Ten Mindfulness Tips for a Healthy Spine
/By Maureen Farley — Last Updated: January 14, 2025
As I approach 50, I feel as though I’ve been mindful of my spine for a lifetime.
As a young person I bemoaned and grieved the life I wasn’t able to have because of my spine issues – I suffered considerable pain starting in grade school. I couldn’t carry a backpack or even a purse. I couldn’t go on a backpacking trip with my friends. I felt like my options were limited in daily life, sports, and recreational activities. My days were often clouded, beginning to end, with pain. In my teens I acted out. I coped.
Then, I met my first yoga teacher and found a way out of the suffering through the practice of yoga, breathwork, and meditation.
The way out (which was actually the way in) allowed me to release my pain, straighten my scoliosis, and transform a multitude of patterns that caused me suffering. My practice of yoga and being mindful of my spine has transformed this imperfect spine of mine into a great gift. I’ve had beautiful experiences sharing what I’ve learned about the spine with yoga students: how to care for the spine, how to navigate pain and suffering, yoga techniques that heal and support the spine – these are among the fondest moments of my life.
I now feel blessed to have been given this perfectly imperfect physical body. I continue my spine mindfulness and my yoga practices as my body ages. New challenges arise, and I make them my teachers. I am getting to know the difference between pain and suffering more intimately at times. I am learning greater patience. I am learning to have stronger faith, which is a shade of confidence, that when pain arises, it will eventually transform – so far, I’ve always been right.
I continue to practice spine mindfulness in simple ways throughout the day, and I made a short list to share with you. I hope you find these tips helpful.
1. Stay active. While regular exercise is a key factor in spine health, it is also important to stay active throughout the day. How do you exist in the world and interact with your environment day-to-day? Do you spend most of your time at your desk or slumped on a couch? Get moving! Take walks, incorporate stretch breaks into your day, clean your home or do yard work in 10-minute spurts. My favorite way to add movement to my day is with 5- to 15-minute dance breaks; I have a playlist just for this. And dog walkies! I love walking my dog so much. What resonates with you? Choose to take an active approach to life each day and avoid sedentary habits.
2. Practice good postural habits all day long. If you spend several hours each day at a desk, consider incorporating a standing desk, Balans chair (great for low-back issues), or large exercise-ball chair (not recommended for most back issues) into your work routine. If you drive often, consider adjusting your seat to be more upright than laidback. The discs in your lower spine carry more load while sitting, which can create or aggravate painful back conditions. Moreover, when sitting at a desk and/or looking at a computer screen, our natural tendency is to slouch and lean forward, stressing our lumbar discs even more. Try to limit total sitting time, and practice good posture and ergonomics when you have to sit. When walking, standing in line at the grocery, or anytime you move about the world, lengthen your spine, shoulders up/back/down, chest open. Bring mindfulness to your postural habits so your spine is longer and taller wherever you find yourself.
3. Exercise daily or as often as you can. Find activities that you enjoy. Try different yoga classes and teachers to find the ones that feed your body, mind, and soul. Spend time in nature hiking, bird watching, practicing photography, or making videos. Consider some novel activities like roller skating or dancing. Or dog walkies! Walking is a wonderful form of exercise. It’s been shown in clinical studies to enhance both physical and mental health. Find something you love. Regular exercise enhances overall health and fitness, reduces stress hormones, helps us to maintain a healthy weight, and helps to keep our spines strong and mobile.
4. Strengthen your core. Spend part of your exercise time working specifically on your core muscles. Core muscles – located in your abdomen and lower back – support and stabilize the spine and are key in maintaining good posture. Core strength is especially important for people with low back pain, neck pain, disc issues, and spine concerns. If you are unsure about how to target your core muscles, consult a yoga professional or physical therapist.
5. Stretch your body. Classes like Yin yoga help to gently maintain spine health and flexibility. Stretching can alleviate pressure on the spine resulting from poor postural habits, tense muscles, and the structures that are strengthened and shortened in athletic activities like hamstrings. Spine mobility has been shown in clinical studies to have a direct correlation with quality of life in older adults, supporting the notion that you are only as young as your spine is mobile. Also, these slow, deliberate, mindful, quiet practices are grounding and help to calm the nervous system and the mind.
6. Do weight-bearing exercises to build or maintain the bone density of your spine. Weight-bearing exercises are activities that work your muscles and bones against gravity while you’re on your feet. Examples include standing yoga poses, golfing, walking, hiking, climbing stairs, jumping rope, dancing, tennis, and hopscotch. (Yes, hopscotch – when was the last time you did this?)
7. Enjoy the benefits of chiropractic care and massage. Chiropractors can help identify areas of the spine that aren’t moving as they should and restore proper joint motion, which can help decrease pain and help the body to heal. Regular massage loosens back muscles, which helps to support a healthy spine and prevents the buildup of tension in the body. Massage increases blood flow, delivering key nutrients and oxygen to muscles, ligaments, cartilage, and bone of the whole body, including the spine. Some styles of massage, like Thai yoga bodywork, can improve range of motion and spinal mobility. Studies show that massage is an effective treatment for some types of back pain. And it just feels good – the healing power of touch can’t be denied.
8. Get enough quality sleep. Sleep allows all the muscles surrounding your spine to fully relax, promoting repair and restoration of spinal structures like discs and ligaments, which are also nourished by nightly hormonal release. Be mindful of your sleeping posture to help maintain natural curvature and alignment. Back sleeping is often the most aligned arrangement. If you have back pain, try a pillow under your knees. If you are a side sleeper, you could try a pillow under the ribs and/or between the knees. The right mattress for your sleeping posture is also an important factor.
9. Eat a healthy low-inflammation diet. Eat more plants, fiber, essential fatty acids (salmon, mackerel, sardines), mineral supplements (calcium, magnesium, and trace), and drink more water and herbal tea. Limit fatty foods, alcohol, sugar, refined carbohydrates, animal products, coffee, nightshades (tomato, potato, peppers, etc.), dairy, and non-organic wheat and grain products. Meat and dairy leach minerals from your bones. Non-organic foods upset the nutrient delivery system in your body. A heathy, low-sugar, veggie-rich diet supports the health of your whole body, including your spine.
10. Take care of your whole self, including your spirit. As a yoga teacher who specializes in working with folks who have spine-related pain, it is my experience that our emotions and spirit are a factor in spine health. The people I’ve worked with who have challenges with home or work life often experience low back pain. People with neck pain sometimes don’t feel heard, feel a lack of control, or aren’t living their heart’s desire. When viewed with the lens of chakra theory or 5-element Chinese medicine theory, these correlations make sense. Don’t take a judgy perspective, though – like you are “causing” your own pain. Instead, acknowledge all symptoms and perceived imbalances as cues urging you to take action to support your overall well-being. Do activities that feed your spirit. Seek a work–life balance. Connect with loved ones. Giggle, laugh, play, explore, learn, and grow. Check out the Yoga for a Healthy Spine class at Green Lotus.
Life is precious and beautiful, even when there are spine concerns or other complexities; don’t wait for the perfect time to experience it as such.
May your spirit and your spine be strong and flexible.
May you know the difference between pain and suffering.
And may you feel free and loved.
Let Green Lotus support your spine health
