How often do you check in with your pelvis? How connected are you with your pelvis?
This bowl on the bottom of our spine carries so much information, so much movement, so many delicate structures and functions, it is hard to grasp and put it into words. Often neglected and deprived of its variety of movement possibilities, it does deserve our attention though – not only because it is a place of creation, but also because misalignment and ignorance can eventually lead to issues such as back pain and knee problems among others, especially in the context of a yoga practice or intense movement practice at all (in which I would like to include simple walking).
The word INTEGRITY is generally defined as ‘the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles’ or ‘the state of being whole and undivided’. When I am using this word in movement language, I apply these definitions to my body, meaning that I am honest about my individual anatomy and respecting its uniqueness, as well as that I am trying to see the whole picture and understand my body moving as a whole organism. Opposed to that would be ‘forcing my body into a shape for the sake of the form’. Practicing integrity in my body helps me to refine my observation of the integrity of my persona elsewhere in life and to recognise, where I am not acting true to my values aka am out of my integrity.
The pelvis is a complex construction of the body to understand, especially when practicing yoga or any other movement. Understanding though is essential, because it has a direct influence on the alignment of the spine and the legs, which are connected. Increasing mobility in the pelvis comes through grasping all the movement possibilities in the joints of the pelvis and using that knowledge to soften the tissues and release unneeded tension, which might have been building up thanks to what I call ‘the parallelity of our society’ and sitting on chairs.
The pelvis contains the reproductive organs, which makes it the place of creation and creativity within the human body. It is also intimately linked to the sacrum, which in TCM is thought of as the battery of vital energy, life force, chi or in yogic terms prana.
BONE STRUCTURE
The bone structure of the pelvis is built of the hipbones and the sacrum, which connect on your lower back and articulate through the iliosacral joint (SI joint).
The two movements possible in the SI joint are nutation (tipping forward of the sacrum) and counternutation (tipping backwards of the sacrum). The range of motion in that articulation is ca. 3mm and secured by several ligaments – so there is no actual muscle or muscle group making the articulation happening, the bone structures are articulating with each other as an effect of movement in other joints. This happens for example when we walk. The ligaments of the SI joint can get injured if a movement or yoga pose is taken too much into the pelvis rather than where it is supposed to happen and the SI joint is compensating. Here is an example:
Reversed Trikonasana
In this pose the femur (upper thigh bone) of the front leg is internally rotated to the degree of your toes pointing forwards, while the femur bone of the back leg is in a slight externally rotated position (yes, it is! If you’re rotating the upper thigh inwards, but your foot is pointing diagonally out, your knee is out of alignment and exposed to a conflict). Your pelvis however is not tipping sideways and opening up, but remains facing downwards (sit bones pointing backwards), which means the external rotation of the back leg depends on personal range of motion and the ability to control the rotation with your external rotators, especially the piriformis. Keep this integrity of the pelvis, when you’re going into the twist.
Axial rotation of the spine (twist) should always happen around an elongated spine. So if the pelvis is facing parallel down to the floor, the spine should lengthen forwards in an equal parallel manner, so probably you should be using a block, or otherwise have to step your feet further apart. Let the twist happen in your thoracic spine (upper half of your back), in order to keep the integrity of your pelvis. If your arm is aligned with your shoulder joint, chances are high, that your fingers won’t be pointing up towards the ceiling, this would require a rotation of 90 degrees held through muscle engagement.
The hipbones are also articulating with the femur bones (upper thigh bones), which creates the hip joint (head of the femur in the hip socket). Possible movements are flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, internal + external rotation and a combination of those, which we could call circumduction (circling motion which creates a cone-like shape).
NEUTRAL PELVIS
The term ‘neutral pelvis’ is often used in (yoga) classes and we all have a vague idea of what it means, but what does it REALLY mean? Here is a short explanation how to find neutrality in your pelvis.
When lying on your back with your feet in a parallel and hip-width apart position, touch your pubic bone and the two upper ends of your hipbones. Those three points should be in one plane parallel to the floor. That’s neutral pelvis in relationship to your spine (right now also in a neutral position).
Once you found neutral pelvis, can you move your legs independently of your pelvis aka find your iliopsoas muscle (deepest layer of abdominal muscles, attached to your spine, connecting lower torso-pelvis-legs)? Where is the integrity of your pelvis in your bridge pose? The integrity of your pelvis in bridge pose is a neutral position in relationship with your legs, not with your spine though, as the spine is not in a neutral position, which demonstrates the conflicts around a term like neutrality. The question is neutrality in relationship to whom?
Here is another example of using neutral pelvis: when going into reclining twists, make sure your pelvis is in a neutral position in relationship with your spine, in order to rotate around an in this case neutral spine (in other twists, we can even try to elongate the spine before twisting around it). This is why I first lie on my side, check in with my pelvis alignment, before I go into the twist.
RELEASING THROUGH THE PELVIS
The pelvis is a place of release and letting go. Physically it is where a big part of the body’s waste elimination happens. Working with the pelvis through movement or stillness in deep hip openers can bring up stored emotions within the body and be a practice of emotional release. Spiritually we ground through the pelvis, take energy from the earth and also let it flow back.
ENERGETIC RELATIONS
The two energetic systems I am usually using as guidelines, when it comes to energetic work, are the yogic system of the chakras and the Chinese medicine system of the meridians. Considering the chakras the pelvis is part of the first two, considering the meridians the pelvis and especially the sacrum are associated with the kidney and bladder meridians. Which makes the pelvis a very emotional place in the body, referring to a feeling of home, safety, grounding, origin, but also giving birth and creating. When we are disconnected from the flow of these energies, blocked or excessively using them without replenishing, feelings of fear, stress, anxiety or being lost can arise. Connecting and working with the pelvis can be a therapeutical approach, when dealing with such emotions.