Happier Backs

I did a whole series on backs,
back in February and March of 2006,
on the slowsonoma.com site,
here's the first one,
Backs and Breathing.

After that there are four more.

Is there anything more to say
about backs?

Of course.
Either our back feels great right now,
or it is out of the picture,
which means it's doing its job of holding us up,
or
it hurts.

Let's get fancy:
either we are aware or our backs, or unaware.
I'll say, aware is better,
even though better is relative to lots of thing,
and awareness is better
whether it,
the back,
our back,
feels good
or not so good,
or in between.

And more fancy:
it hurts,
means
I hurt.

The pain
is in the brain.
Even though it certainly can feel
as if it
is in our back.

Okay:
how to have a happier back.

Move it.

Slowly.

In six directions.

What six directions?

Six easy directions.

You figure them out.

And then do yourself
one more favor.

Actually, do yourself hundreds of favors,
today
and every day:
and include this one:
as you move your back slowly,
discovering six different directions and ways
to move your back,
listen to your back,
sense your back,
not as a "back"
but as a whole bunch of vertebrae.

Sense them,
one by one if you can.

Ever been to one of those awful yoga classes
where the teacher has you leaning forward,
and then says,
"Come on up, vertebrae by vertebrae,"
and then two seconds later they are on
to the next instruction.

As is two seconds is all it takes
to sense twenty four vertebrae.

Hmmm.

Take your time.

Move slow.

Find out some vertebrae
you weren't as familiar with
yesterday.

Learn to know
and love yourself.

Make sense of
yourself.

Have fun.
Tune in next essay here
for more hints as to the six possibilities
for a back,
for your back,
for my back,
for the back side of our joy.

ciao,
chris