The fifth of the 6 abdominal engagements is side bending, when the muscles on one side of the body - let's say the right, as pictured above - contract while the muscles on the left side relax and lengthen.
This is the most unnatural of the movements of the spine. We almost never do it in nature, and we don't have a lot of musculature or nervous system precedent for it. So it is easy to resort to full contraction of both sides or full relaxation in this position. The most common mistake in this position is to try to "lengthen" the side that is being compressed (the right side in the above picture). Any attempt to lengthen this side will reduce its engagement and compression while contracting the other side that should be relaxing. Reaching the arms overhead makes this position more difficult as it raises the center of gravity and essentially puts more weight on the spine as it bends. You can do this posture with your arms down or hands together in front of your chest and get the same benefit. Focus intently on engaging one side while relaxing the other. This engagement encompasses only the Half Moon Sidebend, pictured above. Sadly there aren't other postures in the Ghosh lineage that side-bend.
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Anytime we use the body, it helps to know how it works. What are the results of our actions in the skeleton, muscles, tissues, organs and nervous system? This is especially important if we want the physical practice to build our health and avoid injury.
A lot of therapeutic yoga also uses knowledge about digestion, organ function, blood pressure and chemistry of the body. These things don't technically qualify as anatomy but lie more in the functional sciences. Yogic practices of Pranayama (breath control) have a profound impact on the autonomic nervous system and the blood acidity, which in turn has diverse effects through the body and mind. Even Meditation is being illuminated by modern science, as we develop machines that take pictures of our brain function and how it is effected by various mental practices. So many results of the yoga exercises can be explained and clarified by modern science, making it easier to understand, easier to duplicate and a lot easier to teach to others. The third of the 6 abdominal engagements is relaxation of both the front and back of the body. This sounds really easy but takes a fair amount of awareness and control. We are used to relaxing one side while the other engages.
Relaxing all the muscles of the abdomen has three great functions: It allows the massage of the intestines by the diaphragm, it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and it can help release systemic tension in the muscles, especially of the low back. MASSAGING THE INTESTINES We don't think much about our intestines, even though they are the primary organ of our digestion. Their healthy function is essential to getting nutrition from the food we eat and expelling the waste. If either of these processes suffers, our health suffers. Most of the postures that we do with relaxed front and backside muscles are targeted directly at the intestinal function. The most obvious is Wind Removing Posture, where we breathe with the diaphragm to massage the intestines. PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM When the muscles of the abdomen relax, our "rest and digest" part of the nervous system is stimulated. This means that our stress is reduced, our digestion improves, our immune function increases and our mind calms down. It is easy to work too hard in these relaxation postures, negating the stimulation of the parasympathetic. Be sure to keep the abdomen relaxed and breathe deeply. LOW BACK TIGHTNESS A more specific benefit that can be had from these postures is the release of chronically-tight low back muscles. This relaxation is achieved through the breath. The deeper you breathe into the abdomen, the more the muscles of the belly and low back will release. This type of muscular action encompasses (from left to right) Shavasana (Corpse Pose), Wind Removing (one leg and both legs), and Half Tortoise. This is a small number of postures, so be sure to get the benefits when you do them! About 5 years ago, I saw photocopies of Buddha Bose's "Key To the Kingdom of Health Through Yoga, Vol. 1." I was struck by his muscular development and the absence of the deep, impressive contortion that is common in today's yoga competitions and demonstrations.
As we learn more about the history of yoga asana in the 20th century - how it evolved to incorporate a focus on physical health and fitness, acrobatics and contortion - we continue to question our purpose in practicing certain postures and the goals we pursue within them. Pictured above are four iterations of Dhanurasana (Bow Pose) from the Ghosh Lineage of yoga. Starting in the upper left, they proceed chronologically: Ghosh's first yoga student Buddha Bose (upper left); Ghosh's daughter Karuna in his own 1961 publication Yoga Cure (upper right); one of his greatest students, Dr. Gouri Shankar Mukerji (lower left); and his most famous student in the West, Bikram Choudhury (lower right). These four pictures cover the entirety of Bishnu Ghosh's career as a yoga instructor. We are struck by two things: their lack of "depth" according to the standards of today's practices, and their consistency through the decades. CONSISTENCY It's hard to ignore that these four pictures are almost identical in form and depth. What conclusion can we draw except that this is the ideal and fully-realized form of the posture according to Ghosh's teaching? LACK OF DEPTH Current practices of this posture encourage much deeper bending in the spine and deeper extension of the shoulders, even moving the shoulder (glenohumeral joint) into external rotation. Are the deeper versions of this posture better? Are they more beneficial? Is it possible we have lost the purpose of the posture in pursuit of deeper contortion? Updates: This post was updated in March 2019. The opening sentence was changed to say "5 years" instead of the original "3 years." The second abdominal engagement - engage the back, relax the front - is the opposite of the first.
To bend the spine backward like in Cobra, Camel or the Back Sit-up (pictured above), the muscles on the back of the body must engage and shorten. These largely include the erectors of the spine, which are aided by pulling the shoulder blades together (trapezius and rhomboids). Pulling the shoulder blades together especially helps to stretch the chest and shoulders which are commonly tight from using computers and hunching forward as much as we do. THE HARD PART The muscles of the front must be completely relaxed. Believe it or not, this is actually the hard part of backward bending. The abdominal muscles, namely the rectus abdominis (6-pack) needs to relax to let the spine bend backward. If it is tight or engaged, backbending will be difficult or even detrimental. THE GLUTES & PELVIS Any backbend that is done lying on the belly (like the one pictured above) benefits from engaged glutes (butt muscles) to stabilize the pelvis and release the psoas, enabling the spine to bend completely. It feels like reaching back strongly through the feet. On the other hand, any backbend that is done upright like the Standing Backbend (Half Moon) or Camel, should have soft glutes until you've come into the depth of the posture. If you engage the glutes from the start to push the hips forward, your abdominal muscles will probably engage too, and this will prevent your spine from bending. This type of muscular action encompasses (starting top left) Salute to the Gods & Goddesses, Half Moon, Standing Bow, Separate Arms Balancing Stick, Dancer (variation), Camel, Cobra, Full Locust, Bow, Wheel, and full backbends like Full Cobra & Pigeon. There are 6 main abdominal engagements in yoga postures. They encompass forward bending, backward bending, a straight spine, side bending, twisting and abdominal relaxation.
1. Engage the front, relax the back (forward bending). 2. Engage the back, relax the front (backward bending). 3. Relax both the front and the back (abdominal relaxation). 4. Engage both the front and the back (straight spine). 5. Engage the right, relax the left (side bending). 6. Engage the right oblique, relax the left oblique (twisting). FORWARD BENDING To bend the spine forward like in Rabbit Pose (pictured above), the muscles in the front of the body must engage and shorten. These include the sternocleidomastoids in the neck, to bend the head forward, and the rectus abdominis (6-pack) in the abdomen, to bend the lower spine forward. There aren't really muscles in the ribcage to bend the mid-spine forward, but a strong exhale can help make the ribs compact and create a small forward bend there. The muscles of the back must be completely relaxed in a forward bend. This is how the spine bends forward. If the back muscles are tight, the spine will stay straighter. (The arm balances pictured below don't incorporate the neck into the forward bend. Instead, the head is kept lifted for counterbalance.) This type of muscular action encompasses (starting top left) Salute to Gods & Goddesses; Hands to Feet; Crouching Head to Knee (in the Sun Salute), Standing Separate Legs Head to Knee, Standing Head to Knee, Crow, Crane, Rabbit and Stretching Head to Knee. Yogis love to talk about the hips, so much that it has become a joke.
The hips are big joints with diverse movement, and they are central in the body. It is hard to consider any movement or yoga posture without considering the hips. BACK PAIN The main hip muscles that give us everyday problems are the hamstrings, in the back of the legs. They can get very tight from sitting, running, cycling or any number of activities. The problem comes because tight hamstrings can cause the pelvis to tilt backward and flatten out the curve in the lumbar (lower) spine. This will create weakness and seizing muscles in the low back. As such, back pain can be caused by tight hamstrings. HIP FLEXORS The muscles in the front of the hip that help us lift the leg forward are called the hip flexors. These get very tight when we sit a lot (which most of us do). Tight hip flexors can also prevent the pelvis from moving freely, causing problems in the spine. Pretty much all of us can benefit from stretching our hip flexors. HIP ROTATION This is the movement required for many advanced yoga postures, especially for long sitting that enables breathing and meditation. The hips externally rotate, requiring flexibility in the psoas and iliacus, the tensor fascia latae, the gluteus medius, the adductors (inner thigh), and the stabilizers like the piriformis. Hip rotation gets into a lot of small, tough muscles, so progress is often far slower than when we stretch longer muscles. Be patient. SCIATIC PAIN The sciatic nerve comes out of the low spine and weaves through the hips before running down the leg. Irritation of the sciatic nerve can result in hip pain and pain or tingling that radiates down the leg. This irritation can be difficult to heal, since the nerve is long and complex. A good place to start is with the piriformis, one of the externally rotating hip stabilizers. Postures like Pigeon that stretch the back of the hip may bring some relief. OVERDOING IT Once the pelvis is free to move forward and backward, and the spine is able to maintain its natural curves, the hamstrings are long enough. Sometimes there is a tendency in yoga to stretch the hamstrings as far as humanly possible, but that is rarely healthy. And it actually doesn't serve many advanced yoga positions, which generally require hip rotation instead of hamstring length. There are few postures more beneficial than Pavanamuktasana, Wind Removing Posture.
With the legs against the abdomen, pressure builds in the intestines, especially when we inhale. This massages the intestines and internal organs, promoting digestion, absorption of nutrients and smooth elimination. It also stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers the heart rate, cools the body, and improves immune function and digestion. All in all, this posture is quite powerful in bringing health, balance and relaxation to the body. FOCUS ON THE BREATH It is easy to focus on the physical elements of the position: Pulling the knees tightly, stretching the hips and flattening the spine. But the greatest benefits of this posture all come from the breath. Focus on breathing "in the belly," pushing the diaphragm down toward the abdomen to create pressure there. Keep the abdominal wall relaxed so it can move in and out with each breath. Each breath will make the abdominal cavity bulge out - this is good! It is massaging the organs and intestines. TAKE CARE OF YOUR HIPS Believe it or not, this is one of the easiest postures in which to injure our hips. When we pull them tightly to the chest, the leg bone (femur) can bump against the hip socket (acetabulum), damaging the cartilage there. If you feel pinching or bone-on-bone contact in your hips in this posture, back off your effort. You don't want to damage your hips. Most of us have weak abdominal muscles. Our culture of sitting in chairs and long hours of non-physical work means that we lack important strength in the midsection, especially the important transverse abdominis (TVA) muscle that wraps our abdomen from side to side.
This muscle is vital for our breathing, as it is the primary driver for exhaling. It also supports the spine by creating a pressure system in the abdominal cavity. This is usually the muscle referred to when teachers say "belly in" or "stomach in." The TVA helps digestion, too, by massaging the intestines with each breath. It is part of the brilliant design of our digestive system, that it is gently stimulated by the diaphragm on the inhale and the TVA on the exhale. Since our abdominal muscles are weak from so much sitting, it is common for us to have digestive problems, especially indigestion and constipation, from lack of movement and massage of the intestines. These problems are improved greatly by strengthening the TVA, and there is no better exercise for that than "Blowing/Kapalbhati." Make sure you focus on strong exhales coming from the low belly. Your muscles may get tired and sore - that is okay! (This is not to be confused with the most prominent abdominal muscle, the rectus abdominis or 6-pack, which has a different function. The 6-pack is the muscle that we exercise when doing sit-ups or crunches, but it will not help breathing or digestion nearly as much as the TVA.) |
AUTHORSScott & Ida are Yoga Acharyas (Masters of Yoga). They are scholars as well as practitioners of yogic postures, breath control and meditation. They are the head teachers of Ghosh Yoga.
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