Before performing any spine lift, check that your starting position is aligned and your spine and pelvis are neutral.
By practicing the spine lift on Spine Lift, you will have been developing your awareness of the segmented structure of the spine. When you first attempted the spine lift you were perhaps hardly conscious of the separate movement of each vertebra. But as you practiced the exercise, increased the mobility of your spine, and listened to your body, you will have begun to appreciate and be sensitive to the capabilities and limitations of your spine. Your ability to stabilize your torso by engaging your centering muscles will also have increased and you will be able to complete the whole exercise with assurance and ease.
The more challenging exercises on the following enable you to take control of your spine one stage further but do not attempt them until you are completely confident and at ease with the basic exercise.
The main challenge of the progressed spine-lift exercises consists of maintaining the stability of the pelvis and not arching the upper back as you raise your arms. The inclusion of movement of the arms in the progressed exercises increases the stretch for the spine and improves your shoulder mobility. It is important to let the curling motion of the spine be controlled by the centering muscles, leaving the shoulders lengthened and relaxed.
The increased complexity of these exercises demands better coordination of both movement and breathing and will therefore also benefit the overall fluidity of your actions.
Don't be alarmed if you find the exercises difficult to begin with—they are much more advanced than the basic exercises so you will need to work on them gradually. You will find as you practice them you will be able to lift a little higher each time.
Don't forget your feet
Spine lifts are achieved through a combination of the engagement of the abdominal muscles and pressure that is applied through the feet. As you do the exercises you need to support the overall movement by keeping your weight evenly distributed over the tripod of the feet. Try to keep your legs and feet stable but relaxed throughout the exercises.
Progressed spine lift
Two Exercises are shown here, both of which are extensions of the foundation spine lift. Do not progress to these exercises until you are able to perform the basic exercise with full control of the movement using the centering muscles. In both exercises use your abdominals, which should be pulled securely from your navel to your spine, to lift and then lower the spine vertebra by vertebra. In the overhead stretch version, the arm lift at the end of the spine lift adds a further spine-lengthening quality to the exercise. The feet-to-wall lift demands more abdominal control than the other forms of spine lift. In both of them, lift only as far as you are able to control.
Spine lift with overhead stretch
Make the basic spine lift more challenging by raising your arms overhead on the in-breath then keeping them there as you roll your spine back onto the floor and into a neutral position.
Spine lift with feet to wall
1 Lie with your feet, hip-width apart, flat against a wall so that your knees are at right angles. Keep your spine lengthened and avoid curling your tailbone.
2 On an out-breath, use your centering muscles to curl your spine a little way from the floor. You will find that you exert pressure through the feet. Uncurl gradually as for a basic spine lift. Repeat four times.
3 Now take the lift a little further by exerting stronger pressure through the feet and using your buttock muscles. You can also raise your arms over your head at the end of the movement.
