| According to ancient rishis the physical shape of the spine of a person clearly tells the person’s true age. A bent spine is a clear sign of aging even if the person is twenty years old by his calendar age, and a straight spine in a 70 year old indicates health and vitality. They understood that the physical had a core. As it is the core that suggests the external aspects of any form of creation, the core of the body is the spinal column which is represented by the sushmna nadi in the etheric. In fact, every yogic exercise’s main purpose is to strengthen the spine (this is true for all asanas done in their original form and not their modern variations devised by some teachers.)
In the physical form, the spinal column is an S-shaped spring. It is supported and held in place by an intricate network of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Its erect posture is maintained when each section of the body is balanced and placed solidly, one upon the other. It is
 only when everything is aligned that the body uses energy efficiently and a natural buoyancy is felt by the person. An unaligned body is a cause of chronic strain and a sense of unexplained fatigue.
To clearly understand the spinal column, its vertebrae can be grouped into three groups based on the areas they support: cervical vertebrae support the neck; the thoracic vertebrae are in the chest area, and the lumbar vertebrae are in the lower back (see figure 1). The tailbone consists of the sacrum and coccyx. Most often, when people exercise, their focus is rarely on strengthening the back or the spine; it is generally to look slim, for women, and muscular, for men.
It is commonly assumed that backaches and other spine related problems are part of life and are bound to happen to the majority of the population in their thirties onwards. Things like sciatica pain have become common amongst the youngsters too. Back injuries are occurring in those who claim to follow a fitness regime and spend hours in the gym. What is worse is that I have had fitness instructors coming to me with serious back injuries. While talking to one of the Reebok trainers who had injured her back I discovered that companies like Reebok revise their workouts every six months. But the ancient form of yogic exercises has not changed since a few thousand years. And there have never been any injuries reported ever!
Why? Because even though there are 84 lakh asanas not one of them puts any stress on the two most crucial vertebrae (L5 and L6) at any point. Also only yogic exercises are able to strengthen the spine along with maintaining its flexibility since both the aspects of strength and flexibility are given due weightage in yog. For this purpose the muscular and the skeletal system are worked on simultaneously, as muscles are like ropes and chains that hold the skeletal upright in the physical form of a being..
To develop flexibility and strength of the spine, vyaghrasana is very useful as it loosens the back muscles and helps in toning the spinal nerves. In fact, the vyaghrasana emulates the leopard’s stretching movement when it gets up from deep sleep hence the strength developed by this asana is exceptional and it is effective for all the above three groups of vertebrae. The ushtrasana, though strengthening the complete spine and the muscles around it, is primarily useful for the thoracic vertebrae. It stimulates the spinal nerves and relieves backache, lumbago rendered backs, and drooping shoulders. The supta vajrasana also increases the flexibility of the back and realigns rounded shoulders. Leg muscles are loosened and the chest is expanded to take in more oxygen when doing supta
vajrasana.
A word of caution—It is important that all asanas are done under direct supervision of a trained and competent instructor.
—The author is a well-known practicing yogi, and heads Dhyan Foundation in Delhi. He can be reached on +919313748401
|
