Spinal Prayers

The Gemara teaches the 18 blessings of the Amidah correspond to the 18 vertebrae of the spine beneath the ribs. There are also 18 mentions of G-d’s name in the Shema. The spine represents a flow from higher to lower knowledge (similar to the Hebrew letter Vav). The ascending and descending spinal tracts are pathways that carry information up and down the spinal cord between the brain and body. The health of the spine has an impact on all the organs of the body. For a healthy spine, we need a full range of movements. Yoga activates all the movements of the spine, opening up a channel to receive all the G-dliness and information that is available to us in the moment. Jewish Yoga is a prayer from one’s body. If your body was a a prayer, how would you move?

In yoga, there are different types of spinal movements:

Flexion: rounds the spine forward (ex: cat pose, child’s pose)

Extension: rounds the spine back (ex: cow pose, sphinx)

Rotation: twists the spine (ex: seated twist)

Side bending/Lateral flexion of the spine(ex: triangle pose)

Axial extension: decompresses and vertically elongates the spine(ex: down dog)

Jerusalem Forest Jewish Yoga