december 2017 / january 2018
yogajournal.com.sg
Here’s how to strengthen—and gain mobility in —your upper back.
By Jill MillerGet to know ...
Your thoracic spine
GOT BACK PAIN? You’re in good
company: About 80 percent of
Americans experience back problems
at some point. Most people attribute
back pain to their lower backs (lumbar
spine) or necks (cervical spine), but
oftentimes issues in the thoracic
spine—the upper back—are actually
to blame.
Although the thoracic spine doesn’t
get much attention, it’s literally the
backbone for your lungs and heart,
surrounded by your rib cage, which
protects these vital organs. Of the
spine’s 70 joints, 50 percent are in
the thoracic spine. If you factor in the
additional 20 specialty joints (called the
costotransverse joints) that help your
ribs articulate and move, you’ll quickly
understand that your thoracic spine is
a workhorse responsible for two-thirds
of the movement in your torso—so
the odds of something going awry
are high.
Despite the thoracic spine’s potential
for movement, the unique design of
your upper back and rib cage does
not allow for as much movement asyou may think. This is to protect
your lungs and heart: excess motion
here could impact these key organs.
What’s more, the vertebrae of the
thoracic spine interlock with one
another and act as a hard stop during
back bends—again, to defend your
internal organs.
These movement-inhibiting
mechanisms are important. However,
if you lack the proper amount of
mobility in your thoracic spine, then
the most mobile junction of your
spine—T12/L1, the lowest point of
the thoracic spine and the highest
part of the lumbar spine—may
become hypermobile to make up for
it (particularly in backbends). Lack
of thoracic spine mobility can also
create an excessively mobile cervical
spine.
To help keep your cervical spine
and lumbar spine pain free, you’ll
want to move the thoracic spine in
smart, safe ways to maintain strength
and mobility and prevent it from
recruiting extra help. Here’s what you
need to know.THE THORACIC SPINE/BREATH
CONNECTIONThe hallmark of a healthy spine is that it can access all its inherent
ranges of motion. Once you start leaving a motion out, the joints
and tissues stiffen—and in the case of the upper back, this can
translate into breathing issues. An excessively immobile thoracic
spine can lead to a stiff rib cage, which can then restrict the capacIty
of your diaphragm and lungs. Because breath control gives us access
to our nervous system and emotional centers, the interplay between
the upper back and breath are critical for permitting relaxation,
well-being, emotional attunement, and whole-body health.A Yogic Self-Test
for Range of Motion
UDDIYANA BANDHA
Upward Abdominal LockThis challenges your thoracic spine and rib
cage to use their full ranges of motion at the
costovertebral joints. The motion takes the
ribs to their most elevated state, causing the
diaphragm to stretch laterally.
HOW TO Stand with your feet slightly apart,
eyes open. Inhale deeply through your nose,
then exhale quickly and forcibly through your
nose. Fully contract your abdominal muscles,
pushing as much air as possible out of your
lungs; then relax your abdominals. Perform
what’s called a mock inhalation by expanding
your rib cage as if you were inhaling, but don’t
actually do so. This pulls the abdominal mus-
cles up into the rib cage and creates a concave
shape resembling an umbrella within the rib
cage. Come into Jalandhara Bandha (Chin
Lock). Hold for 5–15 seconds, then slowly let
your belly descend, inhaling normally. Note:
Perform this only on an empty stomach and
only after an exhalation. If you’re pregnant, it’s
OK to practice Uddiyana Bandha if you did so
regularly before your pregnancy. PHOTOS: JEFF NELSON; ILLUSTRATIONS: MICHELE GRAHAMpractice well
ANATOMY