Yoga Beyond Belief: Insights to Awaken and Deepen Your Practice

Obviously you must be careful and attentive and should not do anything that compromises your driving abilities.

The Neck and Lumbar
    The neck, or cervical spine, is one of the most mobile areas of the body. We constantly turn and move our heads around, and hence the neck is one of the first areas to show wrinkling and signs of aging. Since all nerves from the brain to the lower body pass through the neck, it has been referred to as the “Grand Central Station” of nerve trunks. This complex circuitry and intense flow of information and energy through the neck make it one of the body’s major areas for tension and pain—hence the expression “pain in the neck.” We have been animals for far longer than we have been
Homo sapiens
and we have a deep, primal drive to protect our necks—the area most vulnerable to attack by predators. When we are fearful, we instinctively drop the head toward the collarbone, protecting the neck with the jaw. We also round our torso forward to protect our internal organs. People who are emotionally fearful or protective often have the effects of this demeanor internalized in the body, with a rounded, hunched posture and a closed chest area. You can try an experiment now by stooping your posture, sinking your chest in, and dropping your head a bit. Sit or stand that way a fewmoments and notice the effects it has on your mental and emotional state. Now do the opposite. Sit tall, lift and open your chest, and hold your head high. Feel the difference? For another experiment, tighten your neck a little bit, slightly tense your jaw, and just hold that awhile. Feel the tension’s effect on your mind and emotions, almost like a state of anger. We all have some amounts of stored tension in the body. If it is chronic we probably will not feel it until it is released with yoga or body work. Doing the Shoulderstand helps free the cervical spine and release neck tension; backbends help open the chest, improve posture, and strengthen the mental-emotional body.
    During yoga practice you can learn to break the habit of holding tension in the neck area. By paying attention to the cervical spine during various poses, you will notice when you unnecessarily tense the neck; then you can break that pattern. When learning to let energy flow through the cervical spine and develop neck freedom and awareness during asana practice, you will naturally carry the experience over into your day.
    The cervical and lumbar spine areas tend to reflect and affect each other. Tension in the lumbar can translate up the spine into the neck, and vice versa. The lumbar is another major nerve trunk area and it has the additional burdens of supporting the torso, absorbing the shocks of movement, and supporting any loads we carry. Proper movement in forward bends, backbends, and twists is the key to keeping the lumbar healthy, as is developing an understanding of the dynamics of this area and the relationship of the hamstrings, psoas, and quadriceps.

The Psoas, Quadriceps, and Hamstrings
    The psoas, quadriceps, and hamstrings are key muscle groups and it is very important to learn about their relationship to spinal health and balance. When these muscles are overly tightened, they can cause back pain and immobility. The effects these muscles have on the pelvis alsoreflect up the spine into the thoracic and the cervical areas.
    Most people are not even aware of the existence of their psoas muscles because they are rarely discussed and are not visible or tangible where they reside inside the torso and pelvis. The psoas are two very strong muscles that attach to the side and toward the front of the twelfth thoracic vertebra and all of the lumbar vertebra. From there they travel down through the pelvis to attach to the top of the femur, or thighbone. Because the psoas lift the legs, flex the spine, and rotate the hips, they are involved in nearly every asana. Many of us, especially athletic and active people, have very tight and shortened psoas and hamstrings, because these muscles are constantly used to walk, run, dance, and lift. Tight psoas muscles can pull on and cause pressure in the lower spine. The hamstrings connect from the back of the knee to the sit bones. The quadriceps are the large four-part extensor muscles at the front, or top, of the thighs. The quads work in concert with the hamstrings and psoas to move the legs and mobilize the hips.
    When you bend forward, the limiting factor is usually inflexible hamstrings.