Have you ever had back pain? Most of us have because back pain is so very common. According to the National Institutes of Health 8 out of 10 people suffer from chronic or acute back pain. The medical profession is beginning to recognize the benefits of yoga. Understanding your back, the limits of your body and the condition of your spine is important to maintain health and celebrate life.

We sit so much of the time. As I write this I am sitting, and not in a way that is good for my spine! I’m at the hair salon waiting for the color to set in. This chair might pump up and down for the benefit of my stylist but it is not designed for the back end of the body! In fact, most chairs are not good for the spine. Western style seating such as sofas and recliners place the knees higher than the hips. This alignment puts too much pressure on the lower spine thus displacing the hips and ultimately throwing the knees out of balance. We sit at desks, sit in cars and sit in bed as we work on laptops. My back hurts just thinking about how much we sit in awkward positions! Doctors that practice Eastern medicine say that people from Asian cultures suffer far less arthritis of the spine, hips or knees compared to Western cultures. What’s the difference? The TYPE of sitting we do. Most Asians can sit on the floor for long periods of time. In my world the only people who sit on the floor are people who practice yoga and day care workers.

I’m conducting a workshop at the Premier studio in Mansfield that addresses back pain and explores ways to promote a healthy spine. I am no doctor but I have been around long enough to know pain AND how to alleviate it using yoga, body awareness and simple strategies. In my workshop we’ll talk about the spine and then practice together finding ways to get the left, right, front and back sides of your body to work in a balanced way on the mat and in your everyday life.

Another thing to consider is that pain is stuck energy. How so? First dear reader, we need to see ourselves as beings that are made of energy. We are vibrating, information filled vessels that move through space and time releasing or holding on to energy, both good and bad. You can hang on to the ugly words that were spoken to you, replay the story over and over and ultimately let the emotions get trapped in your system, your tissues, your cells. Now you have negative energy that is stuck in your body often times manifesting itself as pain. Ever had a headache after a confrontation? Now imagine that pain getting stuck in your body and add on the bad seating possibilities mentioned earlier……no wonder our backs hurt! Women hold their emotions in their hips. Why there? Our ability to create. Whether you have had children or not, this is the place where we hold or release tension. Let’s learn to let go of it, release energy and hold on to love instead.

Think about this quote from Carolyn Myss, author of Anatomy of The Spirit, ” Just like a stream solidifies in to ice, you can think of the body as a frozen structure, and the underlying energy is the stream. They are both the same substance just in a different state.”

Come join me for this workshop on Saturday, May 16th. Let’s explore what it takes to have a healthy spine, release stuck energy and celebrate life with more ease and love towards ourselves and others. 

Grace and Peace,

Zella Marie