WORKSHOPS

HATHA YOGA
Physical, Material and Spiritual Wellness of Being Human!

CHAPTER 4, EXCERPT:
THE COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF YOGA BY SWAMI VISHNU-DEVANADA

MOBILIZATION OF THE JOINTS

If we study such animals as dogs and cats, we notice that they often stretch and contract their spines after awakening. Infants move their spines naturally in a variety of positions. Flexibility of the spine is lost as the body grows. The first indication of ossification of the bones is noted in the eighth week of intrauterine life. Long after birth, the final stages in the replacement of the cartilage by bone occurs. Bones continue to grow in circumference by the deposition of new bone from the deeper layers of the periosteum, on the external surface. The cessation of growth of bone occurs at about eighteen years of age in girls and soon after twenty in boys.

In addition to supporting the framework, the skeleton provides places of attachment for muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Above the pelvis are piled twenty-four vertebrae. The framework of the body not only stands, but bends, sways and twists.

The movements are restricted for most persons, owing to biologic shortening of ligaments. The average individual can no longer touch the floor with his fingertips when his knees are straight, even at the age of twenty. This type of ligamentous stiffening can be kept at a minimum through Yogic exercises and the body will be as pliable as a child's even at the age of eighty.

The bindings in man are known as ligaments, which are bands or sheets of fibrous tissues, connecting two or more bones, cartilages, or other structures. If posture and balance are good, the ligaments have a long and elastic life. If not, they cause discomfort, pain, and trouble. Therefore, it is essential that we examine the nature, function, and mobility of the spine and its ligaments that play a prominent role in Yogic postures.

As man grows older, his backbone stiffens because the ligaments become tighter. It must be remembered here that the ligamentous structures are continuous and if mobility is restricted in any area, the entire attachment is affected; this brings general immobility of the body.

Excessive stiffness can be due to different causes, but especially to faulty body alignment and poor balance, which cause shortening of the ligaments. Shortening of the ligaments in the vertebral column can be noticed in those who sit a good part of the time, such as students, office workers, writers, and artists. This is because persons in a sitting position thrust the head and neck forward and cause the spine to compensate by forming a round back.

When an individual resumes the erect position of the spine while either sitting, standing, or walking, there may be some severe pain in the neck radiating through the shoulders down to the arms. This may, in turn, bring headaches and scalp sensitivity. The pressure caused by the shortening of the ligaments at the base of the skull irritates the nerves that pass through the facial attachment. This nerve irritation is picked up to some degree by the peripheral nerve branches set off at the points of ligamentous shortening to the outermost extremities. Such aches and pains of the head, shoulders, and arms can be relieved by such Yoga postures as the fish pose and shoulderstand, which stretch the ligaments and permit free and easy movement of the head and neck, thus relieving the compression of the nerves and the sensitivity of the nerve branches.

For a lasting effect and a permanent stretching of these ligaments, a correct head and upper spine balance and flexibility are necessary, all of which can be accomplished by daily practice of the Yogic poses.

The facial ligaments consist of multiple layers of connective tissue composed of parallel bundles of fibers, woven in such a way as to be able to take enormous strains and stresses. These ligaments possess great strength; they are an indispensable part in our daily motions of walking, standing, and lifting. The facial attachments tend to shorten after a period of great activity followed by a period of inactivity.

The Yogic gives great attention to the vertebral column and its ligaments, the pillar of the support of the trunk and cranium, which also protects the spinal cord and the roots of the spinal nerve. The spinal nerves emerge between the vertebrae.

Four definite curves are noticeable in the vertebral column, namely, cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and pelvic or sacral.

The primary curves present at birth are two, thoracic and sacral. the cervical curve develops as the child begins to hold up his head, between there and nine months. When the child begins to walk, the lumbar curve appears.

All four curves lend resilience and spring to the vertebral column, which are essential for walking and jumping. Improper positions may exaggerate the curves of the vertebral column. An increase in the thoracic curve is called kyphosis; in the lumbar curve, lordosis. A lateral curvature of the spine is called scoliosis. Owning to tuberculosis of the vertebrae, erosion of the bodies of the vertebrae may take place, resulting in abnormal curvature.

Yogic exercises are mainly designed to keep the proper curvature of the spine and to increase its flexibility by stretching the anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments. The posterior longitudinal ligament extends from the epistropheus to the sacrum. All the discs and edged of the bodies of the vertebrae are attached by this ligament. A fifteen-year-old can easily touch his toes with the fingertips while keeping the knees straight. This flexibility of the spine lessens at thirty and continues to decline at forty until at sixty and over, any bending my be difficult and painful. In fact, stiffened ligaments will not stretch at all and the body is held at the base of the skull, thoughout the spine, pelvis, and knees by ligaments that have lost their elasticity.

A Yoga practitioner, even at an advanced age, maintains flexible ligaments and spine. Some of the difficult Yogic exercises (shown in this book) demonstrate just to what degree the human body can be trained to maintain maximum pliability of the spine and the various joints.