The psoas major is the most important muscle in the body. It is both the main muscle of walking and the main muscle of trauma. In this post we’ll talk about walking. The psoas major, the piriformis and gluteus maximus are the only three muscles connecting the upper and lower body. In large part the balance of the psoas and piriformis muscles is holding the spine upright on top of the pelvis.
Every step you take should be the simple act of the upper body falling forward through space and the nervous system telling the psoas major to pull a leg forward in order to catch you time and time again throughout the day. Most people are probably taking 5,000 steps a day without thinking about any of them.
Walking is falling and catching yourself over and over and your psoas major should initiate the action of the leg moving forward with the help of a whole host of other muscles. The unfortunate reality is that most people are using the quadriceps, the big muscle of the thigh, to walk when it really is the job of the psoas major.
If you are walking/falling forward through space your legs fall underneath your pelvis and your quadriceps works way less. Â The quad does its little bit to help but its main responsibility lies elsewhere at the knee. If you fall forward your psoas major begins to take over the action of walking and the body begins to work more in line with its design.
The sad part of it is if you are not falling forward through space with the help of the psoas major you are leaning backwards through space, using way more muscles than you need to be using, employing none of the body’s design. Walking is a very simple act when accomplished by the psoas major. When you lean backwards through life you make walking way more difficult than it need be.
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