Summary
Dr. Ales Ulishchenko argues that the psoas (iliopsoas) muscle — a deep core muscle running from the lumbar spine through the abdomen to the femur — is an under-discussed driver of premature aging. He claims a chronically shortened psoas tilts the pelvis forward (hyperlordosis), producing a protruding belly, stiff lower back, sciatica, sagging glutes, slouching, a forward head, and even a sagging jawline. He also links it to the stress response (the kidneys and adrenals sit on the psoas, so stress tightens it) and to fluid retention/swelling via the lymphatic system. The video closes with two self-release techniques: a kneeling hip-flexor stretch with a gentle pelvic rock, and a supine technique where you hook the fingers into the iliac fossa and slowly lower the legs while breathing (4s inhale / 8s exhale). The postural mechanics are broadly sound; the cosmetic/anti-aging claims are marketing overreach.
Key points
- The "hidden" muscle is the psoas/iliopsoas: It attaches to the lumbar spine, runs deep through the abdomen, and inserts on the femur — so pelvic and lower-back biomechanics genuinely depend on it.
- Tight psoas → anterior pelvic tilt: A shortened psoas pulls the lumbar spine into extension, tilting the pelvis forward and exaggerating lumbar lordosis — a well-documented contributor to lower-back pain and reduced hip mobility.
- The downstream "chain" is overstated: The video pins bunions, buffalo hump, jowls, and facial sagging on the psoas. Posture chains are real, but there is no evidence the psoas causes facial aging or bunions — those have separate, well-understood causes.
- Stress connection has a kernel of truth, weak evidence: The kidneys/adrenals do rest on the psoas shelf, and the muscle is involved in the startle/fight-or-flight posture. The "tight psoas exhausts the adrenals" claim is popular in yoga/wellness circles (Liz Koch) but not established physiology.
- Technique 1 — kneeling hip-flexor stretch: Half-kneel on a pillow, shift the pelvis forward with a straight back, feel the stretch down the front of the thigh, and rock gently ~20×. Stop if it hurts. This is a standard, safe hip-flexor stretch.
- Technique 2 — supine psoas release: Lie on your back, knees bent, hook fingertips into the iliac fossa, create upward tension, then slowly lower the legs while breathing 4s in / 8s out, releasing on each exhale. Long exhales engage the vagus/parasympathetic system — a legitimate down-regulation cue.
- Pair with lymphatic work: He recommends morning lymphatic exercises to address swelling, framing the psoas as one part of a larger fluid/fascia picture.
Fact check
| Claim | Verdict | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The psoas attaches to the lumbar spine and runs to the hip/femur, deep in the abdomen | ✅ Confirmed | Standard anatomy of the iliopsoas | Niel Asher Education |
| A tight/short psoas causes anterior pelvic tilt and hyperlordosis, contributing to lower-back pain | ✅ Confirmed | Well-documented biomechanics; shortened psoas pulls lumbar spine into extension and tilts pelvis forward, stressing discs | PMC9464355, Niel Asher |
| The kidneys and adrenal glands rest on the psoas, so stress tightens it | ⚠️ Partially Confirmed | Anatomically the kidneys/adrenals do sit on the psoas shelf, and it's involved in the startle posture; "stress tightens the psoas → adrenal exhaustion" is a popular wellness claim, not established physiology | Physiology of Yoga |
| A chronically tight psoas causes a sagging jawline, jowls, and facial skin sagging | ❌ False | No evidence links the psoas to facial aging; jowls are driven by collagen/elastin loss, bone resorption, genetics, sun, gravity | Healthline, Fox News / expert |
| A tight psoas causes bunions on the big toe | ⚡ Misleading | Bunions are driven by foot mechanics, footwear, and genetics; a postural-load link is speculative and unsupported | Healthline (jowls/aging causes) |
| Slow exhales activate the vagus nerve / parasympathetic system for recovery | ✅ Confirmed | Extended exhalation is a recognised parasympathetic down-regulation technique | Physiology of Yoga |
| "Look 5 years younger and tighten face and body in 20 days" (paid program) | ❓ Unverified | Marketing claim with no cited evidence; treat as promotional | — |
Related resources
| Type | Name | URL | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🎓 | Dr. Ales Ulishchenko's "rejuvenation program for women" | not given in transcript | Paid program promoted via on-screen link; "look 5 years younger in 20 days" marketing claim |
Transcript
(click to expand)
Auto-generated transcript — may contain transcription errors.
There's a muscle in our body that doctors don't talk about, but it's stealing your youth. Specifically, this muscle is the cause of a protruding belly, a stiff lower back, a sagging jawline, and chronic fatigue. And people spend years doing crunches, seeing massage therapists, and dieting. Yet, nothing changes because this exact muscle remains tight and affects our entire body. And ultimately, this leads to a situation like this. So, in this episode, I'll explain what this muscle is and how to relax it so you can extend your youth and longevity. So, what is this muscle? It's a special muscle that you can't feel with your hands because it's located very deep within the abdomen. It attaches to the lumbar spine and runs deep through the abdomen and then it attaches to the hip right here. And this muscle is very important because the entire biomechanics of our pelvis and lower back depend on it. When this muscle begins to shorten, it leads to a situation where the distance between the hip and the lower back decreases and everything tightens up. This results in a loss of mobility. Instead of moving easily, a person starts walking like this. Their pelvis becomes more like stone. Along with this, the lower back becomes extremely tight. Sciatica, lower back pain, sacrum pain. This is often linked to this muscle. The pelvis begins to tilt forward. This creates a posture with severe hyperordosis and the belly starts to protrude. The abdominal muscles begin to weaken. Organs start to bulge forward and the center of gravity shifts to the front. This leads to an overload on the front part of the foot. And this is where a bunion starts to form on the big toe. The glutes relax and consequently the hips begin to sag. Saddle bags appear here, meaning cellulite is being deposited. The center of gravity gradually shifts forward, exerting a constant pull on the chest fascia. As a direct result, the chest begins to collapse inward, leading to chronic slouching and the development of a buffalo hump. So-called salt deposits accumulate here, and the neck shortens. The head starts to jut forward and of course the jawline begins to sag. Jowls appear. The face loses its contour and the skin becomes saggy. One more crucial point to consider is that this muscle is intimately linked with the rest of the nervous system because the kidneys and adrenal glands are positioned directly on top of it. Every time we experience stress, the signal is sent to the adrenals and the solar plexus. So every stress acts like an impulse that begins to tighten this muscle. That's exactly why you get that feeling of stiffness in your lower back. If you've noticed that as soon as you get nervous, it radiates to your back and you feel stiffness in your back and sacrum. That's why you must learn to work with it. Because if this muscle is constantly tight, your body will compress like a spring. And this is what you'll look like as you age. And these are just the external signs because if this muscle is tense then of course chronic stress will be present in the background and that already affects the hormonal system and the thyroid gland. It also affects the function of female internal organs because when such congestion and tension form chronic inflammatory diseases appear and when the nervous system relaxes it activates the vagus nerve the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for recovery and regeneration. Also this muscle affects the kidneys and fluid retention. So if these fasci and this muscle are chronically tense then hello swelling. And to get rid of this swelling besides this muscle you need to work with the entire lymphatic system. And I start every morning myself with lymphatic exercises. If you want to look 5 years younger and tighten face and body in 20 days, I invite you to my rejuvenation program for women with best techniques. All you need to do is just click the link, get the exercise, and start doing it. Now, I'll show you a technique for working with the soaz muscle to return our body to a youthful and healthy state. And first of all, to relax this muscle, you need to take this position, rest your knee on a pillow. So, you shift your pelvis forward, right? While keeping your back straight, meaning you don't bend over. Okay? And you'll feel a stretch here along the front of your thigh. So this muscle is already being activated. Next, you can place your hands on your lower back and do these movements. A slight arch. Just do this kind of rocking motion. And do this 20 times. You can go until you feel the stretch and hold it. Tilt your head up slightly and then back. And just like that, we do this rocking motion. Rock gently without increasing any spasm. if there is one. Just go slowly. We're doing this warm-up and stretching. Take a deep breath in and out. And then with your thumbs, you can move along the lumbar vertebrae from bottom to top. And as you slowly rock back and forth, you might feel what's going on in your back. If there's any tension there, it will gradually start to relax and fully release. If you suddenly feel pain or discomfort, stop. Don't push through pain or discomfort. Then do the same thing on the other side. After you manage to put the other leg forward, shift your whole body weight and start making this kind of movement. And then from the sacrum, move up. Raise your hands and go through it. Feel how this muscle tenses up. Now it's on my right side. And do a simple warm-up like this for this specific muscle. If you just do this every single day, you'll notice a huge difference in how much better your lower back and pelvic area feel. Your gate will change. You'll feel lighter. Swelling will go away. Even your face shape will tighten up so that along this side here and here, it feels free. After that, notice how your pelvis becomes more mobile. If you do a before and after test, your pelvis will start to rotate more easily. Why? Because these muscles, they're relaxing. And once you've done that, for the second technique, you just need to lie on your back. Yeah. Here's the pelvis. And behind the bone inside, there's a hollow. And try to dive deeper in there with your fingers. That muscle is deep in there. So, you should bend your legs. Place your hands on both sides like this. Yeah. Into those hollows. You've sort of hooked the tissue with your fingers and are pulling it up toward you. Create an upward tension. I've placed my fingers deep inside. My fingers aren't sliding on the skin and I'm pulling up toward myself. And I'm gradually, see, starting to move my toes in this specific way so that my legs very slowly lower down to the floor. Somewhere deep inside, tension starts to build. I'm holding that tension inside my abdomen, which goes down to the hips. And I just breathe taking a deep breath in and out. And I try to inhale for 4 seconds and exhale for 8 seconds. First inhale, then a slow exhale. And release all the tension as you exhale. And then exhale again. And gradually with each breath, you'll feel the tension melting away. And you'll need to move your legs further to create tension again. Take a breath in and on the exhale, a slow exhale, release all the tension. And you'll feel that this muscle is sort of melting, relaxing. Inhale once more. And exhale. Then we lower the legs even more until tension is felt. Reach a new level of tension. Great. There's a lot of tension there. So, you can just lie like this. You can even do this while lying in bed and you'll rejuvenate with this technique. Release the tension. Apply tension again. Lower your legs further down. And so on until your legs are flat. Maintain constant tension. A lot of tension builds up there. So you can do this technique every single day. And you'll feel a more and more profound sense of relief gradually starting to flow throughout your lower abdomen and pelvis. Stretch again, lowering your legs as much as possible. Fully lowered. Now breathe in and a slow exhale for 8 seconds. Breathe in once more. And after that, just relax and take a rest. And then feel how your pelvis has become more mobile with more lightness in the pelvic area, lower back, and sacrum right here. And overall, you'll start to feel rejuvenated. Well friends, please write in the comments how you like the effect and what you felt after doing these techniques. Be sure to share this with your loved ones and friends because these are truly very important techniques and you'll feel an incredible sense of relief throughout your body. I can guarantee you that's all for me today. This was Dr. Als with you and see you next time.