Yoga for Hips and Thighs:

Structure of the Groins

The groins are the region where the thighs and torso fold together.

This region is of great importance for humans because its full extension creates the upright posture unique to our species. In a sense, when we are not balanced and stable through the groins in the upright posture, we are not fully human.

Notice in Figure 1 how the pelvis and femur come together in the hip joint region. Note especially the bony knobs on the femur. It is at these points, called the greater and lesser trochanters, that the muscles strongly interact with the bones.

We can also identify three distinct muscular regions in the groins. First is the upper inner groin, including the psoas and illiacus muscles, which combine to form the iliopsoas--probably the most important muscle region for correct posture (see Figure 2). The muscles of the upper inner groin begin at the top of the lumbar spine, pass through the inner pelvis, and attach to the inner upper femur at the lesser trochanter. The primary action of this muscle group is to flex the femur into the torso, as in walking, but it can act on the lumbar vertebrae as well. As the upper inner groin region awakens, the roots of the legs are discovered to lie here, deep within the body, just below the diaphragm.

The second region is the lower inner groin, which includes all of the adductor muscles, from the pectineous to the gracilus. This region has a complex layer of many muscle fibers (Figures 3 and 4) that run from the lower pelvis (pubis and ischium bones) to the inner thigh. The primary function of these muscles is to adduct the thigh, or draw it toward the midline, as in crossing the legs. When these muscles are active, they also produce some external rotation of the thighs.

The third region, the front groin (Figure 5), includes those quadricep muscle fibers that attach to the upper pelvis, as well as to the sartorius and tensor fasciae latae. This region also flexes the femur toward the torso.

Physiologically, open groins facilitate the free flow of fluids between the legs and torso. Figure 6 is a cross-section through the region of the groins showing the location of the various muscle fibers in relation to each other. Notice the open space where the femoral artery and vein emerge, and the distinct muscle bundles on either side of the opening. On one side are the pectineus and lower groin fibers; on the other are the iliopsoas and front groin fibers. When the groins are open, each muscle fiber sits in its proper channel, maintaining its proper relationship to the other muscle fibers. The femoral artery and vein are then free from compression, producing no unnecessary tension in the circulatory system.

Itzhak Bentov, in his brilliant book Stalking the Wild PenduIum, develops a physiological model that shows how the lower Ievels of samadhi involve both the circulatory and respiratory systems, as well as an open state of the groins. To refine our yoga practice to the level where samadhi is possible, we must cultivate our sensitivity to the energy body, or pranamaya kosha, in which the energy of the body manifests as vibratory movement.

Most of us conceive of "opening" the body only in terms of flexibility, or range of motion. This is a widely misunderstood aspect of yoga asanas and stretching in general. Although openness of the body is related to range of motion, it's not the same thing. An "open" state of the body refers to the free flow of bodily fluids. For such a state to occur, the bones must centered (each bone exactly aligned with all other contiguo bones) and all the weight of the organism must be carried by the skeletal structure, so that the muscle tissue has no unnecessary tension and the soft tissues are supported without strain or collapse.

This openness of the body occurs naturally in animals. Bones have evolved over hundreds of millions of years to channel the energy of gravity and allow the various bodily systems--circulatory, respiratory, eliminative, reproductive, and digestive--to function efficiently in conjunction with the force of gravity. Range of motion, in contrast, refers to how far the bones can move. A person can have great range of motion without an open body, and can also have a very open body without much range of motion.

Frogs have naturally centered bones, and their muscles vibrate in spiral patterns that reflect cosmic harmony. Like most animals, frogs are born with fully developed instinctive kinesiological patterns. Coordination and fluidity of move ment are part of their genetic inheritance. By contrast, humans have a more plastic nervous system and have to learn correct posture and movement by imitating their elders. With the advent of sedentary life-styles, easy chairs, and automobiles, however, modern people have forgotten how to sit, stand, and move gracefully and elegantly.

Most humans in industrialized countries have lost the centered state of the bones, with the result that their muscle fibers criss-cross in knotted patterns of tension and congestion that impede the flow of fluids through the flesh. In the region of the groins, the femurs, pelvis, sacrum, and lumbar vertebrae are destabilized and out of alignment, and the muscle fibers are tangled and tense. The primary deviation occurs at the hip joints, where the thighs and pelvis unite.

There are two possible reactions to this misalignment. One is to harden the muscles in the groin area in order to create stability. This pattern, however, actually increases the misalignment, because it upsets the agonist-antagonist balance of the muscles. Some muscles overwork, and some underwork, causing the bones to be pulled asymmetrically. With the delicate muscular balance thus disturbed, the spiral pathways become clogged. Fluids cannot move freely through the tight muscles, and the weak muscles do not move fluids at all. Circulation diminishes, more strain is placed on the heart, and the other organ systems suffer. Because the body weight is poorly supported, the spinal column and torso sag, creating further tension in the spinal muscles and compression of the body organs. This is the tight-groined body.

The other reaction to misaligned hip joints is to let the ligaments of the body carry the weight. Here the muscles are generally weak and floppy, and the bones collapse. The knees and sacroiliacs suffer the strain, and again the organs are compressed because the body weight is not adequately supported. This type of body can have a tremendous range of motion, but because of the instability and compression, it's not an open body. The muscular spirals disappear, and the flow of fluid through the groins is diminished.

The specific reasons for misaligned hip joints, with subsequent loss of groin openness, can be seen by examining the basic human standing and sitting posture. We mentioned earlier that standing in the upright posture is one of the distinctive marks of our humanness. Raising ourselves up from the earth in order to free our sense organs, arms, and hands has allowed us to function better in the world. But we're afraid of falling over again. The upright balance of the human skeleton is a very delicate state that can be easily lost without attention. Most of us don't balance the bones, but hold on from the muscles.

To be more precise, we contract the muscles of the gluteal (buttock) region and the deeper muscles of the outer hip (the lateral rotators) in order to keep the pelvis upright. Most people stand with their feet turned slightly outward, because these outer hip muscles also externally rotate the femurs. By tightening the outer hip muscles, however, we also push the thighbones inward and forward from their natural centered position. You can experience this for yourself (Figure 7). This inward movement of the bones locks the inner groin into ten sion, and the forward movement of the bones locks the front groin. Misalignment in the pelvic region is further exaggerated because we generally walk in such a way that the front and upper inner groins pull the thighbones up and never quite release them back again. And in sitting we also contribute to misalignment by collapsing the torso onto the pelvis and the pelvis onto the thighs (Figure 8). The flexor muscles over work in holding the bones toward the top of the hip joint, thus restricting the freedom of the groins, so that the pelvis never really experiences right-angle flexion. Instead, the lumbar spine goes into flexion in order to compensate. The result is a "rounded back," which causes all the spinal muscles and internal organs to suffer.

To correct the misalignment in both sitting and standing, we need to move the femurs away from the inner groins toward the outer hip, centering the bones from side to side and from front to back, away from the front groins and to the center of the back the hip socket. From this centered position, the groins open when the femurs "ground" into the earth, bear ing the torso weight without muscular strain and allowing the pelvis to lift up and away from the femurs. This is a deep and difficult opening for most of us, but it does occur with practice and patience.

A closer comparison of the way humans and frogs sit can help clarify the main difficulty we have with our groins. When the hips are in flexion, most of us collapse the spinal column and harden the muscles of the groin region. Frogs, however, sit in deep double flexion, with knees and hips both flexed, yet they are neither tense nor collapsed.

The closest human equivalent to the frog posture is squatting. In our culture, almost no one squats. Yet our inability to squat comfortably means that our feet, ankles, knees, groins, and spine all suffer. A deep squat involves a triple flexion, with the ankles, knees, and hips all deeply folded. Open groins allow deep flexion without compression or collapse. Correct squatting centers the bones in the hip sockets, allowing the "unfolding" movements of extension and abduction to occur from a centered state, releasing muscular tension without overstretching or injury. Our Frog Pose series will teach us how to approximate this open squatting state.

Next: Awakening the Intelligence of the Body

See also:
~ A Practice for Hips and Thighs

Back to:
~ Introduction
~ Muscles and Bones