Remember, dogs tuck their tail when they're scared.
Transcribed from the above video by Di Hickman.
Hello, my love's Welcome back. Today we're gonna have a quick discussion on why you need to stop tucking your tailbone. So what does it mean to tuck your tailbone, I want you to think about a dog. When a dog is scared, it's tailed tucks between its legs. And that's the exact movement that we have. When we start to tuck the tailbone. The top of the pelvis moves backwards, the bottom of the pelvis moves forward so that our vestigial tailbone kind of tucks under towards the front body, you lose your lumbar curve. And this is a cue that gets thrown out in yoga quite a lot to tuck your tailbone.
Now there is nothing inherently bad about tucking your tailbone. If that is your purpose. That is your goal. And there is a specific reason as to why you're doing it. So perhaps if you're in cat position on all fours, you want to encourage tucking of the tailbone, because you're drawing the lumbar spine up towards the ceiling. You need the top. However, for cow for camel for COBRA, for standing postures, like warrior one and warrior two. You don't want to tuck your tailbone. Basically, it comes down to the context, what is the purpose of the pose?
And the thing is for many of us in our daily lives, we're already in a tucked position. We sit so much, why are we reinforcing that tucking when we're coming into movement? Why? Unless there is a specific reason, and there are some poses where you want to tucking, then stop talking your tailbone.
And here are five reasons why tucking your tailbone is a bad idea.
#1. It shortens your pelvic floor.
The first reason is that it shortens your pelvic floor. Now I know that for many women having a tight pelvic floor is seen as something that's good, but a too tight pelvic floor can also be problematic. A pelvic floor is pretty much like Goldilocks, you don't want it to loose, you don't want it to type. Both of those have issues. And those issues can include tailbone pain, low back pain, pain during intercourse, incontinence, and even prolapse. Stop tucking your tailbone.
#2. It restricts your breath.
The second reason that you want to stop tucking your tailbone is that it restricts your breath. As you tuck the tailbone, the diaphragm is no longer able to move as freely, your abdomen can't expand as freely. So you'll start breathing more into the upper chest and that's not optimum for your breath, you lose the 360 degree movement of the breath, your diaphragm basically gets stuck. And that can increase anxiety because you're breathing just into the upper chest and it can increase stress. Stop tucking your tailbone.
#2. It is a fear response.
Another reason that you want to stop touching the tailbone is that it is a fear response. When we're confronted by something that makes us anxious or stress, we withdraw when you withdraw you tuck your tailbone again, think about a dog tucking its tail. When it's afraid. it tucks its tail. The same thing happens with us humans. When we're afraid we withdraw, we contract our front body. It's a shaming posture. When we allow ourselves to embrace the natural curvature of the spine. We're upright, we're alert, we're more self confident. Stop talking your tailbone.
#2. It reduces your lumbar curve.
The fourth reason that you need to stop tucking your tailbone is that it reduces your lumbar curve. The spine is made of curves, it is not supposed to be flat. Stop trying to flatten the curvatures of your spine by trying to flatten the curvatures of your spine used to begin to interfere with what is called the lumbo sacral rhythm with how the pelvis and the lower back move together. Once we start screwing up our lumbo sacral rhythm, we open ourselves up to lots of other issues, it can increase your back pain, it can cause or aggravate degenerative disc disease, it can alter the position of the organs which again can leave us vulnerable to prolapse and it interferes with the core stabilizers quite often we think that by tucking the tailbone, we're stabilizing the spine and you're not. Stop tucking your tailbone.
#2. It interferes with your glute development.
So the fifth reason that you need to stop tucking your tailbone is that it interferes with your glute development. If you want some bootylicious booty, you need to stop tucking your tailbone because tucking your tailbone interferes with the glute development and that causes lots of other issues. Besides just aesthetics, make Do you want a big butt? Maybe you don't, I don't know. But it interferes with your gait, your walking pattern because of the tuck, your glutes don't develop as well your hamstrings shorten, and you begin to shuffle because you don't have any hip extension so these are just some introductions if you like as to why you need to stop tucking your tailbone.
I know it is a cue that gets thrown around in yoga a lot. But as more and more yoga teachers become educated on anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, then we start to understand the purpose behind the movement. And tucking the tailbone in a lot of yoga poses is the exact opposite of what we need to be doing. Standing tall means embracing the natural curvatures of your spine, the S shaped curvature of your spine, tucking the tailbone does not create stability of your lower back, your lower back is at its strongest and most stable when you have your natural curves.
Okay, my love's I hope that helps. I'm going to leave you with this. If you have had any of the issues that I've brought up today from low back pain, to trouble breathing, anxiety, stress, disk disease, lack of glutes pain during sex, tailbone pain, incontinence, or any of the other issues that I've brought up to date. Please, please, please stop tucking your tailbone. Try it, what do you have to lose? And the next time that you hear the cue to tuck your tailbone? I want you to ask yourself this one question. Why? Why? Why are you talking your tailbone?
If you enjoyed this video, then give me a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe if you're not already and remember my loves that karma is only a bitch if you are. So be nice, be kind and be the change that you want to see in the world.
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Peace & Pineapples!
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