This article originally appeared in MindBodyGreen.
As a certified Pilates instructor, the No. 1 complaint I hear from my clients these days is that their hips are killing them from all the sitting and screen time they've been doing. You yourself might be thinking, "I stretch my hips all the time and they're STILL tight!" The instinct to stretch when you're experiencing symptoms of achiness and pain is a good one—but it only works temporarily. Now, let me introduce you to an important part of your hips that could probably use some attention: the psoas.
What is the psoas?
The psoas is your primary hip flexor, connecting your lumbar vertebrae to your femur, or thigh bone. It begins at the bottom of your mid-back (the T12 vertebra, to be exact), wraps around your pelvis over the hip points, and connects to the inner thighs. In addition to flexing the hip, or drawing the leg and torso closer together, it also functions as one of your deepest core muscles.