Spine and upper back 2

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This short sequence is wonderful for softening the knots in between the shoulder blades. You lift the pelvis, roll up the spine, and circle the arms in a triangle shape. This circular movement while leaning into the upper back presses many different places of your upper back into the floor. “The floor is your teacher,” as Moshe says. Feel how your upper back flattens out after this.

For the whole lesson like this, see 65 Spine like a chain.

In this sequence you are invited to hold one of your feet. If this is a challenge, get a hand towel to wrap around your foot and hold the edges.

You roll side to side, bending and unbending the knee. The trick here is not to straighten the leg, just unbend a bit. Every time you unbend, you push the back into the floor. The foot goes forwards, but your back presses backwards with an equal and opposite force. Any movement of your foot forward is matched with the back pressing. Then, as you roll side to side, the different trajectories alter the point of contact across the back. Eventually, you can press many, many points across your back, smoothing out all the rough edges.

For the whole lesson on rolling across the back, see 308 Legs over chest, rolling backwards with graduation flexion

This short sequence puts a rolled towel horizontally across your upper back under the tips of the shoulder blades. Make sure the shoulder blades are resting on the towel. With your hands behind your head, bring the elbows forward and press down into the towel to lever the head up. Breathe as you do it. Practice many times levering the plate-like shape of the shoulder blades across the towel.

Then rest and feel how flat your upper back is. For the whole lesson like this, see 59 Release mid-back with a blanket

I give this short resting position to almost everyone, it's so nice. You do need a couple thick rolled blankets for this. Set yourself up so you can do the following: 

1. Put one rolled blanket under your upper shoulders and the other under the lower end of your pelvis (not the low back). 

2. Stack some folded towels under your head so it's elevated above the shoulders. You will appreciate the chin being closer to the chest. 

3. Then, put your lower legs on the furniture, like a chair, ottoman, couch. 

Rest in this boat shape. Feel your hips, low back, belly, and jaw. Notice that it takes the tone out of your belly and your hips as the low back is supported to lengthen. 

This kind of rolling up the spine gives you lots of feedback about where you’re holding and where you can let go. Practice lifting the pelvis with a detailed awareness of each section of the spine moving in sequence. It helps lengthen the entire back, returning you to an upright, easy posture.

This is wonderful for unwinding tension after working at the computer or sitting too long in a car. You roll up the spine and then with the hands behind the head, elbows forward, you lift the head and push the vertebrae down so that the pelvis lowers and the head lifts. Going back and forth like this helps the spine yield to the floor along its entire length.