themselves to the role of guide.
Conclusion
This time, I introduced — including the influence on the mind — what kind of change occurs within the body when the iliopsoas is approached from session 5 onward in Rolfing.
I’d like to take up what is done in session 6.