Spine
Over the years I’ve come to understand the physical practice of yoga asana as being primarily related to the spine. People want to touch their toes or stand on their heads and I say none of that fucking matters unless it serves your spine. If you find yourself hunching, crunching, pinching, dumping or otherwise hurting your spine, you’re fucked. If you find yourself lengthening or strengthening your spine, that’s the ticket. We say there are 7 main movements of the spine and you should be practicing each movement every day to lengthen and strengthen your spine. If you have a healthy spine, you’ll have a calm mind. The seven movements are:
Flexion (forward fold)
Extension (back bend)
Lateral Right (sidebend)
Lateral Left (sidebend)
Rotation Right (twist)
Rotation Left (twist)
Axial extension (lengthen)
A modified Sun Salutation can give you all 7 movements in a very simple sequence that takes only a minute or two. Hit me up next time we’re in the same place at the same time and I’ll show you how. Or check out a book on Sivananda Yoga, their version of Surya Namaskar A just about covers it.
Party to the people.