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All Oriental
bodywork techniques include abdominal
massage because it is a way to access
pelvis.
Why is pelvis so
important? For many reasons. The pelvis
provides the basis for the spine as well as
attachment for the legs. The spine has to
carry the 7-10 pounds of neck. The legs needs
to carry us through every step. There are
many organs in the pelvic area, which need some
kind of "squeezing" to get
circulation. The pelvis hosts the muscles that
connect the lower back with the legs, as well
as abdominal muscles. Those two sets of muscles
plus the long back muscles have to be balanced
in order to keep the posture
straight.
In short, pelvis
is a very important "meeting" place,
supporting the legs, the spine, the abdomen and
the lower back and thus the whole body, and
providing the foundation for good
posture.
Let's start with
the pelvis and the legs. If the pelvis is
tight, the legs cannot possibly move as
efficiently, gracefully and fluidly as
they should. Period. If the pelvis is tight,
the legs will hurt, and/or develop varicose
veins and other problems. So, efficient
movement and healthy legs requires stretching
the pelvis.
Next, let's
explore the connection between the abdomen,
lower back and pelvis.
The abdominal
muscles tend to get tight when we feel stress.
Tomas Hanna has excellent books on Somatics.
Also, 21st century living habits cause
tightening of the abdomen - the junk and
processed and too soft food we eat, the
postures we have hunched over ccmputers and
driving wheels and at the desk, the stress,
improper movement, ...
The abdominal
muscles end in the pelvis. If tight, then pull
on the entire pelvic floor, thus causing the
body to "bend over" and give it that
hunched look.
The muscle that
passes through the pelvis as it ties the low
back and the legs is called a psoas, and it
blends together with the muscle that lines the
hips, called iliacus. Iliopsoas is responsible
for bending the hip - when we sit, drive, run,
etc. In short, it gets overused in our daily
lives. When it is tight, it pulls the lower
spine, because it starts there.
So, there is a
tug-of-war between abdominal muscles and
iliopsoas, and the place where the tug is
usually felt is the pelvis.
If there is an
imbalance between the abdominal and those
back/front muscles, as there usually is, the
pelvis becomes tilted (the behind sticks
out) and thus it throws off the lower
back, which throws off the spine and the
head.
The head is
heavy, it weighs about 7-10 lbs. When the head
is off the center line, it moves forward,
which pulls on the neck muscles. Some of the
neck muscles are so long, they end up in the
pelvis, and further tighten it. Some neck
muscles are connected to the ribs and affect
the breathing. Some neck muscles are connected
to the scapula (i.e. the wings) and cause the
shoulders to go up towards the ears.
Therefore, a
tight pelvis throws off the entire back and
neck, and thus will cause lower back ache,
forward head syndrome, neck ache, and many
other issues.
In terms of
organs, the pelvis is a host to a myriad of
important internal organs. Lack of circulation
in the pelvic area will pose problems for the
prostate, bladder, ovaries, uterus, large
intestine, small intestine, and all the organs
in the pelvic area. Thus, tight pelvis
might affect digestion, elimination, and
reproductive functions. (The vice versa holds
true: e.g. if the intestines are not
happy, they throw off the lower back, etc.)
In short, pelvis
is a critical component of human body, just
like all other parts. That is obvious to anyone
who is a balanced human being on all levels,
like someone Hawai'ian. But how come most
Westerners understand how our hands or arms or
legs or neck are important, but we do not pay
attention to the pelvis? Pelvis gets neglected
in the West because the whole Western
civilization is very "heady" and
mental, without regards to emotions or body,
and because of typical prudish attitudes
leftover from traditional western religions,
where the body and sexuality are
forbidden.
Unfortunately,
renouncing the body and the pelvis does not
solve anything, but rather makes the whole
issue a very touchy topic that makes people
feel guilty and do all kinds of immature
things, and of course affects the health
negatively, in all ways. When we live in our
head, when we "disown" our body and
esp. the pelvis and try not to feel it, it gets
neglected, and our health suffers.
So, let's
understand that our bodies are ok, feeling them
does not make us go out and jump on the first
person passing by (if we did that, there would
be no difference between humans and animals -
which might be true for some humans, but
hopefully we evolved some!), and that pelvis is
equally important as any other body part.
Shake it, loosen
it, move it freely, and let your body feel the
comfort and the ease of being balanced and
totally loved and taken care of.
Enjoy!
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