Yoga for Pelvic Alignment

January 15, 2025

Last updated : January 16, 2025

Is your pelvis out of alignment? It's more common than you might think. The pelvis acts as a central hub for your body, with numerous muscles working together to keep your hips both stable and flexible. While injuries and natural pelvis anatomy can throw this alignment off, there's another more common culprit: sitting.

We spend a lot of our day slouched over with our hips bent forward, whether at desks, in cars, or even during activities like walking and running. This constant forward flexion creates a chain reaction. The muscles that bend us forward become short and tight, while those meant to keep us upright end up over stretched and strained, eventually causing a misaligned pelvis if not dealt with.

The good news is that we can practice yoga for pelvic alignment. Through mindful movement and targeted poses, yoga can release tension where it's built up, strengthen what's become weak, and bring natural alignment back to the pelvis.  

Below, we'll explore four deep muscles that impact pelvis stability, understand the causes and symptoms of misalignment, and learn effective yoga poses to restore balance to this crucial area of the body.

Is Your Pelvis Out of Alignment? Causes & Symptoms

The pelvis is a bowl-shaped structure of bones that connects your spine to your legs. Proper pelvic alignment means this "bowl" is balanced in a neutral position, allowing for normal muscle function, organ placement, and movement. 

When aligned, your pelvis creates a stable foundation for your entire body. However, when this balance shifts, it creates two common misalignments known as the anterior and posterior pelvic tilt.

Anterior vs Posterior Tilt

Anterior Pelvic Tilt:

Posterior Pelvic Tilt:

  • Creates an exaggerated arch in the lower back (lordosis)
  • Flattens the natural curve of the lower back
  • Common in prolonged sitting and desk work
  • Common in chronic slouching and weak core strength
  • Results in shortened hip flexors and weak abdominals
  • Leads to shortened hamstrings and weakened back muscles
  • Often leads to lower back pain and hamstring tension
  • Can restrict hip mobility and glute function

While anterior and posterior tilts are common misalignments, they're not the only types we see. Other causes of a misaligned pelvis include:

  • Lateral pelvic tilts (one hip higher than the other)
  • Rotational misalignments
  • Structural variations in hip socket depth
  • Natural leg length differences

Can Yoga Realign the Pelvis?  

The muscles surrounding your pelvis do more than just help you move, they're essential for maintaining stability, proper posture, and supporting movement in both your torso and legs. The pelvis itself forms a protective cradle for important organs, including your bladder, rectum, urethra, and in women, the uterus [1].

Four deep muscles play a particularly crucial role in pelvic health by connecting your spine to your pelvis and thigh bones: 

  • The psoas muscle, a major hip flexor 
  • The iliacus, which works with your psoas to move your hip 
  • The quadratus lumborum (QL), a key stabilizer for your lower back
  • The piriformis, which helps rotate your hip and thigh and stabilize your pelvis 

When these muscles become either too tight or too weak, they can pull your pelvis out of its neutral alignment. This not only causes discomfort and pain but can affect the health of your entire pelvic region, including your hips, spine, and internal organs. 

Practicing yoga for pelvic alignment can safely restore balance to these deep muscles. Through specific yoga poses, you can both release tension where it's built up and strengthen areas that have become weak. This targeted work helps bring your pelvis back into its neutral position. 

Beyond targeted muscle work, yoga can also reduce stress and encourage more awareness and mindful movement in daily activities, whether it’s sitting at your desk or standing upright in a queue.  

However, it is important to note that because everyone's body is different, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to yoga for pelvic alignment. The specific poses and modifications you need will depend on your particular type of misalignment (whether you have an anterior tilt, posterior tilt, or myofascial imbalance), as well as your unique body structure, flexibility, and strength.  

Also Read: What Is Yoga Anatomy – A Guide to Safe Yoga Practices

Yoga for Pelvic Alignment: 4 Must-know Muscles & Poses for Balance

The pelvis plays an important role in the health of our spine and hips. It’s also the foundation of many yoga poses, affecting everything from forward folds to meditation position. As a yoga teacher, understanding the muscles that affect pelvic alignment can better guide students and create a safer, more effective practice for all body types and conditions.  

If you're a practitioner, having this knowledge is also key to your personal practice, allowing you to move with greater awareness and even realign imbalances in your pelvis.  

Let’s explore the 4 muscles attached to the pelvic bones, how your daily habits impact them, and the best yoga for pelvic alignment and stability.

Psoas

Yoga for pelvic alignment - Psoas Muscle

The psoas is a hip flexor that connects from the lumbar and thoracic spine down to the femur (thigh bone). The psoas contracts and gets tight and short from too much forward flexion, especially when sitting.

A tight psoas can pull the pelvis into an anterior pelvic tilt and cause lower back and hip pain because it compresses the discs in the lumbar spine. The best way to prevent this is to release tension and stretch the psoas muscle with gentle yoga poses.

The psoas can be overstretched or weak, too. This can flatten the natural curve in the lumbar spine and put your pelvis into a posterior pelvic tilt (shown below). So, before strengthening a weak psoas, make sure there is no tightness in the muscle. When the psoas is overstretched and tight, it can cause the pelvis to be pulled forward, making the whole back curve. This is also called a swayback position.

Pelvis out of alignment - anterior pelvic tilt, posterior pelvic tilt and forward shifted pelvis

Stress and emotional tension in the hips can also tighten the psoas [2]. Often referred to as the muscle of the soul, the psoas is a deep muscle that runs through the pelvis. A tight psoas can actually impact the internal organs. It can contribute to menstrual cramps as it puts pressure on the reproductive organs [3]. That’s why it’s so important to create awareness of the psoas muscle and release deep seated tensions before strengthening the muscle.

Yoga Poses for Psoas Muscle

The best yoga poses to stretch and release the psoas muscle include:

  • Constructive Rest Pose 
  • Knee to Chest Pose
  • Pigeon Pose (in upright position)
  • Low Lunge
  • Supported Bridge Pose

Once relaxed and stretched, you can activate and strengthen the psoas muscle with:

Iliacus

Yoga to realign pelvis - iliacus muscle

The iliacus is a hip flexor that connects from the surface of the ilium to the femur. The iliacus also gets tight and short from too much forward flexion.

The iliacus and psoas both connect to the femur and are known together as the iliopsoas. A tight iliacus pulls the ilium forward and away from the sacrum, which can lead to instability or pain in your sacroiliac (SI) joints—where your pelvis meets your lower spine.

Yoga Poses for Iliacus

To release the iliacus muscles, you can practice the same poses that relax the psoas.

Quadratus Lumborum

Pelvis anatomy - Quadratus Lumborum

The quadratus lumborum (QL) is a spine extensor that connects from the iliac crest to the lumbar spine and lowest rib. It plays a role in extension, keeping us upright while stabilizing the pelvis and lumbar spine and lateral flexion of the lumbar spine. Again, too much forward flexion can cause the QL muscle to become tight and long.

Yoga Poses for Quadratus Lumborum

To stretch the QL, practice a simple side bend or side bending poses such as:

  • Extended Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)
  • Extended Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana)
  • Side Seated Wide Angle Pose (Parsva Upavistha Konasana)
  • Revolved Head to Knee Pose (Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana)

Once stretched, try these poses to strengthen the QL muscle:

  • Locust Pose
  • Boat Pose
  • Plank Pose
  • Side Plank
  • Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)
  • Warrior 3 (Virabhadrasana III)
  • Baby Cobra Pose (Ardha Bhujangasana)

Read: Guide to Yoga’s 5 Warrior Poses & How to Master the Perfect Form

Piriformis Muscles

Pelvic anatomy - Piriformis Muscles

The piriformis muscles connect from the front of the sacrum to the outer hip, and can rotate the femur externally.

These muscles are crucial stabilizers for your SI joints. When they become tight, they pull your femur into external rotation. This means that when your femur bones are in neutral position, it will cause a continuous pull on the sacrum, eventually leading to instability in the SI joints.

As your SI joints become less stable, you might experience lower back pain and hip instability. The misalignment can even put unwanted pressure on your internal organs, as everything in this region is interconnected.

Tight piriformis muscles are often seen in people who were trained to externally rotate the femur in the hip socket, such as ballet, gymnastics, or soccer. Weak piriformis muscles may cause hypermobility or instability in the hips. Muscle strength is necessary to stabilize the SI joints.

Yoga Poses for Piriformis Muscles

  • Pigeon Pose
  • Half Spinal Twist
  • Cow Face Pose

Tips to Maintain Proper Pelvic Alignment Daily

Relax Tight or Overstretched Muscles

It’s important to first relax and release the muscles connected to the pelvis before stretching them. The level of tension in our muscles is connected to the nervous system. When we just stretch the muscles without releasing deeper tension, the muscles will start tightening up again within just a few hours after the stretch.

Forcing stretched muscles to stretch further, or trying to strengthen already tight muscles, can also lead to injury. Before attempting yoga for pelvic alignment, it's crucial to first release tension in affected muscles.

This could mean:

Practice Constructive Rest Pose

Along with the yoga poses and practices mentioned above, Constructive Rest Pose is a great neutral pose to release tension in all the muscles connected to the pelvis. It gently releases tension and tightness in the psoas and iliacus muscles, and the slight internal rotation does the same for the piriformis muscles, as well as the quadratus lumborum.

How to align pelvis with yoga- Constructive Rest Pose

To come into this pose:

  • Lay on your back.
  • Bend your knees and place your feet hip-width apart or slightly wider on the floor.
  • Bring the knees together, relaxing all the muscles.
  • Set the feet a comfortable distance from the buttocks so the pelvis is in a neutral position.
  • Breathe softly into the belly and become aware of any tightness in the body.

Once muscle tension is released here, you can move into yoga poses for pelvic alignment correction and strengthening.

Avoid Prolonged Sitting

Since sitting for long periods of time negatively impacts pelvis alignment and health, movement is your best solution. Set a timer to remind yourself to take movement breaks every 30-45 minutes during your workday. Even small actions can make a big difference: stand up and do a few hip circles, take a short walk, or try some gentle spinal twists. These micro-movements help maintain healthy blood flow, prevent muscle stiffness, and keep your pelvis mobile.

If you work at a desk all day, try this 10-minute office yoga sequence. These simple poses target common problem areas and can easily fit into your lunch break or between meetings.

Another tip is to set up your workspace to encourage movement. Consider a standing desk and keep a therapy ball handy for occasional sitting breaks. You could also create a dedicated corner for quick stretching sessions.

Be Aware of Your Posture

Check your pelvic alignment throughout the day and make adjustments. When sitting, your sit bones should point straight down, not tucked under or tilted forward. When standing, imagine your pelvis as a bowl of water—it shouldn't spill forward or backward.

Keep your weight evenly balanced between both feet. Notice if you tend to shift your weight to one hip while standing, as this common habit can cause muscular or myofascial imbalances which pull the pelvis out of alignment. 

Keep Moving

Your body is designed to move. During the day, remember to move your spine and femur in all natural directions of flexion, extension, lateral flexion, twisting internally and externally, and abduction and adduction of the femur. This way all muscles stay strong and supple and joints remain flexible and stable.

Include activities that take your joints through their full range of motion, such as:

  • Forward and backward movements (walking, swimming)
  • Side-to-side movements (side stretches, lateral lunges)
  • Rotational movements (gentle twists, dance)
  • Hip circles and figure-8s
  • Multi-directional exercises like Sun Salutations

Final Thought

Yoga for pelvic alignment teaches you to develop awareness and work with your body, not against it. When you're practicing these poses, especially ones that target deep muscles like the psoas, pay attention to where you first feel resistance. That's your body's signal to pause, breathe, and listen. 

Practicing yoga to realign pelvis muscles might seem slower at first, but it's actually the fastest path to lasting change. Rushing into deep stretches or pushing too hard typically leads to more tension—exactly what we're trying to release. 

Take this understanding of your body with you, both on and off your yoga mat. Whether you're sitting at your desk, walking down the street, or flowing through your favorite yoga poses, let this awareness guide you toward better pelvic alignment and, ultimately, better health. 

Sources

  1. Burgess, Michael D., and Felix Lui. "Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Pelvic Bones." StatPearls, StatPearls Publishing, 24 July 2023, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551580/.
  2. Koch, Liz. "The One Muscle That Does Not Need Strengthening." Core Awareness, www.coreawareness.com/the-one-muscle-that-does-not-need-strengthening.
  3. Koch, Liz. The Psoas Book. 2nd ed., Guinea Pig Publications, Felton, 1997, nondualbiodynamics.com/onewebmedia/the-psoas-book.pdf.
  4. Arhanta Yoga Ashrams. Women's Holistic Health Teaching Manual. In Holistic Female Health Coach Course (1.4.2 The muscles attached to the bones). Arhanta Yoga Online Academy. 
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About the author

Sarah Visschedijk

Sarah is an RYT200 certified Hatha and Yin Yoga teacher, as well as an Ayurvedic food and lifestyle coach (KTNO certified, 2018 – 2019). In her daily work as a coach and teacher, Sarah guides women towards more health and balance with the help of Ayurveda and yoga. In her work, she utilizes yoga practices that support and balance the different phases of her client’s menstrual cycle and teaches them to embrace their feminine cyclical power. In her online course ‘Holistic Health Coach for a Healthy Menstrual Cycle,’ you’ll learn how to support women to optimize their hormonal health generally and help them with specific menstrual issues, such as PMS, painful periods, heavy periods, infertility, menopause, fatigue, and pain/bloating related to endometriosis or PCOD.

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