Lesson 3 — The Muscles Of The Spine: The Engine Behind Every Shape
Have you ever wondered why, in the same Cobra, one person feels the back lengthen and go weightless while another gets a pinch in the low back? Why you were once taught to 'twist deeper at the waist' when that waist can barely rotate another degree? The answer is not about whether you 'try' or are 'lazy' — it lies in the bands of muscle running down the back, which most teachers have never seen clearly. This lesson rebuilds the whole 'engine' of the spine: starting from the big picture (the skeleton, the four directions of movement, the S-curve) and only then peeling back the deep and superficial layers of muscle. By the end you will stop teaching by guesswork: you will look at a shape and know which muscle is working, and cue the RIGHT place instead of just the familiar phrase.
🎁 A gift from Tuấn Anh to teachers who want to master the craft.
What the spine does, and how many directions it moves in
Seen from the side, an adult spine is not vertical but curves into an S: the neck and the low back concave at the front (lordosis), the chest and the sacrum convex at the back (kyphosis). These curves are not a flaw — they are an ingenious piece of engineering for doing three jobs at once:
- BEARING LOAD: transmitting the weight of the upper body down into the legs; the curves act like a spring to absorb the shock of every step.
- MOVING: allowing flexion, extension, side-bending and rotation.
- PROTECTING: enclosing the spinal cord inside.
A 'neutral spine' = the position that keeps all three natural curves — this is your safety reference when you teach a hip hinge, a plank, or standing up out of a forward fold.
On the mat: when a student's back hurts, the first question is not 'which muscle is weak' but 'is their spine still holding its natural curves, or is it being cranked into an angle at one point?'. Wherever the curve is lost is where the compression lands.
This is the point every yoga anatomy text agrees on: the spine moves in four directions, each with a representative shape and its own set of muscles. Hold those four and you have the 'pegs' to hang each muscle on later:
- 1. FOLDING FORWARD (flexion) — Uttanasana, Paschimottanasana: pulled by the abdominals (rectus + the two obliques); the erector group behind lengthens under control.
- 2. EXTENSION / ARCHING BACK — Cobra, Camel, Wheel: pulled by the erector spinae group (the main engine of arching back); the abdominals lengthen.
- 3. ROTATION / TWISTING — Ardha Matsyendrasana, Parivrtta Trikonasana: by the two obliques working diagonally against each other + the deep layer (multifidus, the rotatores).
- 4. SIDE-BENDING (lateral flexion) — Utthita Trikonasana, Gate pose (Parighasana): by the erector group and quadratus lumborum on one side shortening while the other side lengthens.
On the mat: a healthy sequence must take the spine through all four directions — because that is how the S-curve is kept and the discs are fed. A class that only folds and arches, without twisting and side-bending, is starving the deep layer.
The shape of the vertebrae and the orientation of the facets decide what each region can do. This frame answers most safety questions:
- THE NECK (cervical, 7): the most mobile, good at rotating and nodding — but delicate, and not built to carry load (it is already holding up a heavy head). The principle: extend, don't hyperextend, and don't compress the vertebrae.
- THE CHEST (thoracic, 12): with the ribs attached, naturally kyphotic. This is the main rotating region of the TORSO (below the neck — the neck itself still rotates most of all) — precisely because the low back can barely rotate. On arching back: the ribs limit the extension range here, but this is still the region you need actively to OPEN when arching, so the whole job is not dumped down into the low back.
- THE LOW BACK (lumbar, 5 large thick vertebrae): strong, good at flexion and extension, but the facet orientation blocks rotation → it barely twists at all. The L5–S1 disc is the most easily injured place of all.
- THE SACRUM: the vertebrae are FUSED into one block, with no voluntary movement; the sacroiliac (SI) joint only glides slightly.
A HOOK TO MAKE THEM CURIOUS: according to the anatomical literature, the whole lumbar section rotates only a few degrees, while the thoracic section rotates many times more — an enormous difference in range. People spend a lifetime trying to 'twist at the waist' while the region that really needs to rotate sits higher up — right behind the rib cage.
On the mat: pain in a twist or an arch is almost always from forcing the wrong region — pushing the chest's work down into the low back. Fix that one fault and you are already ahead of half the teachers out there.
The spine is not a rigid block — it is a stack of 24 vertebrae that can bend, rotate and absorb shock. Muscle is only what pulls that stack.
Before naming any muscle, look at the 'stage' it will perform on: the skeleton and the four directions of movement. Keep one question ready — why is 'twisting at the waist' all but impossible? — and by the end of this part you will have an answer that changes how you teach.
The toolkit: layers, groups, and the three kinds of contraction
A beginner should hold the LAYER picture first and only then go into individual muscles. The mass of back muscle sits in four groups by depth:
- The SUPERFICIAL group (outermost): trapezius, latissimus dorsi — really muscles of the arm and shoulder, but attached to the spine and covering it over.
- The INTERMEDIATE group: the erector spinae — three columns running lengthwise, the engine of arching back.
- The DEEP & SMALL group: the transversospinales (multifidus, rotatores, semispinalis) — the micro-stabilising pillar.
- The DEEP & LARGE group: the psoas; and in the low back, quadratus lumborum (QL) as well.
The golden rule of the texts: go from the whole to the unit, and within each region from deep to superficial. You need not remember every small muscle immediately — you need to remember which layer it is in and which direction it makes.
This is the frame that lets you 'read' any shape at all. The SAME muscle plays three different roles in three different shapes:
- CONCENTRIC: the muscle SHORTENS and creates the movement → the role of prime mover. For example: the erectors shortening to lift the torso in Cobra.
- ECCENTRIC: the muscle LENGTHENS under load, braking the movement → the role of antagonist. For example: the erectors lengthening under control as you lower into a forward fold.
- ISOMETRIC: the muscle is tense but does NOT change length; it HOLDS the shape → the role of fixator. The classic example: rectus abdominis holding the torso rigid in Navasana (Boat).
Why it matters to a teacher: once you understand that the erector spinae is sometimes 'the puller', sometimes 'the brake' and sometimes 'the holder', you will stop saying loosely 'this muscle is for arching back'. You will be able to cue the lowering phase too (controlling the eccentric), not only the lifting phase.
Muscles work in opposite pairs. Holding those pairs lets you lengthen a muscle without 'hauling' on it:
- The antagonist of the abdominal group is the erector group + QL (the front against the back of the spine).
- The antagonist of the psoas is the gluteus maximus + the hamstrings.
- In a twist: the external oblique on one side pairs with the internal oblique on the other to create the torsion.
On the mat: to lengthen the erector group (the back of the back) deeply in a forward fold, instead of saying 'pull harder down', suggest actively engaging the abdominals a little — engage the antagonist and the other releases by itself. This is the basis of a safe cue, without using leverage.
With the four-direction stage set in part 01, we now pick up the 'tools' to read each performer. Don't learn twenty names by rote — learn these three 'filters' and every note about 'shortening on one side / both sides / engage / stretch' makes sense on its own.
The erector spinae — the vertical pillar down the back
Position (layer): in the intermediate layer — under the superficial layer (trapezius, latissimus) but superficial to the deep transversospinales. It runs beneath a large sheet of fascia called the thoracolumbar fascia.
- Origin (the lower attachment): the sacrum, the iliac crest, and the fascial sheet of the low back — fanning upwards.
- Insertion (the upper attachment): the ribs, and the transverse and spinous processes of the vertebrae above, right up to the occiput.
- Function: contracting on both sides → EXTENSION (arching back) of the spine — the main engine of arching. Contracting on one side → SIDE-BENDING to that side, contributing to ROTATION in a twist. In a forward fold: lengthening eccentrically to lower the torso under control.
The yoga connection: it is the engine of every arching shape (Wheel, Cobra, Camel, Locust); it holds the torso upright in Tadasana, the Warriors, Boat; it lengthens in Uttanasana, Paschimottanasana, Balasana.
You don't need the fine detail — just picture this engine of arching as three parallel ropes running down the back, arranged from OUTSIDE to INSIDE, each with its own speciality when you side-bend or open the chest:
- Iliocostalis — the outermost column, running from one rib up to the next; being set out to the side, it produces side-bending and rotation best (think of a side-bending Triangle).
- Longissimus — the middle column, the longest, particularly helping open and stabilise the thoracic section (think of the openness of the chest in Warrior II).
- Spinalis — the innermost column, closest to the spine, joining spinous process to spinous process; it holds the torso upright.
The memory trick: the further OUT, the stronger the leverage for side-bending and rotation; the further IN, the more it is purely about holding you upright. (Note: some books simply say 'erector spinae' without separating the three columns — for a beginner, the group name is enough.)
This is the part that builds your professional standing:
- Over-arching (hyperextension) in a backbend compresses the discs and the lumbar joints, cranking an angle especially at L5–S1. The counter: engage the abdominals LIGHTLY to keep the curve even — don't clench.
- Tightness in this group → limits the depth of a forward fold (the back cannot let itself down).
- THE KEY POINT: holding the spine upright is 'a big job for a small muscle'. When the erector spinae is WEAK, quadratus lumborum is forced to take the work instead → muscular fatigue and pain spreading into the hip, buttock and lower low back.
On the mat: a student with persistent low-back pain may well be carrying an imbalance: weak erectors ↔ overloaded QL. The answer is not 'stop practising' but strengthening the erector group (Locust, a low controlled Cobra) to share the load again. Hold that thought — part 05 will use it to decode low-back pain.
This is the MAIN arching muscle of the back — and it is also the muscle quietly holding you upright at this very moment.
If you could remember only ONE back muscle group, make it this one: it holds you upright against gravity all day long.
The transversospinales — the small muscles that stabilise the spine from inside
Position: the DEEPEST layer, immediately beneath the erector group, filling the groove between the spinous and transverse processes. It comprises many small muscles spanning 2–6 vertebrae, with fibres running upwards and inwards (from the transverse process of a lower vertebra to the spinous process of a higher one).
- Movement function: mainly ROTATION + EXTENSION, with a little side-bending.
- The key role (and this is the valuable part): STABILISING each individual spinal segment, protecting the facet joints from the crude force of the big superficial muscles, and reporting the position of the spine back to the brain — proprioception.
The yoga connection: it is the main muscle group of every TWIST (seated twists, Ardha Matsyendrasana) and the micro-stabiliser in every standing, kneeling or seated shape. Side-bending and rotation — the things we rarely do in daily life — are precisely what wakes this deep layer up.
Unlike the erector group (three columns side by side), this group is stacked by depth, from superficial inwards:
- SEMISPINALIS — the most superficial tier; strong in the neck and chest; its capitis portion is the strongest extensor of the head (think of looking up in Cobra, or Fish).
- MULTIFIDUS — the middle tier; spanning 2–4 vertebrae, running all the way from the sacrum up to C2.
- ROTATORES — the deepest tier, spanning a single vertebra; the highest density of proprioceptors, rotating each vertebra finely.
The memory trick: the deeper it goes, the shorter the muscle and the more it is about sensing and stabilising rather than producing large force. The more diagonally a muscle's fibres wrap around the torso, the more it has to do with twisting.
Multifidus is the quiet star of spinal stability: it lies deep and 'engages while being lengthened' (contracting while held long) to keep the spine solid from inside in ALL standing, kneeling, seated, arching and twisting shapes.
- Function: extension, side-bending, rotation, and above all protecting the facet joints from the force of the larger moving muscles; and contributing to proprioception.
- An important clinical sign: a weak or inhibited multifidus is associated with chronic low-back pain — a point of consensus in the medical literature.
A HOOK FOR TEACHERS: when someone says 'engage your core', they usually think of the six-pack at the front. But the layer that really holds the spine stable is these tiny muscles behind and deep — the ones you cannot touch, cannot see and cannot 'bulge out'. Understand this and you are about to demolish one of the biggest misunderstandings in yoga (see part 08).
This is the real 'core' that the cue 'engage your core' tends to miss: the tiny layer woven around each individual vertebra.
QL and the psoas — the two arms that hold the lumbar section
QL is the muscle behind side-bending (Triangle, Half Moon) — and the 'silent load-bearer' of the low back. Position: deep beneath the erector mass, in the back wall of the abdomen. Origin: the iliac crest & the iliolumbar ligament. Insertion: the twelfth rib and the transverse processes of L1–L4.
- Contracting on one side → SIDE-BENDING the torso (hitching that hip up): the engine of Utthita Trikonasana and Half Moon.
- Contracting on both sides → extending the lumbar spine (contributing to Wheel).
- Stabilising: with the psoas it wraps around and holds the lumbar section firm; and it anchors the twelfth rib in deep breathing.
THE KEY POINT (said again, to sink in): when the erector spinae is weak, QL carries the load instead → fatigue and pain spreading into the hip, buttock and lower low back. The revolved head-to-knee pose (Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana) is excellent for this reason: in one and the same movement it LENGTHENS the upper QL and SHORTENS the lower one → rebalancing them.
On the mat: read persistent low-back pain as a signal of an erector–QL imbalance, not as a vague 'weak back'.
This is the muscle every teacher should know by heart — because it is the direct link between 'sitting a lot' and 'back pain'. The psoas is the only muscle bridging both the lumbar spine and the hip joint.
- Origin: the transverse processes, the discs and the bodies of L1–L5 (and T12). Insertion: the lesser trochanter at the top of the femur.
- Function: the main hip flexor; and at the same time it straightens and supports the lumbar curve, stabilising both hip and low back in every standing position.
Why sitting a lot causes back pain (the question office workers keep asking): sitting eight hours a day puts the psoas into chronic shortening → pulling the pelvis into a forward tip → increasing the lumbar lordosis and limiting extension.
A HOOK — 'the fright-reflex muscle': the psoas is regarded as the muscle we contract unconsciously under stress (our ancestors contracted it to run from a predator). A modern, stressed person who also sits for hours ends up with a chronically gripped psoas. Which is why, after a deep lunge or a backbend, so many people feel a very deep 'LETTING GO' — releasing the psoas is close to releasing the tension itself.
On the mat: the psoas needs both lengthening and strengthening. Lengthen: the back leg in Anjaneyasana or a crescent lunge, Camel, Cobra. Strengthen: Boat, the Warriors. 'Balance is the key' — too much use or too little both distort the posture.
The psoas is usually mentioned together with the iliacus under the joint name iliopsoas, because they share a tendon into the lesser trochanter.
- The iliacus's origin: the inner surface of the pelvis (the iliac fossa) — not attached to the spine.
- The difference to remember: because it does not attach to a vertebra, the iliacus does not act directly on the spine the way the psoas does; it is purely a hip flexor.
On the mat: when you lengthen the 'hip flexor' (Anjaneyasana), you are lengthening the whole iliopsoas. But only the psoas is the direct link pulling on the lumbar curve — which is why it, and not the iliacus, tends to get the blame for back pain.
These two deep muscles wrap around the lumbar spine and decide whether your low back is strong or sore. They are so hidden that few teachers can even name them.
The four layers of abdominal muscle — not just for a six-pack
The texts teach the abdominals by their true anatomical layers — deepest first:
- 1. Transversus abdominis (TA) — the DEEPEST, its fibres running across, wrapping the waist like a belt or corset.
- 2. Internal oblique — fibres running diagonally up and inwards.
- 3. External oblique — fibres running diagonally down and inwards (at right angles to the internal oblique).
- 4. Rectus abdominis — the MOST SUPERFICIAL, the long segmented strap down the front of the belly (the 'six-pack').
Shared function: contracting on both sides → FLEXING the torso and compressing the abdomen; the two obliques working diagonally → ROTATION; contracting on one side → side-bending. The rectus is also an important fixator: holding the spine rigid in Boat and in a handstand.
If only one name from the front of the body stays with you from this lesson, let it be TA.
- Position & fibre direction: the deepest layer, fibres running across, hugging the waist.
- Function: COMPRESSING the abdomen, STABILISING the spine — it does not create large movement but creates intra-abdominal pressure to hold the low back firm. It is the key muscle in a forced out-breath, in coughing and in sneezing.
- Notably: when TA contracts, the pelvic floor contracts with it — the base and the walls of the core canister working together.
How to feel it in isolation: suggest 'draw the waist gently inwards' (as though pulling the navel towards the spine) — quite different from 'bracing the belly outwards'. The texts stress: the TA contraction must be SOFT and subtle; don't clench.
On the mat: very flexible people tend to forget this layer → the pelvis tips forward and the back over-arches. For them, 'engage TA to draw the ribs in and stabilise the low back' is far more useful than stretching further.
The principle in short: any muscle whose fibres run DIAGONALLY around the torso takes part in twisting.
- External oblique: contracting on one side → side-bends to that side and rotates the torso to the OPPOSITE side.
- Internal oblique: contracting on one side → side-bends to that side and rotates the torso to the SAME side.
- The twisting pair: the external oblique on one side + the internal oblique on the other contracting together to twist. Twisting to the RIGHT → left external oblique + right internal oblique contract.
On the mat: tight obliques limit the depth of a twist. But don't rush to pull on them — the safety principle is to lengthen the axis of the spine FIRST, and only then rotate (see part 08).
The cue 'engage your belly' is useless when we don't know the belly has four layers, each doing a different job.
The spine has 'cables' on both faces. Behind, the erectors; in front, four layers of abdominal muscle woven diagonally like armour.
The diaphragm + the pelvic floor — the roof and floor of the 'box' that holds the spine
Position: a domed muscle (a double dome) separating the chest cavity from the abdominal one. The surprise: it attaches to the top two or three lumbar vertebrae (L1–L3) — so it is the 'ceiling' of the deep core canister, not merely a breathing muscle.
- A special insertion: all its fibres converge into a central tendon — the muscle attaches to itself, with no bony attachment at its apex.
- BREATHING IN: the diaphragm CONTRACTS → the dome descends → the rib cage widens, and the negative pressure draws air in; at the same time it presses the abdominal organs down → the belly fills.
- BREATHING OUT: the diaphragm RELEASES → the dome rises → the elastic lungs push the air out.
On the mat: when a student grips the belly too hard (in an arm balance), the abdominal cavity cannot change shape → breathing in deeply becomes difficult, forcing a shallow breath into the upper lungs. The habit of breathing 'high in the chest' contributes to anxiety and difficulty relaxing. This is the direct bridge between spinal mechanics and the state of the nervous system.
The pelvic floor (the pelvic diaphragm) is the layer of muscle forming the base of the core canister, slung between four bony corners: the two sitting bones, the pubic bone and the coccyx. It supports the pelvic organs and adds stability to the pelvis while you balance (Vrksasana, Warrior II).
Synchronised with the breath: the diaphragm and the pelvic floor move together — both DESCENDING on the IN-BREATH, both RISING on the OUT-BREATH.
In brief — the 'deep core' around the low back is five hidden muscles:
- (1) The diaphragm (the roof)
- (2) Psoas major
- (3) Quadratus lumborum (QL)
- (4) The transversospinales (multifidus, rotatores…)
- (5) Transversus abdominis (TA)
— plus the pelvic floor as the base. This is the system that holds the low back firm against the pelvis. The 'superficial core' (the front abdominals, mostly about flexing and twisting) is only the visible part.
When the abdominal muscles (rectus + the two obliques + TA) contract, they compress the abdominal organs, creating intra-abdominal pressure that supports the structures around the low back — like an airbag wedged between the vertebrae.
- In an arch, a LIGHT abdominal contraction resists over-arching and keeps the curve even.
- A light engagement is all you need — clenching locks the breath down and defeats the purpose.
On the mat: this is the practical application of the QL + psoas + rectus stabilising trio. The cue 'keep the belly lightly firm while you arch' is right precisely because of this mechanism — not to 'look good' but to spread the load away from L5–S1.
The real core is not one sheet of muscle — it is a BOX: the diaphragm is the roof, TA the walls, the pelvic floor the base. The whole box breathes together.
Cueing the right place & demolishing five classic misunderstandings
The misunderstanding: 'arching back means bending at the low back'.
The anatomical truth: the low back already curves backwards (lordosis); arching further there presses the vertebrae into each other with no stabilising force. A PROPER arch has to be spread evenly, actively OPENING and starting from the thoracic spine. Note: the ribs limit the absolute extension range of the chest — which is exactly why you must actively wake the arch up in this region, instead of letting the force sink down into a low back that is already arched.
Which muscles are working: the engine is the erector group (contracting concentrically) + help from the superficial layer (trapezius, latissimus); the abdominals + the psoas lengthen eccentrically and hold.
The cue on the mat: 'lengthen the spine before you curve it', 'open the chest and lift through the chest', 'keep the belly lightly firm' — instead of 'arch the back deeper'. Picture the curve even, like a bow, not cranked at one point.
The misunderstanding: 'the deeper you twist at the waist the better'.
A SHOCKING FIGURE: according to the anatomical literature, the whole lumbar region rotates only about a few degrees (roughly 5 degrees for the entire section, about 1 degree per vertebra), because the facets block each other. The thoracic region rotates many times more — a far larger range. When you cue 'twist deeper at the waist' and a student uses their arm as a lever, that torsion lands in the annulus of the lumbar disc — exactly where it tears most easily.
Which muscles are working: the two obliques (the twisting pair) + the transversospinales (multifidus, rotatores).
The safe cue: LENGTHEN the axis of the spine (axial extension) as far as it goes FIRST, and only then rotate 'only as far as the muscle takes you', using the hands to keep the length rather than to crank the twist. Rotate in the CHEST, stabilise the low back. And always breathe.
'Engage your core': most students have no idea where the core is, so they brace the belly outwards — which defeats the purpose. The real core is a four-walled box: the diaphragm (roof), the pelvic floor (base), TA (the wrapping walls), multifidus (along the spine). Often, getting the alignment right activates the core by itself with no need to call 'engage'. A better cue: 'draw the waist in gently, lengthen from the crown of the head to the tailbone'.
'Squeeze the glutes in Cobra to protect the back': a good deal of current biomechanical analysis questions this cue. Clenching the glutes flattens the lumbar curve — against the intent of an arching shape — and shortens the low back. The muscles really at work are the erectors + the rhomboids + the mid and lower trapezius. A better cue: 'let the buttocks soften towards the heels', so the arch comes from the back of the body and not from the buttocks.
'Always tuck the tailbone': this is a relatively recent convention in teacher training, not an anatomical truth. Tucking the tailbone continuously has students recruiting the glutes and hamstrings instead, which means the deep stabilisers (multifidus, TA) cannot activate, while the discs are compressed and the low back shortened. Tuck selectively, not in every shape.
'The more flexible the safer': a counter-intuitive paradox — hypermobile people are in fact the MOST injury-prone, because they move from the JOINT rather than from the MUSCLE, pushing joints to their extreme range; and once ligament is over-stretched, it does not spring back. With this group, favour STRENGTH and STABILITY; don't push them deeper.
On the mat: these two points turn you from someone 'repeating a cue they heard' into someone who understands why — exactly what students, and a teaching examination board, are looking for.
Knowledge only enters you once you can feel it. Give it three minutes:
- Feel the erectors: sit upright, place both hands either side of the lumbar spine. Arch gently back — you feel two bands of muscle tighten under your hands: that is the erector spinae working concentrically.
- Feel the deep stabilising layer: stand in Tadasana, close your eyes, sway slightly. The tiny muscles adjusting automatically to keep you from falling — that is the transversospinales reporting to the brain (proprioception).
- Feel the limit of rotation: sit, hold the pelvis still, and try to rotate at the 'waist'. You find almost nothing more is available — then try rotating from the chest and ribs: the range opens at once. That is the 'twist from the chest' lesson in your own body.
- Feel the breathing canister: one hand on the belly, one on the lower ribs. Breathe in deeply — you feel the belly fill and the ribs widen: the diaphragm is descending, and the pelvic floor with it.
Note down what you felt. Next time you teach, you will cue from experience, not from bare theory.
Most wrong cues are not from a teacher lacking care — but because nobody ever showed them which muscle is really working.
Now put it all together: these are the questions your students ask most, and the anatomical answers that set you apart.
You have just met the psoas — the ONLY muscle bridging the spine down to the thigh. But it is only one link. Notice this: every curve of the spine, and very nearly every low-back pain, actually begins LOWER DOWN — at the PELVIS. Whether your pelvis tips forward or back decides whether your back arches or rounds, whether the hamstrings are tight or released, even whether the sacroiliac joint hurts or stays quiet. Why is it yoga people in particular who tend to get SI pain? Why is 'fold from the hips' so hard to teach? In the next lesson we go down to the 'foundations' of the whole spinal tower — the pelvis and the hip joint — where most of the mystery of low-back pain is finally decoded. This lesson gave you the column; the next will give you the BASE that holds the column up.
To unlock Lesson 4
Answer all three correctly to unlock Lesson 4.
1. Which is the DEEPEST abdominal muscle, with fibres running across like a belt, used to 'cinch' and hold the spine?
2. Where is the origin of quadratus lumborum?
3. In which section does spinal rotation mainly happen?
The road — 31 lessons · 4 stages
You are on Lesson 3. Each lesson opens one real question about the body — understand it, and you practise & teach that much more soundly.
- 1The spine — the axis of all movementAvailable
- 2The six directions the spine movesAvailable
- 3Which muscles each spinal direction uses (SHORTENING ↔ LENGTHENING)You are here
- 4Why years of practice still won't get you into the lotus (tension vs compression)Available
- 5Every joint its own kind of hinge (bone – joint – cartilage – ligament)Available
- 6Muscle, tendon, fascia: the factory that makes & transmits forceAvailable
- 7Does stretching really make a muscle "longer"?Available
- 8The core is an "inflatable corset" — breath · diaphragm · pelvic floorAvailable
- 9One shape at the foot frees the shoulder (fascia)Available
- 10Why one cue produces a different shape in every bodyAvailable
- 11Reading the body as a system of forces (putting it together)Available
When the rectus abdominis and both obliques contract SYMMETRICALLY (on both sides), which movement does the spine make?