Back & spine

From the view of the Kyborg Lexicon, back and spine are the axis of our body – a symbol of inner support and at the same time of mobility. This entry gathers a holistic, worldview-based reading that connects back complaints, lower-back pain and the symbolism of the spine with one another. It is to be understood as a personal view, not as a medical statement.

What is it about?

The spine carries and moves us. We hold it to be natural that something of our mental-soul condition mirrors itself in it too: how mobile and elastic the back is, we readily read as an image of how flexibly someone shapes their life. Changes in inner attitude and in experience can – so our reading – go hand in hand with the physical sensation in the back.

In the yoga tradition to which the Institute refers, the spine is considered the pathway of the most important energy channels: Ida, Pingala and the central Shushumna. Through the Shushumna, according to this idea, the Kundalini rises; from it the chakras branch off. Yoga exercises we understand above all as training for a strong, mobile spine – as a way of keeping oneself physically supple and awake.

How do we read back pain?

From our view, back pain often tells something about burdens that someone carries. We read it as a hint that a person comes to a limit with what they have to “carry” or “bear” – that they feel pressure from outside, can represent their own interests only with difficulty, or find it hard to let go of feelings of guilt or fear.

In this we also heed where the pain sits:

• Shoulders and upper back: rather social burdens and responsibility.
• Middle back: rather themes around heart, love, feelings and the interpersonal.
• Lower back (the small of the back): rather questions of closeness and sexuality as well as of existence, life-attitude and financial situation.

A strongly curved posture, too, we read in this image: as a possible sign of pent-up annoyance, long-carried anger or of the feeling of being stuck in a dependence from which one believes there is no escape. That is expressly an interpretive, worldview-based view – no diagnosis and no explanation of physical causes.

How do we read lower-back pain?

Lower-back pain is a complaint in the lower back and sacral region. Alongside obvious physical triggers such as heavy work or strain on the intervertebral discs, we readily see here also a reference to sexual and life energy.

In the imagery of the Lexicon, in the lower back sits a “lock” that regulates the flow of energy upwards from the 1st chakra. We often read lower-back pain as an expression of blockages in this region – for instance when someone feels much energy in the 2nd chakra but cannot live it out, and thereby at the same time seems to lack willpower in the 3rd chakra. A lack of love or recognition can, according to our understanding, reinforce such blockages.

That is a symbolic reading, no assertion of fact about the arising of pains. Early imprints too can, according to this view, play a role; we understand that as an interpretive image, not as a proven causal connection.

What does that mean in practice?

We understand these readings as a stimulus for self-reflection: which burdens do I carry, where am I tense, where do I find letting go hard? Exercises such as yoga, autogenic training or Energy Training many people experience thereby as beneficial and relaxing. That is an experience of well-being – no promise of healing and no substitute for a medical clarification.

Important to us: persistent, severe or suddenly appearing back and lower-back pain belongs to be clarified by a doctor. A soul-related reading does not exclude a physical cause – both may stand side by side.

Related terms: shoulders · chakras · Kundalini · aura

Note: This article renders a personal, worldview-based view and is not medical advice. It replaces no medical diagnosis or treatment. For health questions please turn to a doctor or pharmacy; do not discontinue prescribed medication on your own initiative.

Autor: D. Harald Alke