NEUTRAL OR NATURAL? with SETU BANDHA SARVANGASANA

NEUTRAL OR NATURAL? BALANCING THE PELVIS FROM THE

INSIDE OUT WITH SETU BANDHA SARVANGASANA

TOE EXTENSORS & TIBIALIS ANTERIOR

Starting at the feet, we see the front line expressed by the short and long toe ex-

tensors as well as the powerful Tibialis Anterior. To find the Tibialis Anterior, flex

your foot and feel for the bulky muscle on the distal (away from center) portion of

the shin. This powerful muscle runs down the shin and crosses the ankle, inserting

on the medial cuneiform and base of the first metatarsal (the inner half of the foot

and base of the big toe bone) You can probably see the tendon of this muscle when

you flex your foot as it runs diagonally across the top/front of the ankle. Every step

you take requires an uplifting effort from this muscle, as well as the toe extensors,

in order to lift your foot to clear the ground and take a step into the present.

QUADRICEPS

The lower leg and upper leg work synergistically in every step you take, not only

to pull the leg forward for a step, but even to propel that leg forward for a kick or

lunge. This is why the path of fast twitch muscles in our front body take us from

the Tibialis Anterior to the Quadriceps. The Quadriceps are a group of four (quad)

muscles that serve to flex the hip, lifting the leg in towards the body, as well as ex-

tending the lower leg, like when kicking a ball. The quadriceps themselves consist of

three Vastus muscles, spanning the inner thigh, mid thigh and outer thigh, as well

as the Rectus Femoris, which sits atop them. The Vastus muscles originate on the

femur itself, under the hip socket, and inserts as a flattened tendon into the quadri-

ceps femoris tendon, which itself inserts into the upper border of the patella (knee

cap). Vastus intermedius, the vastus lateralis, and the vastus medialis do not cross

the hip, which means that they only serve to extend the knee, but the rectus femoris

muscle, our fourth member of the quadricep team, does cross the hip, which makes

it a two joint player.

The rectus femoris muscle originates above the hip socket, at the anterior inferior

iliac spine and supra-acetabular groove, and inserts down with the rest of the vas-

tus muscles at the knee cap— this means that the rectus femoris can both extend

the knee as well as flex the hip. Take a moment to gently kick an imaginary soccer

ball and feel that the flexion of the quadriceps both extends your lower leg as well

as flexes your hip simultaneously. In our backbends, we work with this muscle

eccentrically, which looks like the pulling back of the foot before you kick that ball.

This action plays out for us in the back leg in the back bend Anjaneyasana. As you

set up the posture it can be helpful to take a smaller stance than usual, find a neu-

tral pelvis and then actually mimic kicking down into the earth with the back leg to

activate the superficial front line as you slowly extend knee, hip, and spine with ‘the

fullness of your awareness’, little by little as, generating eccentric tone across the

front line of the body.

LOOKING CLOSER AT A NEUTRAL PELVIS

Because of our sedentary culture, the muscles of our front line, and especially

the hip flexors, are in flexion most of our day, which means that they are literally

stuck in a shortened state of contraction. This means that when we stand up

from our seat, these muscles may not lengthen out with us— but rather they

keep pulling down, keep contracting, drawing the front of our pelvis down and

forward in an anterior (front) tilt. An anterior tilt in the pelvis creates a down-

ward spiral effect, lengthening the rectus abdominus, shortening the quadriceps

and hip flexors, reversing the pull of our erectors, and compressing our Inter-Ver-

tebral discs. If you add a back bend to this compromised foundation you may

have the ‘pinching’ sensation that many students experience in a yoga class all

too commonly. To avoid this we must take time to neutralize the pelvis, which

means we need to understand what ‘neutral’ means, what it looks like, feels like,

as well as how to cue it.

SPILLING THE PELVIS

We have all heard the cue not to ‘spill the pelvis forward’, which is a way of

teaching a student how to avoid anterior pelvic tilt. This can be confusing,

though, as the pelvis itself does sit at a slight forward angle over the femurs—

so a slight degree of anterior tilt is actually not only natural but essential. For

example, if your hips were actually a bowl, then you could say that healthy hips

would still be ‘spilling forward’ a few degrees in their natural alignment. The

current “norms” are between approximately 4 and 7 degrees of anterior rotation

in males; 7 and 10 degrees in females. But once your hips begin to tilt past those

averages, the aforesaid symptoms begin to develop.

CUEING A NEUTRAL PELVIS

For these reasons, and more to come in our next section, we must take time to

find a neutral pelvic position that naturally incorporates a slight degree of for-

ward tilt, but not a dysfunctional amount. This can be hard to cue in a word, as

the term “Neutral” seems to imply a pelvic bowl that doesn’t tilt at all. The most

important thing is that you know what a neutral pelvis feels like, and that you

can cue that exploration and sensation to your students. We will take time to ex-

plore this concept on our back in the setup to Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge

pose), as this is a great place to work with pelvic tilts and feel for ‘neutral’ or

‘natural’. Because no matter what you call it, back bending begins by establishing

a supported pelvis, and we find that this indeed takes focus, effort and experi-

mentation. From there, we must also begin to pay closer and closer attention to

the first few degrees of work as we extend ourselves back because back bending,

more than any other family, finds its work quickly— meaning you don’t have to

go far to get the benefits, and if you go quickly, you’ll almost surely miss them.

SUMMARY & REFLECTON

The muscles of the front body, including the toe extensors, tibialis anterior, and

quadriceps, play a crucial role in backbends by working eccentrically to provide

strength and flexibility, and establishing a neutral pelvis is essential to prevent

discomfort and ensure proper alignment. Understanding the natural slight

anterior tilt of the pelvis helps in achieving a balanced posture, maximizing the

benefits of backbending exercises.

·

Consider the challenges associated with maintaining a neutral pelvis

and addressing forward head posture. How do these issues impact your

overall body alignment and musculoskeletal health? Share your strate-

gies for incorporating awareness and corrective actions into your daily

routine or yoga practice.