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My dad told me the dragon brings good luck, “The longer the dragon the more luck it brings.”

With that nugget of dad-wisdom (using my imagination) I’d study the lengthy spine of the dragon in motion.  The undulation from head to tail, the whirlpool spirals, the seemingly effortless swoop and sore as the dragon could go under and around itself!  I’d recall and try to mimic these actions with my own body, usually with more success when in a swimming pool than on land. 

Decades later the desire to embody the dance of a dragon is still with me, while my studies have shifted to human spines.  Our spines are designed with multiple vertebrae and natural curves that not only bear our body weight, but also allow for a wide variety of movement.  There are six main actions of the spine.  Activities of daily living ask us to do all of these and at times in various combination.

1. Axial length.  To elongate your neutral spine.  To stand as tall as a mountain.

2. Lateral flexion.  To bend sideways.

3. Rotation.  To twist and turn.

4. Extension.  To back bend opening the front of your torso.

5. Flexion.  To round your spine and curl into yourself.

6. Stabilize.  To maintain a neutral spine in any relationship to gravity.  E.g. To hold a plank (the up of a push up), or to squat with our legs to pick up a heavy object without hunching or rounding the spine.