Creating Movement Through Your Spine

The connection between your head and your pelvis is one of the most important aspects of human movement. This soothing, gentle exercise is designed to leave you feeling less muscle tension from your lower back and pelvis, to your head and neck. You’ll find that the movements of your neck and back become more relaxed and comfortable as the exercise progresses, and you'll feel more freedom through your spine.

For this exercise, you will lie on your back on the floor, padded as needed for comfort.

Transcript

Thank you for joining me for this soothing gentle exercise designed to leave you feeling much less muscle tension from your lower back and pelvis to your head and neck.

You'll feel softening and more freedom of movement throughout your spine.

So to begin,

Please lie on your back on the floor with padding if that's more comfortable.

Extend your legs and arms long.

So the connection between your head and your pelvis is one of the most important aspects of human movement.

You'll find that the movements of your neck and back become more relaxed and comfortable as this exercise progresses.

During this lesson,

Please remember to do only the movements that feel very comfortable.

Move very slowly.

Make all of the movements very small.

Pause between each movement and never strain or force a movement.

And now,

Please take a moment to sense and feel your contact with the floor.

Begin to scan from your feet to your head and notice how some parts of your body are making more contact with the floor than other parts of your body.

Some parts may feel lifted away from the floor.

Notice the contact of your pelvis on the floor.

Is one side heavier or more in contact than the other side?

Does one side feel lifted away in places?

You don't have to change anything or adjust yourself.

Simply observe how you come to lie on your back at the beginning of this audio recording and we'll compare your contact at the end to see what,

If anything,

Has changed.

Can you feel there's a bit of space between your lower back and the floor?

And now observe your shoulder blades.

Which shoulder blade feels more in contact with the floor?

Your left or your right?

Does one side feel flatter or wider?

Does one shoulder blade feel more lifted or can you feel the bones differently on one side compared to the other?

And then you can feel that the back of your neck is a little lifted away from the floor.

And then you can clearly feel the back of your head on the floor.

Is the contact of your head right in the middle or is it a little bit to the left or to the right?

And again,

You don't have to change anything.

You're only observing yourself without any judgment.

And now please roll your head very gently a little to the left.

And then to the right.

Roll your head very,

Very slowly and let the movement be small.

Only roll your head in a range that feels completely smooth and easy.

Where you don't have to use your neck muscles to turn your head further.

Notice that place where you feel a little bit of resistance and don't go further in that direction.

And now bring your head to the middle and pause for a moment.

And without lifting your head off the floor,

Move your chin a tiny bit towards your chest as if you were nodding your head down a little bit.

And then let your head come back to that neutral position and relax.

And you pause.

And then repeat the movement again of nodding your head downwards that tiny little bit that feels very easy.

And then back to the starting position.

And then you pause again and then you continue like that.

You just continue slowly doing this nodding movement of your head.

And notice any tightness you feel in your neck,

In your lower jaw.

And if you feel any tightness,

Then you make the movement smaller.

The movement can be so small that someone in the same room with you might not even know you're doing any movement at all.

And each time you do this movement of slowly and gently nodding your head downwards and moving your chin a tiny bit towards your chest and then coming back to that neutral starting position.

See if you can reduce any effort.

See if you can make the movement even smaller.

Allow your breath to be relaxed and easy.

And notice that as you nod your head down,

There's a change in the pressure of the back of your head on the floor.

The back of your head moves slightly in relationship with the floor as you nod.

Really move slowly and make the movement small and you'll be able to detect any tension.

And the movement will become easier and more comfortable the more slowly you go.

And as you continue to nod your head downwards like that,

See if you can feel whether the contact of your back on the floor changes.

Maybe you feel something,

Maybe you don't.

Maybe you don't.

During this exercise,

Everyone notices changes at different points in time.

And now please rest.

So what we're doing here is not physically difficult,

But we rest often because paying focused attention to your sensations takes a lot of concentration.

So we give your brain a rest.

And now this time,

Please bend your knees and stand your feet flat on the floor about shoulder's width apart.

And now begin again that very small,

Slow movement of nodding your head downward and then slowly letting it return.

And then you pause and you do it again.

You bring your chin down that tiny bit towards your chest and then you let your head return to its neutral position.

And you pause before you do it again.

And just feel how with your knees bent the movement of your head is slightly different.

And as you continue this movement of slowly nodding your head downwards a little and back,

Just notice whether you breathe in or out when your head nods downwards.

And what happens to your chest when you bring your head down?

Does your chest seem to flatten and move downward or towards the floor?

Or does it expand and get larger as you nod your head down?

Okay.

And now please stop.

Rest.

You can extend your legs if you like.

If you're more comfortable,

You can always leave your knees bent and your feet standing.

So your only task during this exercise is to pay attention to your own physical sensations during each movement.

And just notice where you're feeling things,

Where you're noticing where there's muscular effort that you're using.

And then when you notice that,

Do less.

So the goal is not to do more repetitions or to try to make bigger movements as the lesson goes on or to force anything to happen.

As you reduce the size of the movements,

Unnecessary muscular contractions will automatically let go.

And you'll begin to feel an improvement in the quality and the ease of each movement.

So please bend your knees and stand your feet again.

And now very slowly begin to move your chin a little bit away from your chest.

So this time you're nodding your head upwards a little bit.

And then you let your head return and you relax before you do the movement again.

You continue to slowly and smoothly nod your head upwards a tiny bit.

And then you let your head come back to its original position.

And if you feel any strain in the movement,

Make it even smaller and make the movement slower.

Again,

The upward nodding movement can be such a small movement that someone watching you might not even know that you're doing anything at all.

And just notice if nodding your head upwards like this feels easier or less easy than when you are nodding your head downwards.

And notice whether you feel this movement in your upper or lower back when you nod your head upwards like this.

Each time you do the movement,

Just scan around yourself and see if you can detect where you might be using any unnecessary effort.

And then you do even less.

Notice if you're clenching your teeth or contracting your jaw or contracting your tongue as you continue to gently nod your head upwards and then back to that neutral resting position.

And now please stop and rest again.

Again,

If you lengthened your legs to rest,

Please bend your knees and stand your feet.

And now we'll combine the two movements.

So make a very small movement of nodding your head up a tiny bit and then through the middle and then down a tiny bit.

And you just very slowly continue to nod your head up and down.

And you pause between each few movements.

So just let your breathing be easy as you do this.

So the effectiveness of this exercise is based on how attentive you can be to your own comfort as you do the movements.

Not on how many movements you can do or how quickly you can do them.

In fact,

A few movements done slowly with attention to your physical sensations are much more effective than doing many movements quickly and without attention.

As you slowly nod your head up and down this little bit,

What can you feel in your mouth or in your jaw?

Do you notice that your mouth opens a little when you nod your head up and closes a little when you nod your head downward?

So now as you tilt your head upwards,

Intentionally open your mouth a little tiny bit.

And then as you nod your head downwards and your chin gets closer to your chest,

Gently close your mouth a little bit.

So as you nod your head upwards,

Your mouth opens a little.

And as you nod your head downwards,

Your mouth closes.

Really move slowly.

See if you can relax any effort in your jaw and let the opening and closing be very small.

Notice if you feel any movement in your chest or your spine as you slowly nod your head upwards and open your mouth a little.

And then nod your head downwards and let your mouth close.

And now please stop,

Stretch out your legs and rest.

So we rest a lot during this exercise because it's during the rest that your brain integrates the sensory information that you're taking in while you're doing the movement.

So rests are actually as important or even more important than the active movement in this exercise.

So please bend your knees and stand your feet.

And now make a small tilting movement of your pelvis so that your lower back moves a little closer to the floor and then let your pelvis return to the neutral position.

You continue to do this small gentle movement of tilting your pelvis very slightly so that your lower back comes a little closer to the floor.

And then you let your pelvis return to neutral and let go of any effort or contraction as you do this.

So as you do this,

Notice if your stomach contracts or your legs or those big muscles on the back side of your pelvis,

The glute muscles,

Is anything contracting.

See if you can do this gentle movement so small and so slowly that the minimum of effort is needed.

And as you continue to do this very small tilting movement of your pelvis so that your lower back moves a little closer to the floor,

Notice what you're doing with your jaw and your mouth.

Notice if you're unnecessarily tightening or clenching your jaw as you tilt your pelvis.

See if you can separate your teeth a little and let your tongue rest in your lower palate rather than pressing into the roof of your mouth or the backs of your teeth.

You just tilt your pelvis slowly so your lower back comes towards the floor and then you come back to the neutral and you pause.

And the next time you're back in your resting position,

Please stop and extend your legs and rest.

And observe if your lower back is contacting the floor differently now than earlier in the recording.

The contact of your lower back may be closer to the floor.

Notice if there's any change in the contact of your shoulder blades with the floor.

Please bend your knees and stand your feet shoulders width apart.

And this time make a very small movement of tilting your pelvis in the opposite direction.

So this time you tilt your pelvis in the way that your lower back moves a little bit away from the floor.

So it's like you're increasing the arch of your lower back a tiny bit.

And then you let your pelvis come back to neutral and you relax.

And you pause before you do it again.

And again,

You tilt your pelvis in the way that you increase the arch in your lower back a tiny bit.

And then you come back and you relax.

And you just continue making this slow,

Comfortable movement of tilting your pelvis so that your lower back comes a little bit away from the floor.

And then you come back to the neutral and you pause before you do it again.

And put your attention on your glute muscles.

And notice,

Are you squeezing your butt muscles as you do this?

Or are you using your lower back muscles or your legs?

And if so,

See if you can go a little more slowly and make the movement even smaller.

So the only effort you're using at all is just the movement of your pelvis tilting back and forth.

You can't make the movement slow enough and you can't make the movement small enough.

Okay,

And allow your breathing to be easy.

And rest for a few seconds between each movement.

And each time you tilt your pelvis,

Let go of the effort in your mouth,

In your jaw,

In your neck,

In your hands,

In your shoulders and legs.

And you'll see as you let go of the unnecessary effort,

The movement will become simpler and easier.

And now let's put the two tilting movements of your pelvis together.

So very slowly begin to tilt your pelvis upward so that your lower back comes closer to the floor.

And then tilt your pelvis downwards a little so your lower back moves away from the floor.

And continue this small,

Slow,

Gentle rocking movement of your pelvis back and forth.

Make sure you're not using your back muscles or your leg muscles.

Relax your belly.

Notice if you're holding your breath.

And of course rest whenever you need to.

And as you do this very slow,

Gentle rocking movement of your pelvis,

See if you can feel that the pressure on the back of your head changes as you tilt your pelvis back and forth.

The connection between your head and your pelvis is one of the most important aspects of human movement.

So make the tilting of your pelvis even slower and even smaller.

And feel where you can relax your neck and your pelvis.

Good.

And now please stop,

Lengthen your legs,

And rest.

And again,

Just observe your contact with the floor,

The contact of your lower back,

The contact behind your lower rib cage,

The contact of your shoulder blades.

And just notice any place throughout yourself where you could give yourself more fully to the floor.

And now please bend your knees and stand your feet and begin to slowly nod your head a little up and a little down,

Just as you did earlier.

Notice if this movement feels a little easier or smoother than it did earlier in this exercise.

And now when you nod your head upwards a little,

Tilt your pelvis up a little also so that your lower back comes a little closer to the floor.

And when you nod your head down a little,

Tilt your pelvis so that your lower back moves away from the floor and the arch of your lower back increases a little.

So do this very slowly and gently.

You can't go slowly enough and you can't make the movement small enough.

And as you nod your head up,

Your lower back comes closer to the floor.

And as you nod your head down,

Your lower back moves a little away from the floor.

Just continue to slowly coordinate these movements of your head and neck and pelvis.

See if you can let go of any tension in your face and around your mouth.

Let your teeth be separated a little.

Let your tongue be relaxed.

Let your breathing be relaxed.

You need to only make a very small movement of your head and pelvis for this exercise to be effective.

Good.

And now let's coordinate the opening and closing of your mouth with the movements of your head and pelvis.

So as you nod your head upwards and your lower back comes towards the floor,

Open your mouth a little.

And then when you nod your head downwards and you tilt your pelvis down and your lower back arches that little bit,

You close your mouth.

You nod your head up as your lower back moves towards the floor and you open your mouth a little and you open your mouth a little and you nod your head downward and your lower back arches and then you close your mouth.

Let each movement be easy and gentle and continue to feel where you can let go of unnecessary effort,

Unnecessary muscle contractions.

Where can you do less as you do this movement?

Your breathing is easy.

Good.

And now please stop and extend your legs and rest.

And just notice the sensations in your neck and your mouth,

Your back.

Observe your contact with the floor overall.

Are you beginning to become flatter and wider or more lifted than earlier in the exercise?

And observe your breathing.

Observe your belly as you inhale and exhale.

Please bend your knees and stand your feet shoulders distance apart.

And once again,

Nod your head upwards and tilt your pelvis so that your lower back comes closer to the floor and nod your head downwards and tilt your pelvis so your lower back moves a little away from the floor.

Find that nice easy rhythm.

Let the movement be small and gentle.

Any place you feel stretching or effort in your back or your belly or your legs,

You just do less.

And now this time we're going to do the opposite movement with your mouth.

So as you nod your head upwards and your lower back goes towards the floor,

As you nod your head upwards and your lower back goes towards the floor,

You close your mouth.

And as you nod your head downwards and your lower back arches that little bit,

You open your mouth.

So you allow your mouth to close as you nod your head up and your lower back goes towards the floor.

And you open your mouth as you nod your head down and your lower back arches.

So this combination with your mouth,

Head,

And pelvis is not as easy as the movement we were doing earlier.

But if you really go slowly and make the movement small,

It will become easier.

And now once again,

Go back to that earlier movement of opening your mouth as you nod your head upwards and you tilt your pelvis so your lower back goes closer to the floor and then close your mouth as you nod your head downwards and your spine arches a little.

And just feel how much easier it is now.

Really enjoy the ease of this movement and notice how much smoother and clearer it is to you now than when you first did it at the beginning of the exercise.

Just continue to rock back and forth gently like this,

Feeling how the movement is no longer just your head moving or your pelvis moving,

But it's one connected movement through your entire spine.

And that smoothness of movement happens when the muscular contractions along your spine start to release.

So let the movement be very slow and easy.

And just feel the connection from your pelvis all the way through your spine to the back of your head.

And when you're ready and you've had enough of that,

You can stop and lengthen your legs and rest.

Just observe your contact with the floor,

The contact behind your pelvis,

The contact behind your lower back.

Is your lower back closer to the floor or more lifted away from the floor now?

And notice the contact of your right shoulder blade and of your left shoulder blade.

And then slowly and gently begin to roll your head a little bit to the left and a little bit to the right.

And just notice if there's something easier or smoother or clearer about this movement now compared to earlier in the exercise.

Maybe you have a little more range of motion,

But what we really care about is the improvement in the quality,

The smoothness of the movement.

And then leave your head in the middle and observe your breath,

The rise and fall of your abdomen as you inhale and exhale.

And when you're ready to sit and stand,

Please do so by rolling to one side and moving very,

Very slowly.

And when you do stand,

You can observe yourself for a moment.

Notice if you feel heavier or more stable in your legs and pelvis.

And maybe you'll notice you're able to stand upright without any effort.

So if you can continue to practice some of the movements we did in this exercise,

You can remind your nervous system of this feeling and reinforce the new neural pathways you just created.

Thank you so much for practicing with me.

Reviews

Thanks for recommending this track Susan. Another good one for me 🙏 The nutation and counternutation was challenging, as so many other muscles tried to get in on the act!.
Toward the end I started nodding off, so was clearly relaxing!
🙏

Hello beautiful 🌺🎀🌺🎀🌺Thank You so much for the wonderfully practice 🏝️I’m floating in the ocean feeling so relaxed 🗺️have a blessed day 🕉️Namaste

That really helped my back and jaw muscles relax! Thank you!