Spine - strong & flexible

Your spine is the great negotiator. It compensates for the way your hold your head, your hips, your knees and feet. When students arrive in class I can often see habits lodged in their body – chins jutting out, knock knees, collapsed foot arches, uneven hips, depressed chest or tummy spilling forwards. Over time these postures and attitudes become unconscious which makes them more challenging to change. It’s important to become aware, to become mindful, to undo and unwind in order to free up the spine. Also consider if these need to change if you’re experiencing back pain.

This post is about keeping your back healthy. Consider trying yoga practice in the Scaravelli tradition where the spine is soft and flexible, and the legs and arms provide strength and support. Look up a specialist teacher to experience it for yourself. It appears to be a quiet, soft practice but I can vouch that in its quiet way it is a kind of yoga that demands deep strength. While I can suggest some postures to experiment with and help you learn about your own spine, this isn’t a yoga therapy prescription. Backs are complicated structures and need personal attention. Get to know how your spine moves and where it’s stuck, what eases it and what causes discomfort. And when you need to consult a specialist like an osteopath or chiropractor.

Spines need to be balanced between flexibility – a fluid, wide but comfortable range of movement, and strength – power to support your body (and in yoga, your mind ‘get some backbone!’). Every balanced yoga class incorporates all the major movements of the spine and I suggest you aim to make these every day of your life: forward bend, backward bend, side bend, twisting, inverting.

Forward bending is the most common every day movement. If you find forward bending difficult, it’s important to understand which part of the mechanics are a problem. Often students blame tight hamstrings, but if you bend your knees and still feel uncomfortable, it’s more likely to be your back that’s tight. The most gentle way to release is from lying on your back, knees bent, bringing knee into the chest and gradually straighten the leg more each time you practice. A little and often. You didn’t become tight in 15 minutes and it will take a while to unwind too. Another issue can be the psoas muscle connecting lower back to thigh which is very emotional (babies use it in their startle response). I need another blog entry to deal with that! Prolapsed (‘slipped’) discs are aggravated by forward bending, take extreme care. In yoga forward bends are humbling and cooling, about bowing to your higher self – show yourself compassion and respect when you practice. Slow, controlled, without bouncing. Also keep your chin in. Leading with the chin according to yoga shows pride, on a more practical note it arches the back and can cause strain. Progressive lifting out of forward bends helps to strengthen supporting muscles along with variations on sits ups and navasana (boat).

Back bends are generally therapeutic and apart from a morning stretch, not often part of everyday movements. Some students find them scary – both fear of the unknown, a sense of ‘falling’ backwards and also they open the heart, releasing stuck emotions – often fear, grief and anger. Students have told me about crying at home after deep backbends. Bridge is the perfect introduction to back bending as it is well supported. Warrior I is helpful too, by giving you feelings of strength as well opening the front of the body. Notice when you backbend how the lower back wants to do all the bending and how the upper back get left out. Consider how to make a graceful arch through the whole of the back from crown to tailbone. Chest openers like gomukhasana and yoga mudra can help free the upper back. Cobra without arms helps to strengthen muscles that support the spine from the back.

Side bending helps to extend the side of the body. Be careful to start well supported until you build strength. Triangle, with feet facing forward or swaying palm are useful for flexibility. Star balance or ardha chandrasana, half moon, are great to build strength.

Twisting squeezes the discs of the spine, then on release, floods them with fresh fluid to help keep them spongey and flexible. They also deepen breathing by stretching the muscles between the ribs too. Make space before you twist by drawing yourself upwards through the centre, keeping shoulders relaxed. Breathe deeply for the full benefits once you’re in position. Start with something relaxed like jathara paravritti and work up to deeper twists like revolved triangle - paravritti trikonasana or half lord of the fishes pose – ardha matsyendrasana.

Inversions work by taking the weight off the spine and allow it to decompress. Throughout the day you shrink with the impact of gravity, squeezing the discs. Simple as putting your feet on the sofa seat while you lie on the floor, or headstand or shoulderstand for the more ambitious (learn with a yoga teacher for safety first!).

Above all, be mindful how you stand, sit lie and move throughout the day, aiming to become stronger and more fluid.

Next time: Yoga to liberate your breath

Advertisement