Healthy Back

Yoga for the back
The spine is the body’s “electrical line” because information from the nervous system travels through it. It carries an enormous amount of energy and is therefore considered the central energetic channel in yoga,Sushumna. Naturally, pain, restricted mobility or compression can affect the whole body, so one of yoga practice’s principal motivations is keeping the spine vital. This month, we strengthen the muscles along the spine, move in its six fundamental directions, rotate around its axis, breathe along the back and practise targeted exercises for scoliosis, kyphosis and lordosis and for recovery after a herniated disc. 

Mindfulness: There is no yogic or meditative path without a moral axis. This is yoga’s first step and the foundation of the Noble Eightfold Path in Buddhism, as well as a starting point in other religious philosophies. In short, do not do to another what you would not want done to you. Alongside strengthening the back muscles, we strengthen and clarify our moral axis by contemplating the importance of sincerity and ethics. 

Yoga therapy for: 

• spinal mobility
• lower back pain
• strengthening the spinal column
• a stiff back
• strengthening the abdominal wall
• shallow breathing
• poor sleep and insomnia
• headaches

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

VITAL SPINE

Here is one of the central pillars of yoga practice: work with the spine. It is the body’s backbone and therefore central to our complete wellbeing. In the talk, we explore the fundamentals of how the back and the muscles along it maintain posture, the quality of these muscles and the spine’s directions of movement. Visual materials accompany the talk, making it easy to follow. After the introduction, we practise a class of back exercises. It is gentle and consists only of fundamental, comfortable movements performed with great attention. I think you will also appreciate it as restorative time. Altogether, we open a new theme and month of yoga in which we deepen mobility and stability in the back. 

40 MIN

1. VITALISE

We open the month with gentle movement and mobilisation of the back. We move in its six fundamental directions, combine them and pulse.

We perform the movements slowly and carefully, focusing on moving the vertebrae and the first layer of deep muscles along the back.

We breathe through this channel and establish alertness and relaxation through the breath. We gradually introduce the precise mobility and movements we will develop throughout the month. We pulse from Scorpion Downward Dog into Plank with the opposite knee. This is more demanding for the arms and challenging for the back, so move gently and precisely. Precision matters more than believing the leg needs to travel far behind the back.

60 MIN

2. STRONG FOUNDATIONS

The spine is built from its base, the pelvis. The degree to which the spine needs to compensate depends on the pelvis’s position and tilt. If the pelvis tilts forwards because shortened psoas muscles pull it there, the lumbar back curves excessively to compensate and keep us upright. If the pelvis tucks under because shortened hamstringspull it there, the healthy curve of the lower back disappears and the back muscles again struggle to maintain uprightness. The pelvis can also be asymmetrical and lower one side of the back, potentially contributing to scoliosis. If the pelvis is not well aligned, we cannot speak of effortless upright posture. Today’s class is therefore dedicated to lengthening the psoas and hamstrings and mobilising the pelvis in flexion and extension. 

MINDFUL SLOW FLOW CLASS – 40 MIN

3. SPIRAL

This Mindful Slow Flow class is so slow and mindful that it is more a meditation with “a little rolling around on the floor” than yoga. We practise gentle rotations around the spine’s axis, developing from shallower to deeper movements, holding briefly and relaxing. In the second part, we place cushions beneath the knees, using a bolster or rolled mat, and follow a guided relaxation.

The spine is a luminous axis within us, from which light spreads through the body and brings relaxation.

We remember that it is all right to let the nervous system process the experiences it needs to, something that happens naturally when we relax.

40 MIN

4. INSTANT EASE

It is not exactly instant because you still need to move a little, but unlike many complicated attempts, this class brings ease into the hips and back very simply. We work with rotations of the hips, movements that help mobilise the deep connective tissues underlying the pelvis’s position and therefore effortless uprightness. We rotate from the hips while keeping the back straight so that the movement does not dissipate as a wave through the spine but travels deeply into the hip while the spine remains stable and becomes stronger.

60 MIN

5. THE LINE OF THE LOWER BACK

We dedicate the class to finding space in the lower back by lengthening muscle fibres from the upper line of the pelvis to the lower edge of the ribs. The lower back is the spine’s most vulnerable area, with the least support while carrying the greatest emotional and physical burden. We naturally work on mobility and strength here and lengthen through familiar asanas that we align as accurately as possible.

With attention on the beautiful lines of the lower back and breath moving through the area, the class remains calm and meditative.

40 MIN

6. DECOMPRESSION

We continue lengthening the back, today by unloading the vertebrae and extending the muscles. Like all muscles, those of the back need both stretching and strengthening, so today we do both. We prepare the area, warm up and begin gentle but attentive Sun Salutations. After several rounds of A, we practise B with added elements and focus on the lower back. The central work is a sequence of asanas that strengthens the kinetic chain, followed by forward bends for decompression. Delicious, says the back.

60 MIN

7. HERE AND NOW

We begin the class by uniting attention with what is here, what we feel and what is happening within the body.

We awaken an observing subject that does not need to reach conclusions about what it notices.

In this way, we settle and enter yoga, becoming one with the body’s present experience. From this starting point, we move and mobilise the spine primarily in lateral directions. We begin working higher in the back, around the thoracic spine and ribs. Lateral movement awakens space in the chest and expands lung capacity by engaging the muscles between the ribs and the upper back beneath the shoulder blades. We practise many back-strengthening exercises, again with an emphasis on the upper back.

40 MIN

8. THE BED OF THE WINGS

Moving into the thoracic spine, today we become aware of subtle movement in the vertebrae connected with the ribs. We warm up through Cobras and Sun Salutations, gradually increasing pace and rhythm. The class then focuses on arm positions that strengthen the muscles between the shoulder blades and the deeper muscles in this area. We practise Cactus Arms with a strap and extend the arms backwards with the strap. There are only a few standing and kneeling asanas, but the focus is very clear. Towards the end, we lie on the back, strengthen the upper abdominal muscles and then relax and “spread” across the floor.

60 MIN

9. ALONG THE BACK

This is a beautiful class for general mobility and ease of movement, emphasising connection through the body’s kinetic chain and awakening the thoracic spine. We begin by breathing along the back, travelling upwards along the front body on the inhalation and returning down the back on the exhalation. Following this pathway of attention, we warm up and move through Sun Salutations. We continue with standing asanas that support the body in growing and expanding, followed by circular movements that mobilise the upper back. We soon repeat similar directions on the floor and finally lower into a reclining twist to rest.

40 MIN

10. THE SNAKE STRETCHES

In Indian philosophy, the spine is often compared with a snake. Kundalini energy sleeps within the pelvis and rises along the spine like a snake dancing to the melody of a flute. 

The idea is to experience the bony structure of the back as energy and as an energetic current or wave.

Today, we repeat a Kundalini yoga kriya in several poses, reaching the arms as high as possible and interlacing every finger except the index fingers while extending in two directions. We open the spaces between the vertebrae and breathe through this length to reduce rigidity and bring fluidity into every small spinal joint. The class also contains several dance-like elements, allowing us to surrender to the current and trust Dharma and the universe to guide us because they know what is best, releasing expectations and ideas about how things should be.

60 MIN

11. AXIS OF THE PRESENT MOMENT

The axis around which life turns from moment to moment, effortless uprightness is the attitude through which we carry mindfulness into every moment.

Mindfulness is a healthy balance of alertness and relaxation, strength, clarity and openness. The exhalation is letting go,while the inhalation is inner presence, an awareness we cannot lose. Today, we dance through many directions of spinal movement and breathe “along and across” the back. The little class is an ode to yoga, joy and health. The first part is more dynamic, while the second settles into greater precision and calm lengthening of the back.

A 10-MINUTE CLASS FOR EVERY DAY

I FEEL GOOD HERE

Just ten minutes to awaken the body’s principal axis. We stand upright, breathe along the back and establish alertness in the central channel through breath. We then mobilise the lower back by circling the hips and the upper back by circling the shoulders. To strengthen the back, we lower into and rise from a squat and perform lateral lowering and lifting. Everything is simple and enjoyable, so motivate yourself to practise these few movements after waking.

I know I am here because I feel that I am here, and everything I think is added to this feeling. We therefore return to what we feel directly so that we remain sincerely connected with what is happening.