Why the psoas keeps tightening back.
The psoas is the messenger, not the source. If it's chronically tight, something else has stopped doing its job — and the psoas is taking up the slack. Trigger-point work, somatic release, and manual psoas pressure all reduce the symptom for a few hours, sometimes a few days. Then the same load comes back and so does the tightness. Here's what's actually happening upstream.
The psoas is the messenger. Rarely the source.
Your psoas is doing a job it wasn't built for
The psoas is a deep hip flexor, not a postural muscle. When your pelvis tips forward and parts of your hips stop engaging, the psoas takes up the slack. It holds you upright, walks you across the room, and stabilizes your back. It works 24/7 because nothing else is. That's why it never lets go.
Why direct release is temporary
Foam rollers, elbow work, manual psoas release — they all reduce tension in the moment. But if the pattern that loaded the psoas hasn't changed, it tightens again within days. You can keep digging in. The psoas keeps gripping. The cycle is the problem.
The lasting release happens at the pattern
Once Dr. Garrett identifies which parts of your pelvis or hips have shut down and brings them back online, the psoas no longer needs to overwork. It releases on its own. And it stays released because nothing is asking it to grip anymore.
This is exactly what your first session finds.
Book your first session — $225→First session guaranteed · In person SF or virtual
Where psoas tension actually comes from.
The psoas is the most loyal muscle in your body. It will grip for as long as you need it to.
Your pelvis is forward of center.
When the pelvis tips forward, the psoas has to hold the front of your spine up against gravity. That's a postural job. The psoas is happy to do it for years, but the cost is a permanent grip. Most chronic psoas tension starts here.
Your deep hip stabilizers have shut down.
Sitting for hours changes the balance between the front and back of your hips. Glutes that should fire don't. Deep external rotators that should engage stay quiet. When the hip stops doing its job, the psoas becomes the only thing holding you together below the diaphragm.
The psoas can't relax until the pattern changes.
You can release the psoas directly. It will release for hours. It tightens again because the demand returns the moment you stand up. The lasting fix is upstream: bring the hip back online, return the pelvis to position, and the psoas relaxes itself.
What happens in your first session.
Full assessment, guided protocols, and a take-home practice. 60 minutes.
Assessment
Dr. Garrett assesses how your body moves. Where it's overworking, where it's shut down. He's looking at your whole body, not just the part that hurts.
Guided protocols
Using simple props (yoga blocks, foam rollers, gymnastic rings), Dr. Garrett guides you through protocols adapted to your body in real time. You're not lying on a table. You're moving, finding positions where your body starts to rebalance itself.
What changes
Most clients feel a noticeable shift during the first session. The overworked areas release. The underworked areas start to re-engage. You feel the difference before you leave.
Take-home practice
You leave with a short practice for what was worked on that session. About five minutes. You do it on your living room floor. It maintains the changes and keeps your body moving in the right direction between sessions.
Virtual sessions work well for psoas release. The work is in finding the pattern and changing the load — not in hands-on muscle work. Dr. Garrett assesses your posture and movement via live video and guides you through positions that release the psoas at the source. Most clients notice their psoas softening during the first virtual session.
People who came in with the same thing.
I thought the best I could hope for was less pain. I've never felt this at home in my body.
I went from barely walking to six-mile hikes. I didn't think that was possible for me again after my accident.
I follow his protocol every day. 8 months no pain.
Most clients feel a difference in their first session.
Book a session with Dr. Garrett. If you don't experience noticeable relief, we keep working with you until you do, at no additional charge.
Common questions.
If something isn't here, ask on a free discovery call. Dr. Garrett answers everything before you book a paid session.