Yoga for back trouble
Western man of today has acquired all the comforts of our age but his greatest mistake is that he does not realize the dangers and consequences of spoiling himself. He is not yet civilized enough to understand the most complex of all machinery —his own body and mind. As we have chairs and tables, hardly anybody works squatting. Since water is brought into most homes, women do not carry heavy jugs on the crown of their heads from the well to their houses. The lift is in widespread use and even in those houses where there is no lift, people rarely carry boxes and baskets on their backs going upstairs. Even our porters do not live up to their name: they no longer carry the luggage themselves but use a vehicle to transport it.
Altogether we are rather pleased with our technical achievements which make life easier. Where we are mistaken is that we think that our pelvis, spine, muscles, joints, bones and sinews which are built for pressure, stretching, twisting and carrying, can function entirely without all these activities. Girls and young women should carry something on the crown of their head for several minutes each day; they should also bend and squat to keep back and pelvis in good condition. Men should lift and press down, bend and turn and tense the body, even if it is only for some minutes each day. Most of all we have to counteract one-sided stress by compensating with movements in the opposite direction.
In certain working conditions and professions, back trouble is considered a professional hazard. Right-handed dentists stand next to the chair with constant turning to the left. Long distance drivers on lorries become a victim of non-stop vibrations. They fill the waiting-rooms of osteopaths, orthopaedic surgeons and chiropractitioners. They have neither learnt to sit properly and to relax nor how to counteract contortional stress. They face their suffering with the same helplessness with which a Papuan faces malaria. All these people are the victims of insufficient education. Prevention of their troubles can largely be learnt. Even when back trouble has already developed, Yoga can be very helpful.
Acquired spinal damage. Congenital malformation of the spine and disturbed spinal development in children belong to a textbook of orthopaedics. On the other hand the many changes of the spine which are acquired by adolescents and grown-ups should be mentioned in a book on Yoga. To these belong the innumerable cases of displaced vertebrae which are caused by accidents and ‘harmless’ falls which happen so often to cyclists, skiers and particularly motor cyclists as well as horse riders. Many accidents are also caused by the wrong lifting of heavy weights.
Displacement of vertebrae either singly or in pairs is a common complaint. This is noticeable even to the layman. Put somebody on his abdomen and examine his spine with two fingers. You will notice the zig-zag position of the vertebrae. Some people cannot turn the head fully to one side, others feel pain from shoulder to fingertip. A great number of Westerners cannot stand without pain for any length of time and always are conscious of an unpleasant sensation in the small of the back.
A tilted pelvis, for instance, develops in the following way: The lowest lumbar vertebra has twisted and lies at an angle on the pelvis, pressing down on the disc and separating it from the pelvis, in bad cases down to the bone. This condition can also be caused by a twisting of other lumbar vertebrae. The tilt of the pelvis and therefore the seeming unevenness of the length of the legs go mostly undetected. They are often only noticed when the tailor has to lengthen one trouser leg. This condition deteriorates with the years if the tilt has not been corrected.
In pregnant women this tilt is often connected with an exaggeratedly hollow back. It is reasonable to assume that there is, a connection between the tilted pelvis and the simultaneous formation of varicose veins. In bad cases it can even cause a complication during birth and there is far greater danger of thrombosis than with a pelvis in its normal position.
A tilted pelvis is particularly noticeable in the headstand, even when it does not show otherwise. It is quite simple to check oneself with the help of another person: Lying flat on the back, the legs are stretched out loosely with heels touching and toes slightly pointing outwards. The other person will see if one heel is lower. After a piece of paper has been placed under both heels, the checker takes a pencil and puts it upright on the paper. He then can mark on the paper the position of the heels. It is always useful to show this to a student so that he sees for himself what causes his pain.