Feet / psoas hurt from stretch lying

Thank you so much for your amazing work, you guys are lifesavers. I had a quick question:

I started stretch lying on my back a few days ago and have no problem practicing it on TOP of my blankets. But when I go to bed and get under my sheets, my heavy comforter pushes down on my feet, causing stress on my psoas. Since my feet are outwardly rotated, they're kind of sticking up (like in the book pictures) and my heavy blankets push down against them, putting stress on my knees and psoas.

I wake up several times in the night with my psoas and feet feeling really sore. It's making stretch lying difficult for me to continue. If I just keep doing this, will my psoas eventually stretch out and stop hurting? Or do you have any other suggestions for me to alleviate this pain?

Thanks!

+ Chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the great question. It would appear from your question that the additional weight of the heavy comforter is placing additional stress on an already tight psoas. Other than removing the comforter, which you probably want for the warmth and security it provides, I would suggest a couple of options. First, with my massage clients I often relieve pressure from the feet by making a small "foot tent" with the blanket. To do this you simply form a pyramid-shaped cone with the blanket and remove the pressure from the feet. Second, you may want to try elevating the knees with an additional pillow or two in order to further shorten the tight psoas. As Esther says, the nighttime is not the right time to do psoas acrobatics. Save that for the daytime when you can stretch the psoas with proper glidewalking and/or lunges. It is important for you to get that critical sleep at night and wake properly rested. I trust that this helps you.

Norm Brekke, Minneapolis