Give Your Spine a Valentine
Look at these long straight spines from days past!
None of the people in these sweet embraces bend at their waist to reach across the table. Instead, their spines are straight and extended, so their bones remain stacked and spacious. With spines like these, it’s a good bet that none of them had back pain.
With Valentine’s Day looming, let’s spend some time romancing our own spine.
Romance, by the way, implies an “ardent emotional attachment or involvement.” We can all benefit from paying a little ardent attention to our spines.
In our culture, almost all spines are excessively curved. Everywhere you look, you’ll find spines like the ones below.
 |
 |
Because we’re immersed in our culture, we don’t often notice the excessive curves. But we are susceptible to letting this posture, and all its associated stress, seep into our bodies.
 |
 |
With a little know-how and a lot of ardent attention, you can improve the alignment of your spine. That’s what Balance is all about.
In Balance classes, you are guided to understand where your vertebrae go in, creating a swayback, and where they go out, creating a kyphosis. Then you learn how to gradually move those bones back into place.
Yes, it takes time. But you can improve your alignment and enjoy the relief from tension and pain that follows.
To romance our own individual spine — in class either Wednesday at 5:30 or Friday at noon — we will focus first on careful alignment. Then we’ll stretch our spine high while standing, sitting, bending, and reclining. Expect to be taller at the end of class.
Please bring a roller if you have one and pillows for lying down.
Your spine will be grateful for the love!
Happy Valentine’s Day,
Jean
