In Session 6 we focus on the back of the body. From the feet to the skull we work to loosen and lengthen the back line. This is one of the few sessions where clients spend a significant amount of time on their belly, which is a relief to most people who experience back pain. Use of supportive Body Cushions keeps clients comfortable while working to release the often painfully overworked superficial musculature of the back.
We start at the feet and continue up the achilles tendon and calfs, activating deep posterior compartments of the low leg. We move to open the back of the knee and keep the fibula bone free from the shin bone. The hamstring group along the back of the leg is peeled away from the underlying femur (thigh bone) and separated out into its four individual muscles. We work the hamstrings and pelvic floor muscles where they originate at the sit bones. We re-address the glutes (gluteus maximus and medius) in order to reach deeper into the hip socket and release the lateral rotator group. This notorious group houses the piriformis muscle and is heavilly innervated by the sciatic nerve (longest in the human body). Because of our work in the previous two sessions, the sacrum (spinal end plate) rests differently in the pelvis and we are able to work the piriformis and other deep rotators in a way the more fully releases the often tense grip of the pesky piriformis from it s hold on the inside of the sacrum allowing full extension of the low spine.
We continue by working the crest at the back of the hips and the SI or sacro-illiac joint where the pelvis meets the end of the spine or sacrum. We move to peel away the ropey chords paralleling the spine from the vertebrae and invigorate the underlying muscles between the vertebrae. We do some shoulder work and prep the neck area for Session 7. Work along the back is supported from the inner spine and groin with continued deep work as we train the psoas muscles to lift the spine from the inside.
Clients often reveal feeling taller and seem to find balance with long standing back issues. A simple yet poignant walking exercise hammers home some key Soma postural cues and settles the client into a new way of thinking about movement and standing posture.
