When your back screams that you need a massage, but there is no way you can get one, what is a good alternative?
Micro-movements are – I have discussed them previously. Recently, during our Europe trip, I was in dire need of a massage after the flight and hours of sight-seeing. At night, in the hotel bed, my back was in little knots all over. Lying there, feeling sore everywhere and feeling sorry for myself, I started moving into those tiny knots.
That is, I focused on a spot of pain, and very slowly and very minimally, tightened the muscles in the area. The trick was to tighten just the muscles that might be involved in the knot – not the whole back. It is a method I have been taught by Trager bodywork – to push or pull against the tiniest of resistance. Here, in bed, there was nobody to give me resistance – but the knotty muscles themselves were a point of resistance. By playing around with wee-wee movements - very slowly tightening, gently releasing – the pain gradually left.
How it works? It is, apart from the small, releasing movements, the attention one gives the hurting body. Try it – it is a treat you can give your aches and pains: attention. Read More
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Upper Back Pain
July 10, 2010
In the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston I recently saw a figure from Oceania (here a similar picture from Africa - sorry, I have no clue how to make it larger and still sharp). The figure, barely a foot high, is carved from black wood and on first look seems rather crude. On second look, it reveals the perfect posture in a way I have otherwise seen only in Indian statues depicting ideal yoga stances.
The figure stands with soft knees slightly bent which struck me at first as a sort of ridiculous stance. Then one sees its graceful straight neck, with chin tugged in ever so delicately – and one gasps: This crude figure exhibits deep knowledge of musculo-skeletal workings.
If we could stand in this aware stance all the time, we would never suffer from upper back pain. Hunched as we are over computer screens, slouched onto chairs and sofas, unaware of our posture for hours and days on end, we do suffer. Here are a few exercises that should work against upper back pain:
• Micro-movements: Lie on your back – in bed, on the floor – and pull back one shoulder. Release, and pull back the other shoulder. Done repeatedly, it feels as if you wake up the snake in your spine, which starts undulating, writing. The movements are tiny. But they release muscle contractions from wrong posture. 21 times. Find new subtle ways of moving your spine.
• Stretching backward: Stand with knees soft and your buttocks tightened to protect your lower back (no use to swap upper back pain against lower back pain!). Bend backward and upward at the same time. Don’t collapse in your lower back area – it should feel like a puppet on a string, gently pulled back and up. At the same time, let go of your shoulders and let your shoulder blades glide down. The movement is a perfect up for the crown of your head, and a down for your shoulder blades. Once – whenever you think about it or feel the need to release your poor back.
• Lie on your back on the floor (this should not be done in bed, one needs a hard surface). Stand up your feet slightly apart. Raise your middle like a bridge. You now rest only on the nape of your neck and your feet. Slowly arch higher – without putting strain on your neck. Three times – but gently!
• Stand on one leg. I do this while I brush my teeth – so there is no extra waste of time. Lift one leg. Move it around – from side to side, upward, backward. Then the other leg. For a minute each. This strengthens pelvic and lower back muscles – without those your upper back has nothing to rely on.
• Walk as much as you can, preferably in hilly terrain. A strong upper back can only develop on the basis of strong legs and lower back muscles.
Do we get more stooped with aging? Or is the stooping aging us? Read More
Micro-Movements - Awakening the Snake in Your Spine
May 12, 2010
No time for exercise? Sitting in your car/at your desk all day? Too lazy to get up from your couch?
Here is the ideal exercise for you: micro-movements!
For the first time, it is best learned on the floor, on a folded blanket or a yoga mat – but once you know what it is, you can do it wherever you feel like it. There is not much more to it than the title gives away: You wiggle your spine. Start with your shoulders (up-down movement) or your pelvis (down-up), or do a combination.
In the beginning it will feel jerky, uncoordinated. But the more you get the hang of it, the more it flows. The more it extends your spine. The more you feel the effect. The more you become aware of what you are doing: mindful movement.
You might think that exercise requires throwing around your legs and arms. No, what really counts for opening your body is the spine. Move your spine and the rest of your body will follow. It is like a mini yoga session and will give you all the benefits of exercise – suppleness, body awareness, improvement of posture, relaxation of muscle tension – short of cardio-vascular effects. But it does use up calories! (Do it in the car only at red lights!)
Once aware of your spine, you can do the micro-movements everywhere, especially when you are waiting and are bored. Why not use that time for a little, private bliss? Read More
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