The “3 Legs” of Spinal Health

Your spine is a complicated collection of tissues, so the root causes of your back pain can be complicated too. Sometimes your doctor will tell you one thing, a chiropractor tells you something else, and then you get an MRI and it basically show nothing.

But your spine clearly isn’t happy! It can be very frustrating, so I always encourage student so get as much medical support as they can, and to simultaneously take full responsibility for their own body because no doctor (or yoga teacher!) can feel what you’re feeling and know what is working. It must be something you discover on your own with help. How do you start that process? Of personal responsibility?

Firstly, always work with a trusted health care professional. If you don’t like your provider, get a second opinion, but don’t go at this alone. Secondly, I’d recommend you apply the YOGABODY 3-legged protocol spinal health: strength, flexibility, balance.

But what if I only need to work on flexibility? Or what if I’m flexible but just need strength or muscle balance? The body works as a holistic system, so the best practice is to work on all three pillars simultaneously for a happy back. Always, we’ll listen to your body. Always, we’ll adjust, adapt and modify as we go.

My Stiff Back Story

In my first yoga class ever (hot yoga), we started with a Half Moon Pose. This is where you extend your arms above your head and interlace your fingers. Just this simple movement, arms straight up above my head, already gave me back pain!

That’s how stiff I was.

We did another pose called Camel. It was brutal. I’d literally black out and see stars as I came up for air. I’d seen other students do Cobra pose and Wheel pose variations, but those were completely out of reach for me.

My biggest problems were stiffness and imbalances (my right side was way stronger and tighter than the left). I had a decent amount of strength from the gym, but my mobility and stability were non-existent.

So what did I do? Like I’d done so many times in yoga, I began researching, taking classes with different teachers, and asking good questions. Here’s what I learned.

• Backbends involve opening the front of your body. This sounds obvious now, but I’d never thought of it before.
• A happy back requires pelvic rotation, lumbar curve, thoracic curve, and retraction of the shoulder blades (I was just always trying to jam my lower back).
• The fear response can be huge after an injury—we often avoid anything that might trigger pain—so a big part of healing, is balancing your nervous system and creating a safe feeling for opening.
• The solution to a healthy, strong and mobile spine must include strength, flexibility and balance—I was only working on flexibility and that was a mistake