Yin & Somatics:

Getting to Know Your Back

This is the third class in our series, Getting to Know Your Back. You are welcome to explore these practices in any order. In this practice, we will explore another layer of the experience of the back, the Thoraco Lumbar Fascia. I am fascinated by fascia and have spent a great deal of time studying it. But the TLF is special. The fascia in the low back is unique as you will learn in this practice. Getting to know the TLF will I hope, engender feelings of friendliness even awe in you for this incredible layer of you and your back.

This is the third episode in a short series “Getting to Know Your Back”. You are free to take the classes in any order.

Props Needed: Blankets, bolster and block

The information on this podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this podcast is for general information purposes only.NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS podcast. 

Yin & Somatics:

Getting to Know Your Back

Many who have back pain believe that their spine is unstable. There is a distinct feeling of instability and vulnerability in the back that is reinforced by confusing or misleading messages coming from popular culture and even medical professionals. Current research shows however not that people with back pain are not unstable, but too stiff! In this short practice we will gently explore that stiffness and seek to restore subtilty and differentiation to the movements of the back, especially the spine and ribs.

This is the second episode in a short series “Getting to Know Your Back”. You are free to take the classes in any order.

Props Needed: Two blankets

The information on this podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this podcast is for general information purposes only.NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS podcast. 

Yin & Somatics:

Getting to Know Your Back

Most of us think of the back as a collection of tissues; North of the hips and behind the core, supported by the spine. We don’t think too much about it unless something goes wrong. Which, happens a lot. Most adults will experience non-specific back pain within their lifetime. That is to say, back pain which has not specific etiology that can be seen on scans. 

The back is an incredibly complicated structure anatomically, but even more so when you consider other parts of the experience like the the vascular system and the nervous system. But humans are not just walking talking tissues. We are embodied selves with thoughts, feelings, beliefs and predictions. These parts of our experience are EVERY BIT as important to our experience as the tissues themselves, maybe even MORE important. So this practice is all about getting to know your extraordinary, multi dimensional back. The development of awareness, differentiation and variability in movement in the back is our goal. All of these things are proven to reduce back pain and sensitivity.

Props Needed: Two blankets, a bolster and two blocks

The information on this podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this podcast is for general information purposes only.NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS podcast. 

Yin & Somatics:

Trusting the Shoulder

For this gentle but incredibly powerful practice, I have borrowed a lesson from the Feldenkrais Method. You will engage in gentle progressions to experience not just movement of the shoulder joint, but the embodied experience of the shoulder, from the tissues, to your thoughts and beliefs about your shoulder. A practice like this feels mild, but trust that your body is learning, that your nervous systems are developing a faith and confidence in your shoulder. This is a very affirmational way to experience your shoulder, which may facilitate an experience of healing if you struggle with this area.

Props Needed: A blanket

The information on this podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this podcast is for general information purposes only. NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS podcast. 

Yin & Somatics:

Hip Soother

If I had a dollar for every time a student asked for a yoga pose for tight, or painful hips…. It’s one of the main reasons that people come to Yin. The notion that stretching tight hips will relieve stiffness is well embedded into our Yoga/fitness culture. But, based on the evidence that I have seen, stretching does not adaptively lengthen muscles. So, can Yin help? YES! Just not for the reasons you may think. This is a short go-to practice for you if you suffer with tight or painful hips. We will explore some better options than static stretching and I will give you some tips along the way about how you can maintain your soothed hips.

Props Needed: A blanket

The information on this podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this podcast is for general information purposes only. NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS podcast. 

Yin & Somatics:

Neck Pain Inoculation

This is a gentle yet very effective practice for challenging our biases. Neck pain is one of the most common types of chronic pain and like all pain, is a product of bi-psycho-social factors. For today, we will focus of the psychological and cultural contributors to neck pain. We’ll do so with somatic movements intended to activate tissues in your neck, shoulder, and chest. You will also have time in common yin poses to explore and contemplate. This practice is the heart of what I do in Pain Care Yoga. We learn, we are challenged and often delighted by our efforts.

Props Needed: A blanket, 2 blocks and a bolster

The information on this podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this podcast is for general information purposes only. NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS podcast. 

Yin & Somatics: Sternal Rhythm

This practice is a special offering just for my listeners with neck pain. I do a lot of episodes about neck pain. Why? Because it’s one of the most common types of chronic pain. And because it’s hell. Many of my pain care clients come to me for neck pain and so I have a pretty big library of tools and strategies. This practice focuses on restoring the rhythm between the sternum, neck, jaw and hip. We will utilize some somatic movements to help you attend to the sternum. For many this movement is a real challenge but no worries, I’ve offered some helpful tools for learning. You will have some opportunities for comfortable holds in familiar Yin poses as well.

Props Needed: A blanket

The information on this podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this podcast is for general information purposes only. NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS podcast. 

Benevolent Attention

This is one of those practices that you just crave. You’ll spend the whole hour on your back enjoying delicious somatic movements and simple Yin poses. Throughout your practice I will be encouraging you to tap into subtle experiences of self. Your efforts will culminate in a meta awareness that feels so good and right. This practice is so valuable if you are someone who suffers with chronic pain. Often when we hurt, it can be hard to access our painful areas with the benevolent attention that mindfulness cultivates. This practice will gently encourage you to bring all parts of you back into the field of awareness. Science shows that this can actually help you recover from chronic pain. 

Props needed: 2 Blankets or a Blanket and a pillow.

Self Acceptance

In this very supported practice we will be focusing on the movements of the spine: delicious forward folds, sublime twists, exquisite sidebands and soft hearted back bends. As we gently experience the body in these movements and poses, we will explore an idea from the Buddhist tradition, that it takes a strong back and a soft heart to practice compassion. Throughout your practice, I’ll be encouraging you to direct your compassion and self acceptance inward. You’ll get to experiment and feel these ideas in your body and in your practice. 

Props needed: Bolster, two blocks and a blanket. 

Yin for Strength?

So… unfortunately, none of the movements in Yin actually achieve the conditions that are required to build strength. BUT! Yin can be an amazing complement to strength training. Active restoration and rest are as essential to building muscle, endurance and stamina as weight training and cardio. Those activities break us down a bit, in a good way! And rest supports the natural regeneration of tissues that allows us not to just get back to where we started, but a little better. Over time this is how we become resilient, how we improve our energy levels and strengthen our tissues.

 This is a short practice intended to support circulation and yawn hardworking areas such as the hips and shoulders. I hope that you will return to this one as a luxurious workout cooldown or as a good stretch on off days.

No Props Needed