Back Body Reading

In the course of studying hatha yoga we are often asked to assess unknown and even seemingly obscure parts of the body. We are asked to move these parts of the body in ways that are counter to our habitual patterns and require skill.  Although we hope to gain control and mastery over these areas and movements, it is the very process of going within, not the perfection of the pose, which paves the way to peace with the body. 

Probing these unknown areas and moving in these unfamiliar ways strengthens our relationship with the body and increases our ability to move from the inside out as we practice.  For instance, one of the instructions often given in Anusara Yoga classes is to "lift or inflate the kidneys."  In other classes, I have even been instructed to "lift the skin above the kidneys up the back and to move the skin below the kidneys down the back."  To the average person, such an instruction is not only obscure but also meaningless and impossible to execute.  It is not surprising then, that many people don't even atttempt to follow such instructions.  However, over time we learn that instructions dealing with the area of the kidneys (the middle back) move our awareness more deeply into what is often called "the back body."

The back body is representative of the unconscious; the collective rather than the individual; of the things unseen that "back us up" and provide support for our individual efforts.  Additionally, the area of the kidneys creates a bridge between the lower and upper halves of the body and serves to intergrate the forces in life that lift us up with those that anchor and ground us to the earth.  Suddenly such an instruction as "move more into your kidneys" has a meaning that is deeper than simply lengthening the spine or trying to do the impossible.  When we implement the instruction to "move into the back body" we are not only rewarded with a longer spine and stronger experience of our physical strength but we are also more aware of our personal connection with Divine support and the support of the community.  We may feel that suddenly we have a "backbone" and that we are surer of ourselves.  Because we are trusting in things unseen for support, we are training ourselves to be less seduced by the distractions that we do see out in front of us that so often clamor for our attention.

This journey into the "back body" is one more aspect of the process of making peace with the body.  When we practice in such a manner, we are literally transforming the asana practice into an offering, into a devotional prayer, where the asanas physicalize our intention, creating a union of mind and body.  

From the book "Yoga from the inside out" by Christina Sell.