Below is a recap I wrote in 2015 after attending and assisting a Yoga Medicine 50hr advanced teacher training module on the Spine in Napa, California. A healthy spine plays a crucial role in our body’s ability to move efficiently as well as protect and house our spinal cord. Dysfunction or injuries to our spine has implications on both our mobility and our nervous system, and therefore even small changes have the potential to make a big impact to alleviating pain these injuries and dysfunctions can cause. Because of its direct connection to the nervous system, when working with spinal dysfunction, a great place to start is with the breath. This can be especially helpful when you don’t have a diagnosis or you don’t know what to do with a client. The breath is a powerful tool to feed and nourish our parasympathetic nervous system, the rest and digest system responsible for healing and repairing the body. In Napa, I personally noticed how the extra pranayama that week improved my back and hip pain. Tensegrity Before diving into spine dysfunction and application, let’s understand the concept of tensegrity. Think of a trampoline. If you were to cut one of the springs, all of the
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