Healthy Spine and Back Habits
Taoists, known for their longevity and living close to nature, say that the health of the spine is the health of the organism. Try to practice daily back and spine habits that are healthy and easy for you to incorporate into your day. These habits can include stretching the hip flexors and psoas muscles through yoga-like postures. The habits can include standing up from time to time at your desk, instead of sitting all day. Squatting for a few minutes each day can provide profound benefits to the overall health of the hips, the muscles of the anterior and posterior chains, and the digestive system.
Every day posture is also part of a healthy spine. If you’re sitting, they say keep your knees slightly higher than your hips if you can. This is especially important if you are moving your bowels and sitting on a toilet (instead of squatting like olden times.) In America, there is a product called the Squatty Potty and perhaps you have seen that advertisement. It is a device that allows someone, while moving their bowels on the toilet, to place their feet on an object that is eight to twelve inches higher than their feet would be from just sitting on the floor. This somewhat simulates the motion of squatting to use the toilet. The main benefit is that it changes the angle of the descending colon; particularly the sigmoid colon. This way, fecal matter can pass more easily down and out of the body.
When the colon is eliminating fecal matter properly, the full descending colon doesn’t put pressure on the lumbar spine. A full and improperly functioning colon can distort the structure of the entire hips, spine, abdomen, and torso. Eat veggies and drink plenty of water.