Bernie Clark author of the best selling The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga, has had a passion for science, health, sports and spirituality since childhood. He has a degree in science from the University of Waterloo and spent over 25 years as a senior executive in the high-tech/space industry. Bernie has been investigating the path of meditation for over three decades and began teaching yoga and meditation in 1998. He conducts yoga teacher trainings several times a year and aims to build bridges between the experiences of yoga and the understandings of modern science. He is creator of the [...] website. Other books written by Bernie include Your Body, Your Yoga; From the Gita to the Grail: Exploring Yoga Stories & Western Myths, as well as YinSights. Bernie lives, teaches and offers workshops in Vancouver, Canada.

Table of Contents for Your Spine, Your Yoga

Gratitude

How to read this book

Preface

Foreword

Summary of key concepts

Intentions

Chapter 1: The axial body

Overview of the axial body

• Axial landmarks
• Spinal segments
• Variations of the spine
• Curves of the spine
• Posture perfect?
• Bones of the axis
• Ligaments and fascia
• Movements of the spine
• The kinds of stress in the spine
• Spinal nerves and neurodynamics

Overview summary

Chapter 2: The sacral complex

Form

• The architecture of the sacral complex
• Bones and cartilage
• Joints and ligaments
• Muscles of the sacral complex
• Fascial trains of the sacral complex

Function: Application in yoga postures

• Normal ranges of motion within the sacral complex
• Stressing and supporting the sacroiliac joint in yoga postures
• Normal ranges of motion of the whole sacral complex

Sacral complex summary

Chapter 3: The lumbar segment

Form

• The architecture of the lumbar segment
• The bones of the lumbar segment
• Axial fascia and muscles
• Lumbar and thoracic muscles

Function: application in yoga postures

• Normal ranges of motion
• Sources of tension
• Sources of compression
• Variation in ranges of motion for flexion and extension
• Yoga and the lumbar spine

The lumbar spine summary

The thoracic spinal segment

Form

• The architecture of the thoracic spine
• The bones of the thorax
• Joints and ligaments
• Thoracic fascia
• Thoracic muscles

Function: application in yoga postures

• Normal ranges of motion
• Sources of tension
• Sources of compression
• Variation in ranges of motion for twists and side bends
• Biomechanics of the breath and its variations

Thoracic spine summary

The Cervical Complex

Form

• The Architecture of the cervical spine
• The bones of the cervical complex
• Joints and ligaments
• Muscles of the cervical complex
• Fascia of the cervical complex

Function: application in yoga postures

• Normal ranges of motion
• Movements and their restrictions: tensions and compressions
• Variation in ranges of motion

Cervical spine summary

Volume 3: Summary

Major Sidebars

It¿s important

The flaw of averages

The myth of the static ideal

Where is the neutral spine?

The myth of the static ideal

What does "stable" mean?

Early morning yoga and yoga after sitting

Stress, stretch, flexibility, mobility and hypermobility

Defining some terms

Yoga poses, sitting postures and sleeping position can overstretch nerves

Yoga and the sacral complex

In standing yoga postures, should we tuck the tailbone?

Defining the core muscles

Stiffness and stability

Our orientation to gravity affects the amount of stress on the spine

Different yoga postures stress the vertebral discs in different ways

Avoid twisting the spine when it is flexed or extended and under load

For deeper backbends, relax the extensor muscles!

Bracing and Spacing

Building endurance

Of bent knees and straight spines

Maintaining our vital capacity as we age

Slowing the breath is better than deepening the breath

Galileo, scaling laws and Headstand

The vertebral arteries

As you get older, be careful of weight bearing neck movements!

Returning the head to neutral

Shoulder stand¿a high risk, low reward posture

Headstand¿a high risk, low reward posture

It¿s complicated

Statistics

Approximation and Distraction

Shear is stressful

Naming the nerves and their routes

The sciatic nerve

Force closure and form closure

Details of the sacrum

The perineum

The ways the sacrum moves

Does the sacrum nutate or counternutate in backbends?

Is it possible to therapeutically adjust the sacrum?

Changing the alignment of your hips before twisting

Snaps, cracks and pops¿noisy sacrum

Lumbar lordosis in sports

Variations between the lumbar vertebrae

The spines of contortionists

Deep fascia and aponeuroses

The strength and stiffness of the spinal ligaments

A functional view of the erector spinae

The strength of the back muscles

How can our spines lift heavy loads?

How much stress can our spines tolerate?

Variations of the thoracic vertebrae

The diaphragm pulls and pushes on the heart

Membranes and ligaments between the skull and neck

Coupled movements

The neck does not move as one unit

Whiplash and sports trauma

Note to teachers

Learning to sense the spine

To hinge or not to hinge?

A philosophy for counterposes

Moola bandha and Kegel exercises

Can you feel relative movements of the ilia or of the sacrum?

Stress, twists and the sacroiliac joint

Don¿t be fooled by the apparent curve in the lower back!

We cannot isolate and activate individual muscles

Watch your students!

Keep watching your students!

A flat back does not create a neutral spine

Strengthening the bones of the spine

Combatting hyperkyphosis

Sometimes it is okay to do only one side of a pose!

Variation in breast size will affect some women¿s yoga practice

Movement can enhance breath, breath can enhance movement¿sometimes!

Jalandhara bandha

Web appendices

Measuring the curves of the spine

Body size and spinal curves

Orientation of the facets

Creep and counterposes

Thickness of the discs and vertebral bodies

Hypermobility and Yin Yoga

Spinal biotensegrity

Variations in the shapes and sizes the auricular area of the sacroiliac joint

Pelvic parameters and variations

Accessory joints of the sacral complex

Myofascial meridians

Sacral, low back and neck pain and problems

Moment arms, torque and force

Wedging of the vertebrae and discs

Alignment of the spinous processes

Prying open the anterior discs in deep backbends

The thoracolumbar fascial train

More on the strength of the spinal ligaments

Folding forward with arms overhead increases stress in the spine

Axial rotation and lateral flexion can create flexion and extension

How yoga affects our blood chemistry

Other anterior neck muscles

Muscles of the face and jaw