Back pain can live in your mind or your body – This practice was made for a friend who was having an intense episode of back pain. So it is a gentle, moving class to help mobilise and create freedom in the spine. There is gentle rocking of the spine on the floor as well as feeling into the pelvis.
The Mental Aspect of Back Healing
As important as the movement, it is important to think about the kind of qualities you want in your body, and to think and embody those qualities as you move. Many of us get in to a negative feedback loop, where all we can think of is our pain and stiffness. Instead, think about the qualities that you want to cultivate. Name them in your mind (I want to feel supple, fluid and free) Try to let go of your preoccupation with pain or stiffness, and repeat those qualities as you move.
This class, like many of my classes, uses self touch to create different types of movement awareness. Some people feel shy to touch their own bodies. Try to let go of that shyness. But, if it is too distracting, you don’t have to touch your own body. There is some self massage, so tapping and other movements to improve awareness and proprioception.
The last piece that will help is to visualise your sacrum. The sacrum looks like a triange when you look from behind, but it is a bent bone. The tailbone is at the bottom, the spine comes off the top. When you lay down on the floor, the back of the skull and the sacrum have similar curves, and in this class, we are practicing moving the sacrum on the floor, and as a result, the spine.
