Engaging My Upper Back.

In yoga on Friday I asked how to stretch my ribcage, the area around my mid-back pain. We started slow and ended slow on this project, centering and breathing and then doing some very gentle twisting side bends from a standing posture. Then we came to the floor did seated bend twists, forward and back; and that is when it happened. I learned how to use my upper back's strength to take the strain off my mid-back. I felt true peace and relaxation in posture and then the BEST part was in how releasing this tension and learning how to use my body differently allowed me to do an AMAZING bridge posture. It took so little thought and I was able to trust my body (and breath) to move the way it needed to and created strength and flexibility at one time!

This was one of those pivotal yoga classes which take you from one place in your practice, to a more intentional and advanced place. It was wisdom that my body was learning about contraction and flexibility. It was the knowledge of where a muscle group begins and ends. I had "heard" about how these muscles are all connected before, but to really feel it is a different thing all together. I felt enlightened.