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One of the cool things about the back is the lumbar spine and its free form structure.  From the sacrum up to the lower rib cage we have a slinky like set of bones and discs supporting the weight of the rib cage and upper body.  This allows for a tremendous range of motion from side bending, forward folding, and back bending to providing an anchor point for the muscles that twist and rotate the thoracic spine.  All too often, however this area of our body is a source of chronic pain and instability – WHY?

Back pain is so common because even slight imbalances in the musculature of this area result in a corresponding distortion of the deeper spinal structures, and compensation from other muscles.  Whether its an overused psoas muscle due to a week rectus abdominis and lots of backbends, or an oblique chain that is overdeveloped due to golfing, tennis, softball, or any other predominately one sided sport, asymmetries in the musculature of the core affect the back in a big way.  Couple that with this area having the job of supporting our weight whenever we’re upright and we can see how a little imbalance goes a long way.  So, how do we bring out spinal muscles and core musculature into balance?

Yoga Tune Up ® uses dynamic exercise and isometric contraction to strengthen and rectify imbalances in the core.  It is one thing to do core in a mat class until your abs burn, it is an entirely other thing to use intelligent mechanics and precise movement to develop equanimity within our low back by integrating our core musculature.  Try this Sidewinder Tantrum posted below (and also available on the Quickfix Rx yoga DVD) to strengthen and stretch all of the core musculature dynamically.

Learn about our back pain solutions.

Read about the Sidewinder Tantrum.

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