The Spine

Some time back, someone posted that they had recently noticed how deeply the spine is placed in the body, and that this made a big difference in their practice.  (Thanks! to Ian.)

A brief look at the anatomy of a vertebrae shows that there's quite a distance from spinous process, to spinal cord (which runs through a bony hollow), across the span of the disc & vertebral body (the "marrow" of the spine).  Interesting to note that the stack of vertebral bodies and discs make up the bulk of the spine.

So, given vertebral anatomy, consider the spine. 

The spine has a thick complement of ligaments, tendons, and musculature, which sets it even further in from the skin than is implied by the bone anatomy alone.

  torso x-ray

I think that perhaps many people, when they meditate on the spine, go exclusively towards the area of spinal cord, spinous processes, even the dorsal ligaments, tendons, musculature - and maybe miss the bulk of the backbone: the stack of vertebral bodies and discs.  

This stack, which contains the "marrow" of the spine, has a special relationship with jing:  The water element, of which jing is part, has home resonance with the marrow (per five element theory); that's why marrow washing is such an important part of jing gong.  And, spine-marrow washing is a particularly important part of marrow washing.

The stack of vertebral bodies and jelly-like discs are a prime candidate for pulsing; moving unaroused jing up, vertebrae by vertebrae, simply by meditative attention.

The Base of the Spine: The Sacrum

The sacrum plays a key role in that 

        - it's the base of the spinal column 

        - it's opposite the front base of sexual vitality.

                    (Of course, the distribution varies somewhat for men, women.)

                 Click for anatomical details.

In order for sexual vitality to be effectively brought up the spine, it first needs to be drawn to the sacrum.  One way, and part, of doing this is to get the sacrum itself to pulse.  This is generally done through a combination of breathing, meditation, and muscular flexion around the sacrum - all of which trigger a sacral pulsing that is native to jing, which draws the sexual energy into the sacrum and, from there, jing moves up through the spinal column more easily (though some work is still involved).

Instructions such as "clench the buttocks" and "straighten the lower back" are not specific to the muscles that directly massage the sacrum, and so fail to trigger sacral pulsing, and likewise fail to catalyze the sexual vitality ~ sacrum relationship.  The muscles in immediate contact with (and, even preferably, attached to) the sacrum need to be gently flexed, repeatedly.

        MICRO-VIBE the SACRUM: Electric Massager - simplest, easiest, super-effectivest

                An electric vibrating massage tool works wonders.  Small vibrations deeply penetrate the sacrum and surrounding tissues, nerves, and small capillaries.  (Large jack-hammer vibrations are more prone to injure the spine and don't do as much what we're looking for.)  Even though this is micro-vibe it is a major treatment: Do it rarely and focus mainly on your regular practices.  This is the super-effective every-joe's solution to a critical hard-to-get-to area.

        I use a NovaSonic (above L), but I suspect that any brand/model with micro-massage would work.

        SIMPLEST INTERNAL METHOD

                Sacrum Breathing - Simply imagine breathing, inhaling, air in through the holes of the sacrum towards the front of the body.  Relax on the exhale.  Often after a little of this the muscles around the sacrum will start pulsing.  This is easy to do, any time.

        DETAILED INTERNAL METHODS 

                Exploring the Exhale (Sacrum Squeeze) - Read through for "sacrum-squeeze" variation. Simple.  Can be combined with Sacrum Breathing for inhale ~ exhale.

                Dr. Lin's Anal Breathing method - More complex; part of a small suite of methods that work together.

        PARTNER MASSAGE:  BLOOD CIRCULATION SACRUM -> KIDNEYS

                Massage your partner's sacrum with an open palm, moderate pressure, and steady circular movements for some while ~ next include the lumbar spine, up through the kidneys, each area at least until warm.  A little lotion/oil helps.  Enjoyable while lounging.

                Alternately for same, use the flat surface of a vibrating electric massage tool.  Effective, easier, though not as sensual.

Realize that, by pulsing the sacrum and drawing jing into the spinal column, you're nurturing nerve plexuses at their roots.  Activating the jing~sacrum connection often prompts deep, deep, healing in the lower tan tien.  You may find that some rather profound patterns present and resolve.  When first practicing this integration its an especially important time to be compassionate, spacious, and steadily present with your self.

NOTE

While spine-curvature-adjustment-exercises (such as "straighten the lower back", and others) are important, they are not the same as activation of the sacrum.  Once the sexual vitality ~ sacrum relationship has been activated, you'll find that exercises that shift the shape of the spine become much more effective, and that the connection of the cranial and sacral pumps becomes much easier to engage.

 ?'s for RESEARCH 

   Which acupuncture channels go through the sacrum?  (There's more than one.)

   What are the functions of the acupoints on the sacrum?

Conclusion

Obviously the spine is remarkably important, and a lot goes on with it.  Spine exercises are significant part of any esoteric movement system.  My attempt with this essay is not a comprehensive assessment of spine-alchemy, but a brief anatomy pointer and some beginning tips... maybe an improved perspective from which to explore.

NOTES

If you move jing up through the spine by meditation, it's important to complement that by some sort of physical spine exercises - in order to continue the refinement of dense jing that mind-work alone is unlikely to complete.  There are a wide variety of spine exercises within internal arts systems, and also in external systems.  Here's several options:

    Hanging Knee-Raise is really about exercising the spine.

    YouTube video entitled Stability Ball for Jui Jitsu (Thanks! to Spectrum.), exercises the spine from all directions.  Ridgeline Fitness carries an aggressive line of dvd's for the swiss ball (sample videos at youtube, dvd's at amazon.com).  Ridgeline's Abs & Core dvd is especially applicable to spine training.

    Slow Spinal Wave qi gong youtube video.  (Demonstration starts 2:40 into the video.)

    Neck exercises: Neck isometrics and Scott Sonnon's Intu-Flow program.

    Any variety of bridging obviously works the spine.

    Ankle rotations also are complementary to spine-marrow washing.  (Thanks! to Hagar.)

    Tao Yin exercises the psoas muscles, which are connected to the lumbar vertebrae.

    Back Roller Massage Tool - effective massage tool.  (Thanks! to Turbo.)

old tennis balls in a sock as back roller

    Spinal Breathing - an effective spine meditation from Advanced Yoga Practices, easy to do throughout the day.  (Thanks! to Sean Omlor.)

    Zhan zhuang (still standing) is a good complement to spine-marrow washing, as it engages heaven~earth to assist in the integration and alignment of jing, spine, bones, and the extraordinary vessels.

    The Brain, it's on top of the spine.  :)   There are practices that massage the glands within the brain which are key to stabilizing sexual energy, complementary to lower spinal work.