The spine is very important for our health. It not only gives structure to our body it is also crucial for nervous system health. The practice of asanas, different yoga poses, helps in promoting and sustaining the strength and flexibility of our spine.
One of the most important things about spine health, and the nervous system for that matter, is of course our core, because our core muscles keep our back safe, stable, and strong, protecting the spine and avoiding injuries. Moreover, building and stabilizing the muscles in the posterior chain, which is one of the chains of muscles going down the back that become weakened because we are hunched over our laptops or mobile phones, or because of overall poor posture or our everyday slouching down, both these make these muscles start to push out. When this happens, the core muscles wrap around from the middle area of your spine, the lumbar region, that wraps around through the front of the belly. A lot of back pain happens for this reason. Additionally, the pelvic region is also important because a lot of the lower back components, the spine and the pelvis, articulate. Meaning they work together. The bottom of the sacrum and the pelvis essentially have a joint that connects them, the sacroiliac joint. Therefore, strengthening the often neglected pelvic floor and pelvic musculature also helps with spine protection.
Some poses you can practice to start activating or even better, strengthening your spine protecting muscles are:
- Boat pose
- Chaturanga Dandasana
- Plank pose
- Cat and cow
- Bridge pose
- Malasana
- Butterfly
Make sure to incorporate these on your daily asanas, to keep your spine protected, strong, healthy, and happy.
Namaste,
Carolina
