The Anatomy of a Backbend: How to Prep Your Spine for More Easeful Backbends

Yoga backbends feel great! They’re uplifting and energizing…except when they hurt.

Do you struggle with lower back or neck pain when you practice backbends in yoga classes? Learning a bit about the anatomy of the spine can help you understand why these regions can feel particularly cranky in backbends. More importantly, knowing a bit of spinal anatomy will help you prep these popular, commonly taught poses so that you can approach them with greater comfort and ease.

Understanding the Bony Structure of the Spine

Your spine is divided into four regions: your neck, or your cervical spine; your upper and middle back, or your thoracic spine; your lower back, or your lumbar spine; and your sacrum and coccyx (your tailbone).

Why are the cervical and lumbar spines most gripey in backbends? There are two concepts we need to lay out.

Spinal Curves and the Anatomy of a Backbend

First, your spine is not a straight rod. And thank goodness. The curves of your spine distribute weight for better balance and shock absorption. Have you ever noticed that many professional skiers use curved poles? The curves absorb the shock of each forceful pole plant in order to minimize reverb in the athlete’s wrist. Compare a walking cane: It meets the ground far more gently. No need, therefore, for a curvy shape to offset the impact on the user’s wrist.

Now, the regions of your spine curve in particular directions. Your neck and lower back live in what’s called a lordotic curve. Their native state is a backbend! Your upper back’s natural curve is kyphotic—it rounds forward. What does this mean for backbends in a yoga practice?

Well, it means that your upper back doesn’t backbend very much. On most of us, thoracic extension really looks more like thoracic flattening and less like an actual arch backward. Your lower back and neck, on the other hand, willingly arc backward. Imagine a conversation that goes something like this:

THORACIC SPINE: You want me to do what now? Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)? Do you really want me to bend way, way backward so you can do something silly like grab your ankles behind you? Nah. I’ll just flatten out a little, thanks.

LUMBAR AND CERVICAL SPINES: Ooh, ooh! We’ll do it! We’ll bend backward as much as we possibly can so that you can feel very satisfied about being able to grab your ankles behind you! Sounds fun! Let’s go for it!

LOWER BACK: Um, ouch? Too much!

The direction of the curves in the regions of your spine make each area more or less willing to backbend.

Bone Shape and the Anatomy of a Backbend

Here’s a second reason your upper back doesn’t backbend willingly.

You know those bumps you feel when you run your hand down a friend’s spine? Those are called spinous processes. The spinous processes in the various spinal regions are not shaped the same way.

The thoracic spinous processes, the ones in your upper back, are longer than their lumbar and cervical counterparts. They’re longer and they’re oriented downward. By contrast, the spinous processes in your lower back and neck are shorter and stubbier. The result?

When you backbend, the spinous processes in your upper back bump into their downstairs neighbors pretty quickly. That limits how far this region can extend backward. Meanwhile, your lower back and neck can dip pretty far back before the spinous processes abut and limit extension.

How to Prep Backbends Effectively  

Okay, so now we understand why the upper back doesn’t backbend very far. What to do about it? Can we mobilize this region to encourage a little more range of motion? Turns out that we can! And, again, bone shape in the different regions explains how.

Backbends and Twists Are BFFs  

Have you ever wondered why backbends and twists are frequently paired in yoga classes? Twists are a fantastic way to mobilize the thoracic spine in preparation for backbends. Let’s look at why, anatomically, this is so.

Ready for More Spinal Anatomy?

Each vertebra, each bone in your spine, articulates with the one above and below it at joints called facets. Each vertebra has a right and a left facet at the top (superior facets) and a right and a left facet at the bottom (inferior facets). The inferior facets of one vertebra articulate with the superior facets of the vertebra below. 

Huh?

Picture a hamburger. The two pieces of bread are vertebrae, and the patty (it can be plant-based if you prefer) is the intervertebral disc. You’re holding the sandwich in both hands and are about to take a bite. Your index fingers and thumbs pinch the top bread and the bottom bread together—one connection point on the right and one on the left. These are your facet joints.

Again, the Bones in Different Regions Take Different Shapes

The facet joints are oriented differently in your upper and lower spines. The facets in your thoracic spine are oriented somewhat horizontally—their angle resembles a gradual ramp. They glide against each other when you twist and so allow you to turn. Imagine twisting the halves of your hamburger bun: the bread you’ve pinched between your thumb and index can slide (if it’s not too soggy) and permit rotation.

By contrast, in your lumbar spine, the joints are oriented rather vertically. When you twist, the facets knock into each other and limit rotation. This is a useful structure because it ensures that your lower spine, which supports the weight of the rest of your torso, is quite stable and not all wobbly as you go through daily activities like walking.

Putting Backbend Anatomy into Practice

Because of the shape of the thoracic vertebrae, your upper spine doesn’t backbend very much but it does twist quite well.

The upshot, then, for prepping backbends in a yoga practice? Twist! Twists will mobilize your upper spine before you backbend. If your upper spine backbends more willingly, your lower back and neck don’t have to arc so far to create the pose, and the backbend, overall, feels more accessible and more easeful.