Chronic back pain is one of the major physical sources of debility in the modern world. According to some sources, one in six Americans and Australians suffer from the complaint. For many of us it may just be that we experience back ache regularly. Today, many of us sit at the computer too long, our shoulders are hunched, we get a stiff neck and tired lower back.
Whether the discomfort is severe back pain, or just aching from prolonged fixed posture, we want to ease the pain.
Chances are that we but don’t want to get into a habit of taking pain killing drugs, but don’t know what else we can do that is going to ease the pain and not have side effects.
There is a simple answer. It comes from the methods of the Alexander Technique: the answer is to lie down for ten minutes on the floor! Yes, it’s true, a simple method of laying down on the floor for 10 minutes can alleviate the pain of chronic back conditions, as well as the temporary discomfort we feel from poor posture or prolonged sitting positions..
It’s not just any old way of lying down: it is a particular posture called semi-supine. It is part of the Alexander Technique, and it is widely used by other disciplines, such as Yoga.
What Is Semi-Supine?
Semi Supine is laying down on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your knees raised. The knees and feet are placed approximately one and a half hip widths apart.
Semi Supine
You may need to experiment with how far apart you have your knees, till you find out what feels most comfortable and stable for you.
Your head needs to be supported by something firm. A popular choice for this is a phone book; and a hard-stuffed cushion is also fine. The book needs to be at a height that draws the cervical (neck) vertebrae into a flat alignment.
The benefits of the posture come from having the spine flat against the floor. You can help this by sliding your hands under your hips or buttocks and pushing them away. Whilst laying in semi supine, you can place your hands near the hips on your lower abdomen.
Working With The Posture.
There are two things to maintain while laying in the posture: being relaxed and being alert. When you lie down and relax, there’s a natural tendency to drift off into sleep or semi-sleep. So an important part of the method is to keep bringing your awareness back to how your body is feeling. You can give attention to how your body is lying against the floor.
You can give attention to which parts of your back are in contact with the floor, and then think of your body sinking into the floor at these places. just think of your body being soft and relaxed and sinking into the floor. It’s like just giving up to gravity.
A session of 20 minutes in semi supine will give the full therapeutic benefit. But just 5 or 10 minutes is still really effective in relieving pain and aches.
If you practice this once a day that’s great (you can do it more often if you wish); and three times a week is still beneficial.
Get Up With Awareness..
When coming out of semi supine, don’t just sit up and go.. You need to roll slowly out of the posture, rest a while, and then sit up slowly with awareness. The method is to move one arm out to the side and then roll in that direction.
Benefits:
The main effect of semi supine position is to relax the spine, as it settles into a flatter shape. This helps to realign the vertebrae and relieve the pressure on nerves that is causing your pain. By releasing and freeing up the neck your head can rotate better, relative to the neck, and the spine can lengthen.
Postures that we habitually take up, or work in set up patterns of rigidity and tension. This results in your muscles not being able to function properly.
Tension reduces our efficiency, quite simply because muscles are working against the added load of tension. That takes up energy. So, another benefit of relaxation from semi supine is: more energy.
If you have regular back pain or back injury, then a simple means of resting and restoring yourself is a vital part of treatment and recovery. Semi supine is exactly what you need to achieve a quick and effective means to do that.
