Growth of a Tree

YOGA FOR THE BACK

How does everything in nature grow without effort? How can a tiny seed contain all the information needed to become a great tree? How does a plant know how to turn sunlight, air and earth into life energy? Because the conditions are right and vitality simply flows. Yoga offers methods for creating the conditions in which health and vitality can flow through us. The principal channel for that flow is the spine: it holds us upright while the periphery relaxes. We bring the feeling of a growing tree into the body through movement and asanas. We mobilise, decompress and strengthen the back and its supporting structures. We create a stable base, the roots of the tree, which gives us the possibility of effortless growth. A comfortable, healthy spine is the foundation from which we can build health and security. Through it, the body connects as a whole and we return to the present moment.

Mindful journal: feel the spine as the axis through which you grow. Several times during the day, remember to feel that axis, connect with it and grow. Notice what else can fall away when you direct attention there.

Yoga therapy for:

• back pain and tension
• back problems
• connection throughout the body
• opening the chest
• upright posture
• spinal strength
• spinal mobility
• endurance and strength

INTRODUCTORY TALK AND YOGA CLASS ON THE MONTH’S THEME – 75 MIN

GROWTH OF A TREE

Here is our new theme, which is actually an old and fundamental yogic theme. We do not need to add anything new; we simply need to practise regularly for the health and quality of the back muscles. :)

We briefly explore the basic perspective of yoga therapy: we do not try to reach health by adding something, but remove the causes that prevent it, because nature tends towards vitality and our task is to make that possible.

We then consider the qualities of a healthy spine: strength, mobility, supportive structure, effortless uprightness, foundation, axis and growth. Growth is naturally not only physical but spiritual, including the growth of mental qualities, alertness and awareness.

We also explore what is formally called postural dysfunction, a list of characteristics that create poor conditions for spinal health. Through yoga practice, we move in the opposite direction from what obstructs us and see maintaining health as a responsibility towards ourselves and others.

After a short talk, we practise the exercises we will use throughout the month. Some foundational back exercises are usually performed on the abdomen, which I cannot do at the moment, so I guide us on a journey to find other ways of achieving the same or an even better effect.

You may feel the arms, armpits, back and the connection across the front of the body working. This is the integration of everything together, and the principal positions in which we experience it are Table, or all fours, and Plank. 

We play with this principle, and it is perfectly fine if you feel a little new strength. During the month, we naturally weave these positions into the flow of other movements. We also practise more stable standing asanas and may hold them a little longer. Have a block and strap ready and available.

40 MIN

1. SLOW LENGTH

Continuing the opening of our new monthly theme, today we work on lengthening. We find length in the spine through a movement that stretches the arms upwards and lets the weight of the pelvis descend. More importantly, the inhalation in this open movement inflates the spaces between the vertebrae.

We introduce the principle at the beginning and repeat it throughout the class, raising the arms high and extending to our maximum length from one foot to the opposite palm in Downward Dog, Plank, High Lunge and more.  

This is a physical movement of the arms and also a way of drawing the back out energetically. You can feel the direction of energy and add an inner movement after the physical one has ended.

We move slowly and carry this length through the body with calm control. This is why today’s class is dedicated to slow length. We gently strengthen the front plane of the body, developing stable, integrated strength as an underlying theme within the theme.

We move through several standing and seated sequences, then remain in the ease of inhabiting a body through which this calm energy has travelled. 

Mindful journal: Begin this month’s journal by describing your attitude, belief and opinion about yourself or an aspect of yourself. It does not matter if it is not as you would like it to be; simply describe it. Be honest and realistic. Attitudes and beliefs are the inner voices that describe reality to us, and we believe them. Before we can change one, we need to become aware of it. 

40 MIN

2. PARALLEL TO GRAVITY

This morning, we continue integrating and stabilising the spinal muscles. From the beginning, we consider that many back problems arise because the spine spends most of the day perpendicular to gravity. Muscles activate repeatedly in the same way and the spine becomes compressed.

This class emphasises exercises in which the spine is parallel to gravity. Holding this perspective from the start helps us experience muscular activation and challenges differently. A position may feel more difficult simply because it is unfamiliar and different muscles are working, which is precisely why we want to enter fully into this perspective.

You can probably guess that we practise positions in which the spine is parallel to gravity: Table or all fours with the back muscles activated by lifting the arms and legs; forward-folding positions with the back parallel to the floor; High Lunge, Warrior I, Parsvottanasana and Prasarita. Afterwards, we rest seated and practise several more forward folds.

We integrate this work and strength with awareness of the calm energy that develops as the spine grows stronger. :)

Mindful journal: What does spirituality mean to you? What are freedom and inspiration? Are you chasing an ideal, feeling or state that would confirm your worth or progress? Answer honestly and notice whether the answer contains craving for something absent or aversion towards what is here, as though it were not good enough.

MINDFUL SLOW FLOW CLASS – 40 MIN

3. WHAT DOES THE SPINE LOVE MOST?

We begin with a simple visualisation of the spine and its segments, drawing attention towards it. The spine loves clear communication between every individual and neighbouring segment and throughout the whole.

We deepen the breath and release stress from the body. The inhalation opens space between the vertebrae and the exhalation relaxes it. With this attention, we begin comfortable back movements and feel every vertebra moving. In flexion and extension, the relationship between the front and back changes: one opens while the other shortens. In lateral movement, the relationship between the sides changes. We then practise slow rotations, distributing torsion evenly through all the small joints.

We repeat the same directions with the same attention while on all fours and finally, lying on the back, move through a continuous series of slow, controlled rotations that feels like true medicine for the back. :)

Enjoy the class, give yourself time and do not rush. It is important to move slowly and descend into yourself.

Mindful journal: Can you say, at least once and briefly: everything is exactly as it should be; everything is as it is? Can you accept that all our projects, desires, hopes and plans are in process? The rational mind does not understand this process, but allowing it to unfold and flow is an act of courage. What would it be like to release the inner control freak and know that everything is still moving? How does this perspective change something difficult that you cannot alter?

40 MIN

4. GROWTH FROM THE ROOTS

Beginning with the analogy of a tree growing from strong roots and drawing power from the earth, today we strengthen the roots of the spine. We work the legs and pelvic floor through several genuinely strong asanas so that the spine can lengthen from them. Do not become discouraged if it feels difficult for a short time. These are the muscles of vitality, and strengthening the legs and pelvis is an investment in health and youthfulness. Strength is power and does not need to be stress; that is the relationship we establish towards these exercises. :)

We practise more Utkatasana variations, slow and controlled rises into High Lunge, Garudasana and similar poses. On the floor, we then settle and open the hips to stretch the glutes activated throughout the class. 

Begin and follow the class in order; you will see how grateful your body feels afterwards. :)

Mindful journal: See effort and the energy you invest as a gift to yourself, the effort to overcome difficulty physically and emotionally. This is the Buddhist concept of right effort, which consists of four steps. Right effort is a virtue. May we practise it.

40 MIN

5. ALIGNING THE BACK

Today’s starting question is how to arrange the back so that it lengthens from the pelvis. We approach this in two parts. First, we open and mobilise the hips so the pelvis can align more effectively in relation to the back; then we strengthen the back muscles.

We begin with variations of wide squats and Warrior II, adding gentle pulsations to awaken and lubricate the hips without aggression. 

We then practise sun salutations with added pulsations that mobilise the hips while naturally moving everything else as well.

For the hip-focused portion, we practise more Warrior II and Prasarita and a variation of Frog. You will recognise the pose. Enter slowly and find a constructive measure. After Frog, we sit back towards the floor, so prepare a block or cushion behind you. We move through Baddha Konasana and finish with several exercises that strengthen the back.

To feel the effect of these two connected steps, we sit quietly once more, allow the pelvis to settle and let the spine lengthen from it.

Mindful journal: Turn attention towards yourself with gratitude. Feel the calm and structure built through the practice of long, steady lines and notice when restlessness enters the body. What causes it? Can you lengthen the breath through the body and restore a calm that will be reflected in the mind?

MINDFUL SLOW FLOW CLASS – 40 MIN

6. WHAT ELSE DOES THE SPINE LOVE?

The second thing the spine loves most is inversion. 

We therefore dedicate today’s gentle, meditative class to turning upside down. Only a little upside down, but it still counts. :) We practise a soft Downward Dog, Dolphin from Table, Anahatasana and an Anahatasana twist , together with the always cheerful Rabbit. 

We dive into the body in these poses and allow attention to descend into its depth. Here we gain a special inner experience of the body and naturally deepen the breath  along the same pathway.

The spine loves inversions and especially loves deep breathing that expands the spaces between the vertebrae. As decompression creates space in the back, we also create space around bodily sensations, separating awareness from what is happening.

There is a great difference between a thought or emotion arising and immediately immersing ourselves in and believing it, and remaining spacious as the awareness that sees the emotion, thought or state. We are awareness, not what happens within awareness. This spaciousness is not abstract; it is the feeling of the body. The body is here and now, vibrating exactly as it does. Thoughts and emotions arise from the body. The point is to see what happens in awareness without becoming immersed in it. This is part of mindful yoga practice, in which we remain spacious through the body. 

Mindful journal: Choose one bodily sensation during practice, or during your day, and see it as an event that changes and passes through awareness rather than something solid and fixed. Distinguish the observer from what is observed. How do you experience the sensation from this perspective? 

40 MIN

7. SPIRALLING GROWTH

A tree also grows in a spiral, organically, just as fluids in nature move in spirals. Today’s class explores this theme through twists around the axis of the spine.

We begin with gentle spiralling rotations that warm the back and organs, then practise sun salutations with added twists in Low Lunge. 

We hold rotations in several poses and deepen them with the breath. We twist while standing, in forward folds and with the back parallel to the floor. This is an interesting play between the axis of the spine and gravity.

From the beginning, we add purposeful breathing to the rotations. You already know the pattern: on the exhalation, we contract the abdomen and deepen the twist; on the inhalation, we lengthen the back. Breathing in this way sends energy upwards. Each exhalation contracts and presses, while every inhalation extends. This adds an energetic quality to the poses.

Do not worry, the class is a little longer because we relax and roll through twists and rest in Shavasana.

Mindful journal: What is organic, natural and flowing in your life? What feels artificial, fixed and unable to flow in your relationships, emotions and body? Consider the nature of nature itself and how energy moves. How is it for you?

40 MIN

8. AROUND THE HURRICANE

As we mentioned last time, if life revolves around the axis of the spine, which we call the axis of the present moment, then it is the still point at the centre of the vortex, around the hurricane.

Today, we connect with this calm centre within and practise exercises that turn around its axis.

Again, we play with twists. We introduce them from a seated position, continue during the warm-up and sun salutations and hold several rotating poses. The class is not overly strenuous, so enter it with joy. :)

Everything in nature turns and moves, but we want to remain calm with that nature and observe the vortex around us from the stillness of the spine.

Mindful journal: Where is your still point? Can you feel it? Is it available to you? How can calm observe unrest? In stillness, we connect with what is greater, stronger and deeper than us; in stillness, we touch the sacred. 

40 MIN

9. GROWTH FROM THE SHOULDERS

In the final week, we explore growth through the upper back so the chest and neck can lengthen from their base. We begin with a simple exercise in which we lower the arms and shoulders while holding a strap behind the back, then extend the neck in the opposite direction. You will recognise this simple exercise because we have practised it before.

We imitate the movement of the diaphragm and follow its logic. We create two opposite directions: on the inhalation, the diaphragm descends while the chest grows upwards, just as in this exercise. We involve the whole body, rising from a squat on the inhalation as the arms press down, increasing the length of the chest and neck.

It is very simple and will feel logical. We repeat the same movement in several exercises and from different leg positions. :)

Enter fully into the feeling of the neck extending from the shoulders and the chest opening through the density of movement. Notice that this is not only a muscular direction but an energetic movement. At the end, we strengthen the back on all fours and lengthen in Baddha Konasana.

Mindful journal:  May I grow into my Buddha nature, cultivating more patience, calm, love, right effort and compassion.

40 MIN

10. FROM SILENCE TOWARDS THE SKY

We continue the logic introduced in the previous class, lengthening the upper back and neck through two opposing forces. As we rise from the floor on the inhalation, we extend the crown upwards while pressing the shoulders down through the strength of the arms. On the exhalation, we simply return to the starting point. The inhalation stretches us into growth towards the sky; the exhalation returns us to silence.

First, we dive into our depth, into the quiet of the spine where calm and truth reside. We connect the breath with the structure of the back and build slow movements from that attention.

This time, we hold the strap behind the back and rest it against the upper edge of the pelvis, bend the elbows and draw them towards one another, bringing the shoulder blades together and lowering the shoulders. We add this position to standing and seated asanas and also practise Gomukha arms in several poses.

Again, move slowly and with full attention. Feel yourself grow through the neck, perhaps even more energetically than physically.

Mindful journal: Feel the whole and the movement of breath throughout the body. We can hold contraction in the abdomen or jaw while imagining that we are relaxing tension through the shoulders, but that is not the complete path. The face and inner expression need to soften, together with the abdomen and diaphragm. Then we immerse an unpleasant experience in acceptance and openness. We accept through the body. 
What does that mean to you?