The spine, the conductor of our emotions

The skeleton of our body consists of 24 vertebrae. This amazing structure supports the skeleton in an upright position and at the same time provides reliable protection for the central nervous system. Every nerve impulse, conscious or unconscious, emotional or mechanical, travels through the spine to or from the brain like a superhighway. Unfortunately, we often underestimate the importance of this complex system – both for our health and for peace of mind.

When the experience lives in the body

We instinctively feel how deeply connected posture is with our experiences. When negative emotions weigh heavily on our shoulders, or failure knocks us down, we become overwhelmed, hunched over, and tense in the neck and upper back. Unexpected luck, on the contrary, makes you “soar”, straighten your back, and self-satisfaction allows you to “walk through life with your head held high.”

Severe stress can cause not only tension, but also back pain. Doctors have come to the conclusion that mental pain is somehow transmitted to the body, but the mechanisms of this phenomenon are not yet fully understood.

“Pain in the back that occurs as a result of stress, the so-called psychogenic pain, has no clear neuro-orthopedic cause,” explains neurologist Natalya Shcherbakova. – Stress can cause tonic tension in the back muscles in any part of the spine, provoking pain. Perhaps the mechanism for the formation of such a reaction lies in the experience of capturing the “painful behavior” of loved ones who surrounded the person in childhood, or in the experience of one’s own pain that was once transferred.

Why do we need a spine

The spine is an excellent shock-absorbing system: the intervertebral discs absorb shocks coming from the knees, hips and all joints. These are a kind of “airbags” that protect against damage during impacts. Almost all the muscles of the abdomen and chest are connected to the spine.

In addition to the superficial musculature, which helps to move in space and lift weights, there is also deep-seated internal musculature – it supports the internal organs, helps resist gravity and stay upright. The whole system is extremely stable and able to withstand very heavy loads.

The biggest problem is that we load the spine extremely unevenly and unreasonably. We spend a lot of time sitting, resulting in a 40% increase in pressure on the lower back. In addition, some muscles are constantly in tension, while others are used completely inefficiently.

“Impaired microcirculation leads to dystrophic processes in the spine,” continues Natalya Shcherbakova. “Because of this, the nerves surrounding it suffer, the connections of the autonomic nervous system are disrupted, which, in turn, can lead to problems in peripheral target organs.”

So, a compressed nerve going to the liver cannot effectively send signals, and this affects the work of the organ itself. Poor digestion can be caused by a pinched nerve at the base of the skull, etc. Thus, a malfunction in some organ can lead us through a long chain of doctors, while the root of the evil is problems with the spine.

Careful work with your body

Stress and a sedentary lifestyle lead to spinal deformity, back weakness affects the ability to withstand emotional shocks, negative emotions immediately affect posture. How to find a way out of this vicious circle?

Yoga teacher Elena Ulmasbayeva believes that attempts to correct one’s posture with a “volitional decision” are not always effective: “Deformation of the physical body is not only the result of physical influences and a violation of the correct lifestyle, but also a consequence of the deformation of finer structures known, for example, in Ayurveda, yoga.

This could happen due to psychological trauma, sometimes very distant. The structure of the subtle bodies is to some extent inherited in the same way as the characteristics of the physical body, then exercises performed mechanically will not help solve problems.

Conscious deep work, for example, when performing asanas, helps to get to know your own body, to find out what it is – strong, weak, flexible, rigid, to understand the features of its structure. Later, with careful work with asanas and breathing, it becomes possible to release tension, which is rooted much deeper than the physical level.

An integrated approach to caring for the spine

From the point of view of Ayurveda or Chinese traditional medicine, the spine is the body’s most important energy channel. Keeping it in good condition, you can maintain health and energy for many years. External musculature exercises help strengthen the core muscles that support the spine, but that’s only part of the job.

Exercises such as Pilates were created as exercise therapy and are especially useful for strengthening deep-lying internal muscles. This system, like yoga, includes stretching, which allows you to make the spine more flexible.

“In yoga practice, we use backbends with support for this,” says Elena Ulmasbayeva. – Lying on his back on a special bench, when the spine is bent back, a person slowly relaxes the muscles, their passive stretching occurs. Concentration on sensations and breathing not only changes posture, but also affects the psycho-emotional state.”

Yoga also teaches a special breathing technique, which allows you to reduce tension and cause an influx of energy.

“If a person is stooped, his chest is compressed,” continues Elena Ulmasbayeva. He is tense, insecure and prone to aggression. Insufficient lung capacity entails a lack of vitality, and the person is often ill. Pranayama is the movement from the outer world to the inner. Watching the breath helps to calm the mind and get to know the body, then the practice of lengthening the inhalations and exhalations, combined with breath holding, releases deep tensions – not only on the bodily, but also on the psycho-emotional level.

For those who do not practice yoga regularly, it is quite possible to use one of these exercises. Once a day, sitting in a comfortable position with a straight back or lying down, observe the breath. Try to feel which areas of the chest do not respond, are “frozen”, and try to relax these areas by directing your attention there. Imagine that the inhalation starts from the pelvic floor and moves up to the collarbones, and as you exhale, the movement occurs from the collarbones to the pelvis.

“This exercise,” Elena Ulmasbayeva assures, “will help restore energy, calm the mind, and possibly remove some blocks.”

6 ways to help your back

1. Strengthen the internal muscles. The simplest exercise to strengthen the internal muscles is leg raises. To do this, lie on your back on the floor, pressing your lower back and shoulder blades to the surface (that is, straighten all the curves of the spine as much as possible), and slowly raise and lower your legs alternately, 10 times each. Then raise and lower your legs together – 10 more times. If you do this exercise daily, the muscles will noticeably get stronger in a week.

2. Improve your posture. To improve your posture when you’re sitting, try one of these exercises: imagine a rope extending from the top of your head, pulling you up, straightening and stretching vertebra by vertebra. After some practice, you will easily be able to visualize this virtual rope, and you will notice that during the exercise the tension in the back weakens.

3. Move more. When we sit, the tension in the spine is one and a half times greater than when we stand. Try to get up from your desk every 30 minutes to get some movement. Literally any movement relieves tension in the back, and sipping helps the spine to be flexible.

4. Drink water. Good hydration helps maintain the cushioning capacity of the intervertebral discs. It also helps the cerebrospinal fluid move freely along the spine. Usually we are focused on business and miss the weak signals of the body in need of water, so it is best to always keep a glass of water near the workplace and drink whenever there is the slightest desire.

5. Breathe deeply. Try to breathe from your belly – this will automatically make you sit up straight. A few deep breaths will relax your back and relieve muscle pain.

6. Choose an orthopedic pillow. There are orthopedic back pillows that you can use if you have to sit a lot at work – they are shaped to match the natural curves of the spine. A special sleep pillow helps to fully relax the muscles of the neck and improve the blood supply to the brain.