In Yoga: Bend Back, Don’t Swayback!
Not all backbends are created equal. Healthy backbends happens at the lowest lumbar level (L5-S1); unhealthy backbends happen higher up in the lumbar spine.
Cecily Frederick (Gokhale Method teacher, Madison, Wisconsin), doing a back dive with a healthy L5-S1 backbend.
This yogini is backbending (unhealthily) almost entirely in the upper lumbar spine.
The L5-S1 joint is unique in having saddle-like properties and is capable of quite extreme extension (backbending) without injury.
B.K.S. Iyengar demonstrates a healthy 90 degree backbend that happens exclusively at the L5-S1 joint. Iyengar was one of the world's foremost yoga teachers until his death at age 95.
Peking Acrobats are trained to perform extreme backbends. The backbends happen exclusively at L5-S1, which makes them sustainable.
Higher up in the lumbar spine, repeated, sustained, or extreme extension results in wear and tear and injury in the related discs and vertebrae.
This young gymnast exhibits a classic gymnastics pose, with a significant (unhealthy) sway in her upper lumbar spine. Gymnasts are notoriously prone to back pain and injury.
The majority of this dancer’s backbend happens at a single level in her upper lumbar spine that is not adapted for extreme backbending (ouch!).
The distinction between upper and lower lumbar curvature is rarely made, neither for baseline positions like standing and sitting, nor for acrobatic and yoga positions like backbends. This lack of distinction is true in modern lay culture (see post on Forward Pelvis) as well as in the medical literature (see this cross sectional study on the Correlation between Radiologic Sign of Lumbar Lordosis and Functional Status in Patients with Chronic Mechanical Low Back Pain). Not surprisingly, findings involving a crude compound of all lumbar curvature are confused and contradictory. I have found only one scientific study on lower back pain that makes a distinction between upper and lower lumbar curvature - the findings are consistent with the Gokhale Method's claims about a "J-spine" being healthier than an "S-spine."
I consider that the significant back problems I suffered in my mid-20’s resulted in part from poorly executed yoga and gymnastic backbends in my childhood, as well as a chronic baseline extension (sway) of my upper lumbar spine. I was rewarded for my “flexibility” both in gymnastic competitions and as a yoga presenter and teacher—I received applause, awards, and signups for classes. Almost no one saw that I was systematically bending backwards in a problematic place.
Me in the INDUS fashion show (Mumbai, 1973) sporting a hand-me-down dress - and a significant sway.
I do recall my Bharatanatyam dance teacher Kutti Krishnan being vaguely disturbed by my baseline stance. He wasn’t able to articulate what exactly the problem was, or how to correct it, but I remember him trying to imitate my stance to help me out. It didn’t work, he stopped trying to correct me, and my sway persisted unchecked into adulthood, when it manifest as a problematic and then surgical back in my mid-20’s.
An old image of me teaching yoga as best as I knew how in 1979, standing with a sway in my back (and putting extreme flexion into my student's neck.)
To learn a healthy backbend, start with an “infant cobra,” in which you plan on lifting no more than two inches off the ground. Begin by lying face down with your hands placed near your armpits. Before lifting, engage an extremely strong rib anchor. Augmenting the rib anchor hard against the tendency to sway, press up an inch or two from the ground. Keep the neck aligned with the spine.
Notice how in this healthy baby cobra, the backbend takes place only at L5-S1 at the base of the lumbar spine, right above the butt.
Don’t expect to be entirely successful at the start. It’s challenging to eliminate a habitual sway entirely so tolerate a small amount of arching in your back unless that hurts. As you practice, slip a hand back to your midline groove and make sure the arch is not too accentuated.
If you backbend at L5-S1 and strongly engage your rib anchor muscles, the front lower border of your ribcage will not protrude, but rather remain flush with your torso. A bend higher in the lumbar spine will result in the ribs protruding visibly from the contour of the abdomen.
The extent of protrusion of the ribcage is a fairly reliable index of sway in the low back. This bridge position shows healthy spinal curvature, where the backbend happens almost exclusively at the L5-S1 joint. There is no protrusion of the ribcage from the smooth contour of the abdomen.
This yoga student’s backbend happens at L5-S1 (which is good) as well as the upper lumbar spine (not so good)- her rib cage protrudes slightly from the contour of her abdomen.
This student backbends entirely in her upper lumbar spine (ouch) and we see her ribs lift away from her abdomen a great deal.
As you get used to the practice of intensifying the rib anchor corresponding to the challenge that you’re imposing on it, you can increase the extent of your cobra by degrees and perform other types of backbends.
For extreme backbends, we recommend you leave them to the professionals. B.K.S. Iyengar was known to practice yoga eight hours a day. The Peking Acrobats are also singularly dedicated to their craft. For some of us, bending back in the shower to avoid shampoo coming into our eyes is the most practice we'll have in backbending. It's enough to keep us flexible and healthy as we enjoy watching what others are able to do.
B.K.S. Iyengar doing an inversion combined with a healthy backbend.
Some things to keep in mind
Some things to keep in mind:
Having said that, it makes sense that there would be a gradation in possible healthy extension with the most at L5-S1, then L4-L5, then L3-4, like Coulter desribes - this makes sense if you think about how evolution took place. We went from being quadrupeds to becoming bipedal - something had to change.
Hi Esther,I have been
Hi Esther,
I have been following your blog posts for a while and I really respect your work and your insights. However, I have to say this one renders disservice rather than sheding light on the subject of backbending. Some of the information you're sharing here is just wrong, and I think it is due to the fact that your approach comes rather from an intellectual standpoint, instead of the perspective of someone who actually has physical experience of backbending in their body.
I am a contemporary dancer and Stott Pilates instructor with experience in basic contortion training and I can assure you - all we do not need is to extend exclusively from L5-S1. Much on the contrary - you need extension throughout the whole of your spine, as too much movement on a single area is what will definitely lead to injury. In fact I just took the first module of a Stretching Certification program led by a former Cirque du Soleil contortion coach with more than 20 years of experience in leading artists and athletes to those extreme levels of back extension, and she was adamant - you do want the arch to happen from upper back and shoulders, aiming to maintain lower back as neutral as possible. You are using contortion to make your point here, but you are tricked by the illusion in the picture and you're building your argument on a pure visual impression, rather than experience in the discipline and practice. The yogini you've stated as bending unhealthily, is in fact bending rather healthily. Stott Pilates will also highly encourage extension happening from thoracic spine, rather than lumbar.
So, I don't mean to be rude, but I would encourage you to look for information from people who have actual experience in the field, rather than talking about something you don't have practical knowledge of, eventually leading to misinformation.
Thanks for your comment and
Thanks for your comment and clarity which reflect my experience, too, as a yoga teacher and student. We've been working on back bending at Taj Yoga in Seattle in line with your perspective, and it's been eye opening for my back bending and overall wellbeing.
Perhaps it's more a matter of where we are coming from. Ester did have a problem with upper thoracic extension. In yesterday's class, Theresa Elliott showed us how one individual needs to press into their hands to move their arch down the spine whereas another needs to press into the feet to move it upward. She had 2 photo's with arrows indicating the individual solutions. Both extremes needed modification. (An architect in our class concurred.)
Avoid tucking the pelvis as it limits motion! Engage the pelvic floor or core, adductor magnus, hamstrings and everything else as you go into the pose with awareness! Find a good teacher for more support.