If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve been told (or you deeply suspect) that your pelvis is twisted, misaligned, or “off.” Maybe it’s showing up in your movement—how you walk, how your clothes hang, how you shift when you sit. Maybe it’s showing up as pain—nagging hip aches, a tight lower back, or that relentless, mysterious discomfort in your tailbone.
I want to offer you something today that’s going to feel both obvious and completely revolutionary:
Your twisted pelvis is not the problem.
It’s your body’s solution.
Let that sink in.
This perspective can change everything—not just your physical approach to healing, but your emotional relationship with your body. And I’m going to walk you through exactly what I mean.
What Does a Twisted Pelvis Look Like (and Feel Like)?
A misaligned pelvis often looks like one hip sitting higher than the other, or your belt line sloping, or your rib cage shifting to one side. Maybe when you bend forward, one leg shows up in the mirror more than the other. You might even notice it in photos—your pants always ride up on one side. These are visual signals.
But what does it feel like?
It might feel like uneven pressure in your hips, asymmetrical tightness in your hamstrings, or pain that jumps between sides. It might feel like something just isn’t lining up, like your body is doing the best it can to hold it all together—and failing.
But here’s the truth: it’s not failing. It’s holding things together because something else isn’t working.
Why Pelvic Misalignment Happens
Your pelvis sits at the literal center of your body. It’s the intersection between your legs, spine, and core. It responds to everything.
A stiff ankle? Your pelvis adjusts.
A weak hip? Your pelvis tilts.
A tight shoulder? Your pelvis rotates to balance the tension.
Years of holding a child on one hip? You already know the answer.
The pelvis is your body’s middle manager, juggling input from every direction and trying to keep things moving as smoothly as possible. When other areas lose range of motion, coordination, or strength, the pelvis steps in and says, “I’ve got this.”
Pelvic misalignment is your body’s way of helping you survive movement when things aren’t optimal.
The Reframe That Changes Everything
If you’re frustrated—angry at your pelvis, blaming it for your pain—please hear this:
What if your twisted pelvis isn’t the problem... but the solution your body created to support you?
Let me tell you why this matters so much.
When you treat your pelvis like the enemy, you go to war with your own body. You push, stretch, force, and criticize. You expect it to “straighten out” and behave. And in doing so, you often ignore the real reason it twisted in the first place.
But when you recognize your pelvis as a solution—an intelligent adaptation—you stop punishing your body and start supporting it.
Person A vs. Person B
Let me introduce two people I see every day:
Person A fights their body.
They see the misalignment as failure. They grit their teeth, obsess over symmetry, and attack their exercises with tension. Their nervous system stays stuck in fight-or-flight. Healing feels like a war zone.
Person B supports their body.
They see misalignment as adaptation. They meet their movement with curiosity, not judgment. They breathe through discomfort, thank their body for protecting them, and gently invite change. Their nervous system softens. Healing becomes possible.
Same misalignment.
Two very different outcomes.
Which one sounds more like you? And which one do you want to become?
How the Pelvis Compensates: Real Examples
Here are just a few of the ways your pelvis might be helping—not hurting—you:
Stiff ankle? The pelvis hikes to reduce load on that leg.
Tight hip? The pelvis rotates to help you move without pain.
Chronic low back pain? The pelvis locks into a tilt to protect vulnerable tissue.
Carrying a child or bag on one side? The pelvis shifts to carry the load.
Working at a desk with one arm elevated? Your pelvis twists to support the asymmetrical upper body.
These are not malfunctions.
These are your body’s solutions.
Why Most Treatments Fail
Most treatments fail because they focus on the pelvis as the problem. They try to force it back into alignment without ever addressing why it misaligned in the first place.
That’s like trying to straighten a leaning tower without fixing its cracked foundation.
If you’ve been strengthening, stretching, and seeing no change—this is probably why.
The Three-Phase Strategy for Long-Term Change
Here’s the roadmap I teach at Pain Academy:
1. Relax and Release
Calm your nervous system. Get out of survival mode. This can be passive (neutral position, supported rest) or active (foam rolling, gentle fascial work). The goal is safety—to tell your body, “It’s okay to let go.”
2. Activate
Wake up the muscles that have gone offline. Remind your body what symmetrical movement feels like. This is where the pelvis begins to shift—not because you forced it, but because the body remembers how to move well.
3. Strengthen
Rebuild from a new foundation. Strength doesn’t mean punishment—it means support. This step locks in the gains you’ve made, giving your pelvis the help it’s been screaming for.
Note: These phases are not separate silos. They work together. Skipping one weakens the others.
Movement Is Emotional
This isn’t just biomechanics. It’s emotional. It’s how you feel in your skin. It’s how you talk to yourself when a movement feels stiff or when pain shows up again. It’s what happens inside you when you look at a photo and see the imbalance.
I've been there.
I spent years addicted to painkillers, feeling like a burden, hiding from people I loved because I hated how I moved and hurt.
Your pelvis might be twisted. But I promise you—there is nothing broken about you.
Start Here
Next time you do a movement routine, ask yourself:
Am I being Person A or Person B?
Am I forcing, or am I supporting?
Am I judging my body, or am I listening to it?