Roberto Poli
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Shiatsu and the Piriformis Muscle:
“When it’s not the back, but the piriformis that makes itself felt..” (From gluteal pain to the journey to the Three Fires of life)
Do you know that pain that starts in the gluteus and runs down the leg, but isn’t caused by a hernia? It’s false sciatica: the culprit is often a small, deep muscle, the piriformis.
The sciatic nerve, the longest in the body, can be compressed by the piriformis, especially if this muscle is contracted, shortened, or involved in deep tensions that are not just muscular.
The pelvis is a crossroads, a place where emotions, postures, and visceral memories converge.
A sluggish colon, a contracted uterus, difficulty breathing: everything can be reflected in the tone of the piriformis. And from there, the pain runs down the leg, disguised as sciatica.
In osteopathy and kinesiology applied to Shiatsu, we work on a fundamental concept: the balance of the Three Diaphragms.
-The thoracic diaphragm: breath and heart;
-The abdominal diaphragm: viscera and digestion;
-The pelvic diaphragm: deep containment, the root.
When one becomes blocked, the others compensate, and the piriformis tenses.
But if we broaden our view.. In Classical Chinese Medicine, these three levels become the Three Heaters (San Jiao):
-Upper: Breath, Heart, Shen;
-Middle: Digestion, Spleen, Yi;
-Lower: Elimination, Sexuality, Zhi.
And they are also reflected in the so-called “Three Cinnabar Fields” , the centers where we cultivate our energy:
-At the top, the guiding intuition;
-In the center, the organizing intention;
-Below, the will that roots us.
Therefore, treating the pelvis, abdomen, and chest isn’t just about loosening a muscle.
It’s about opening a path between the Three Fires that animate life.
It’s about reestablishing a deep alliance between body, mind, and breath.
It’s about giving voice to an energy that no longer flows.
The pain in my leg is only the first message of a larger story.
A story that passes through the body, but reaches the soul.
Without falling into an excess of anatomical and symbolic poetry, if the path slows down, the body is saying: perhaps, what are you saying, let’s try another way?
My article is inspired by one by Dr. Francesco Rullo, whom I respect for his precision and competence.
He also wrote that the union of forces and time often make utopia a healthy reality.
I’d also like to add that at the Komorebi Center, the synergy between my work and Francesca Cacciamali’s expertise in pelvic floor rebalancing always leads to a multitude of excellent results.
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Roberto Poli
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The levator scapulae muscle: “That muscle that ruins your day” (and that I often stretch on my friends during pool games).
You know that annoying, pain between your neck and shoulder blade?
That muscle that drives you mad every time you’re stressed, cold, or have an argument over your cell phone?
Well, it’s called the levator scapulae. But we all know it as, “the one that makes your neck tense up while you’re driving or pretending to be relaxed.”
An elegant and stubborn muscle, a friend to those who can’t say no.
Treating it is an art, but also a necessity. Often, during pool games, I find myself treating sore friends with 30 seconds of specific technique, and then they return to playing calmly.
In the studio, of course, the treatment is more comprehensive, touching on many points and using elaborate techniques.
QUICK TECHNIQUE FOR THE ELEVATOR SCAPULAE: (so you no longer hate your neck pain)
Sequence:
1 Gently push your shoulder blade down (as if you were emotionally saying: down with pride, up with lightness).
2 With your other hand, apply transverse pressure to the muscle fibers (from the neck to the shoulder blade).
3 Make an effort to breathe in sync, with the person being treated; inhale, thinking of the weight of the contracture; exhale, thinking of releasing it, of surrendering it.
Effect: Instant fusion, return to the mobile neck and perhaps also useful for stimulating more flexible thinking.
Traditional Chinese Medicine points used:
It is often involved in blockages, excess of the so-called “Internal Wind,” tensions due to excess energy in the Liver meridian, and the “retention” of unexpressed emotions in the throat (typical of emotions linked to the Metal Element).
GB21 (Gallbladder meridian) unblocks cervical and hidden anger;
BL10 (Bladder meridian) calms the mind and dissolves knots from the past;
SI14 (Small Intestine meridian) precise in the muscle, like a scalpel;
LR3 (Liver meridian) and TE5 (Triple Heater meridian) blend to free the neck/scapula-mind axis;
LU1 and LU2 (Lung meridian) purify lung Qi (vital energy) and increase breathing capacity.
Natural remedies:
Passionflower and Linden to tell your muscles: “Relax, you don’t have to save the world.”
Bach Flowers: Verbena (too much ideal tension), Willow (old mistakes), Beech (irritation… from living)
Beware of excessive caffeine consumption: here, among many other places and in different ways, it has harmful effects.
The levator scapulae is not just a muscle: it is the “bridge between instinct and thought, between root and direction.”
When it is contracted, it prevents us from “looking” toward the new.
Releasing, it is like giving the body back the right to say: “I can change my mind. I can change direction.”