pullup bar, spine align, spinal decompression

Why are these pullup bar stretches so effective?

As walking bipeds, we spend on average 1/3 of our lifetime lying down, the other 2/3 in an upright position, where gravity is exerting half of our body weight from the waist up compressing the vertebrae of the spine into itself, with the lower spine bearing most of that weight. Most people, even young people, experience chronic lower back pain to various degrees. Most people get used to it, and often forget about it. I was asking a young yogi, in his twenties about his back pain. He said he didn't have any. Then I asked him, I see every time you sit down in the car, as you're transitioning from standing up to sitting in the car seat, I hear you audibly groan like an old man with back pain. After pausing a few seconds, he agreed he did have back pain.

When you hang on the pullup bar, you're spacing out your vertebrae, especially the lower back. Instead of having half of your body weight compressing down into those lower back vertebrae, now you have half of your body weight below the waist, your legs, pulling down on your spinal column and spacing them a part.

I used to groan like the twenty year old kid in the story above. I'm decades older now, and I don't groan any more when I get into the car. The body is dukkha, it's going to break down and you're going to die one day, but with common sense and sensible exercise you can fix much more than you think is possible.

This is what I do about 10 times a day, at least 30 seconds

I always do the spinal twist, and then improvise some other variations. Even if you do is hang on the bar still, it's of great value. But the spinal twist move I demonstrate in the video, is like getting a great chiropractic spinal adjustment anytime you want, as many times as you want. For free. How much does a chiropractor charge? 50$-100$ a session? Just make sure you're body is nice and warmed up before you do this, you don't have any injuries, and other common sense precautions.

1. spinal twist video

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ppfhtOIYPaRiopWRh4KIiaeigiFDNyTe

Besides the spinal twist, I'll add in other variations and other gorilla improvisations like these:

2. cloud feet, knee circles, foot circles

https://drive.google.com/open?id=15N81AL5hSEZQN4MjyQeZKIP9Sc95BScD

positive testimonials

Thanks Frank. I've been doing it a few times a day with some pull-up handles I set up on the patio, and it helps my back too...

Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, it seems like only people who get back pain will try out simple effective exercises that pay off in returns much more than the time/energy cost to do it. And if you don't have back pain, doing these will help prevent it from developing.

I often feel like Cassandra (greek mythology). I tell people important simple things that will make a huge impact on their lives and avoid great suffering, and they don't listen.

notes on the Dhamma

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