Your Spine, Your Yoga: Developing stability and mobility for your spine

Your Spine, Your Yoga is arguably the first book that looks at the spine from both the Western anatomical/biomechanical point of view and the modern yoga perspective. It is filled with detail, discussion, illustrations, and practical advice for spines of all types. This emphasis on variety is welcome and necessary: no two spines are exactly alike, and no two people have the same biology and biography. What your spine is able to do may be vastly different from what other yoga students’ or teachers’ spines can do. The human spine is unique in its structure and function. Primarily, it provides stability through the core of our body, allowing forces to be transmitted from the upper body (arms and shoulders) to the lower body (pelvis and legs) and vice versa. Secondarily, the spine allows tremendous range of movement. Unfortunately, in modern yoga practice we find the primacy of these two functions reversed, with flexibility prized over stability. This focus on spinal mobility comes at a grave cost to many students. Stability is lost, and when that happens, dysfunction and pain often follow. Just as all tissues and areas of the body need a healthy amount of stress to regain and maintain optimal health, so too our spine needs the appropriate levels of stress to remain functional throughout our lives. How we choose to exercise the spine makes a difference, though. Knowing the way the spine is built, specifically, how your spine is built, will allow you to tailor your exercises wisely to match your goals. Your Spine, Your Yoga is the second book in the Your Body, Your Yoga series and focuses on the axial body-the core, from the sacral complex, which includes the pelvis, sacrum, and sacroiliac joint, through the lumbar and thoracic segments of the spine, to the cervical complex, which includes the neck and head. The structural components of each segment are examined: from the bones, to the joints, ligaments, fascia, tendons, muscles, and even the neurological and blood systems. The range and implications of human variations are presented, as well as the ways these variations may affect individual yoga practices. The sources of restrictions to movement are investigated through answering the question “What Stops Me?” The answers presented run through a spectrum, beginning with various types of tensile resistance to three kinds of compressive resistance. Whether the reader is a novice to yoga, anatomy, or both, or a seasoned practitioner with an in-depth knowledge in these fields, this book will be valuable. For the novice, there are easily understood illustrations and photographs, as well as sidebars highlighting the most important topics. For the anatomy geek, other sidebars focus on the complexity of the topic, with hundreds of references provided for further investigation. For the yoga teacher, sidebars suggest how to bring this knowledge into the classroom. Your Spine, Your Yoga can be used as a resource when specific questions arise, as a textbook to be studied in detail, or as a fascinating coffee-table book to be browsed at leisure for topics of current interest.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents for Your Spine, Your Yoga Gratitude How to read this book Preface Foreword Summary of key concepts Intentions Chapter 1: The axial body Overview of the axial body Axial landmarks Spinal segments Variations of the spine Curves of the spine Posture perfect? Bones of the axis Ligaments and fascia Movements of the spine The kinds of stress in the spine Spinal nerves and neurodynamics Overview summary Chapter 2: The sacral complex Form The architecture of the sacral complex Bones and cartilage Joints and ligaments Muscles of the sacral complex Fascial trains of the sacral complex Function: Application in yoga postures Normal ranges of motion within the sacral complex Stressing and supporting the sacroiliac joint in yoga postures Normal ranges of motion of the whole sacral complex Sacral complex summary Chapter 3: The lumbar segment Form The architecture of the lumbar segment The bones of the lumbar segment Axial fascia and muscles Lumbar and thoracic muscles Function: application in yoga postures Normal ranges of motion Sources of tension Sources of compression Variation in ranges of motion for flexion and extension Yoga and the lumbar spine The lumbar spine summary The thoracic spinal segment Form The architecture of the thoracic spine The bones of the thorax Joints and ligaments Thoracic fascia Thoracic muscles Function: application in yoga postures Normal ranges of motion Sources of tension Sources of compression Variation in ranges of motion for twists and side bends Biomechanics of the breath and its variations Thoracic spine summary The Cervical Complex Form The Architecture of the cervical spine The bones of the cervical complex Joints and ligaments Muscles of the cervical complex Fascia of the cervical complex Function: application in yoga postures Normal ranges of motion Movements and their restrictions: tensions and compressions Variation in ranges of motion Cervical spine summary Volume 3: Summary Major Sidebars It’s important The flaw of averages The myth of the static ideal Where is the neutral spine? The myth of the static ideal What does "stable" mean? Early morning yoga and yoga after sitting Stress, stretch, flexibility, mobility and hypermobility Defining some terms Yoga poses, sitting postures and sleeping position can overstretch nerves Yoga and the sacral complex In standing yoga postures, should we tuck the tailbone? Defining the core muscles Stiffness and stability Our orientation to gravity affects the amount of stress on the spine Different yoga postures stress the vertebral discs in different ways Avoid twisting the spine when it is flexed or extended and under load For deeper backbends, relax the extensor muscles! Bracing and Spacing Building endurance Of bent knees and straight spines Maintaining our vital capacity as we age Slowing the breath is better than deepening the breath Galileo, scaling laws and Headstand The vertebral arteries As you get older, be careful of weight bearing neck movements! Returning the head to neutral Shoulder stand—a high risk, low reward posture Headstand—a high risk, low reward posture It’s complicated Statistics Approximation and Distraction Shear is stressful Naming the nerves and their routes The sciatic nerve Force closure and form closure Details of the sacrum The perineum The ways the sacrum moves Does the sacrum nutate or counternutate in backbends? Is it possible to therapeutically adjust the sacrum? Changing the alignment of your hips before twisting Snaps, cracks and pops—noisy sacrum Lumbar lordosis in sports Variations between the lumbar vertebrae The spines of contortionists Deep fascia and aponeuroses The strength and stiffness of the spinal ligaments A functional view of the erector spinae The strength of the back muscles How can our spines lift heavy loads? How much stress can our spines tolerate? Variations of the thoracic vertebrae The diaphragm pulls and pushes on the heart Membranes and ligaments between the skull and neck Coupled movements The neck does not move as one unit Whiplash and sports trauma Note to teachers Learning to sense the spine To hinge or not to hinge? A philosophy for counterposes Moola bandha and Kegel exercises Can you feel relative movements of the ilia or of the sacrum? Stress, twists and the sacroiliac joint Don’t be fooled by the apparent curve in the lower back! We cannot isolate and activate individual muscles Watch your students! Keep watching your students! A flat back does not create a neutral spine Strengthening the bones of the spine Combatting hyperkyphosis Sometimes it is okay to do only one side of a pose! Variation in breast size will affect some women’s yoga practice Movement can enhance breath, breath can enhance movement—sometimes! Jalandhara bandha Web appendices Measuring the curves of the spine Body size and spinal curves Orientation of the facets Creep and counterposes Thickness of the discs and vertebral bodies Hypermobility and Yin Yoga Spinal biotensegrity Variations in the shapes and sizes the auricular area of the sacroiliac joint Pelvic parameters and variations Accessory joints of the sacral complex Myofascial meridians Sacral, low back and neck pain and problems Moment arms, torque and force Wedging of the vertebrae and discs Alignment of the spinous processes Prying open the anterior discs in deep backbends The thoracolumbar fascial train More on the strength of the spinal ligaments Folding forward with arms overhead increases stress in the spine Axial rotation and lateral flexion can create flexion and extension How yoga affects our blood chemistry Other anterior neck muscles Muscles of the face and jaw