Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.
Silkscreen Print © 2009 Simrat Khalsa
I’ve been researching all this week, educating myself about spinal anatomy. This involved looking at MRI images (mine and other’s), reading blogs and websites and googling terms that are in my MRI report. Things like Degenerative Disk Disease, hypertrophic endplate changes, annular tear, bilateral foraminal regions. And I’ll say that I now understand much more about this very important part of my body.
Our disks are made up of the nucleus pulposus, the shock absorbing “jelly-like” center of the disk, contained by the annulas, a fibrous outer layer (much thicker than I imagined). These structures must stay hydrated through movement. Without maintaining this hydration, they slowly become thinner, eventually loosing their shock absorbing, elastic qualities. As they thin, the openings in the spinal column for the nerves becomes narrower. Without the ability to absorb shock, arthritic changes may develop in the spine as well. Tears and bulges in the annulus also occur as elasticity is lost. While drinking adequate water is vital to maintain these “small hydraulic shock absorbers”, movement is vital to get that fluid to where it is needed. Another vital thing that I learned, is that the vertebral disks rehydrate at night during your sleep! Another reason to get a full night’s rest.
Basically, I have a few disks at the base of my spine that are drying up. The lowest one is already degenerated. The one above is bulging and the one above that has a tear in the annulus. It all makes quite a bit of sense to me now. All the years that I have been sitting at a desk at work must have contributed to this, along with my slacking on my sadhana and yoga practice. Well, it’s time for me to get back in gear. Pun intended!
All during my reading, I kept remembering the many hours of lectures and yoga classes I sat though with the Siri Singh Sahib (aka Yogi Bhajan). He talked about how a practicing Kundalini Yoga would create a healthy, flexible spine and how important that was; that it would keep us young. I wish that my twenty something self had listened a little better! I was thinking about it more on the level of raising my consciousness, not merely keeping my body healthy. I suppose that’s one of the follies of youth; thinking that you are indestructible. It’s not too late for me now, twenty years later. I know that I can heal myself. Time will tell if I follow through and do the day to day work. I fully intend to, but I now that follow through is not always my strong suit. It may be challenging for me.
Please join me over this next year to see how I manage. I’ll be starting in on some basic spinal exercises and will post what I’m working on as I go, along with my results. I welcome your support. Feel free to keep my on track! Maybe I’ll actually start to teach. I did get certified as a Kundalini Yoga instructor many years ago. It’s one of the many hidden talents I haven’t really used yet…
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