Your Spine, Your Yoga

Your Spine, Your Yoga is arguably the first book that looks at the spine fromboth the Western anatomical/biomechanical pointof view and the modern yoga perspective. It is filled with detail, discussion, illustrations, and practicaladvice for spines of all types. This emphasis on variety is welcome and necessary: no two spines are exactlyalike, and no two people have the same biology and biography. What your spine is able to do may be vastlydifferent from what other yoga students’ or teachers’ spines can do. The human spine is unique in itsstructure and function. Primarily, it provides stability through the core of our body, allowing forcesto be transmitted from the upper body (arms and shoulders) to the lower body (pelvis and legs) andvice versa. Secondarily, the spine allows tremendous range of movement. Unfortunately, in modern yogapractice we find the primacy of these two functions reversed, with flexibility prized over stability.This focus on spinal mobility comes