Sacrum - the holy bone

Credit: http://prenatalyogacenter.com

Your sacrum is the large, triangular bone at the base of your spine. It consists of usually five initially separate vertebrae which begin to fuse at about age 16–18, and are usually completely fused by your mid-30s. The sacrum sits like a wedge between your two hip bones (ilium), forming the sacroiliac joint (SI-joint). Below the sacrum is your tail (coccyx).

The whole sacro-iliac area is incredibly interesting when it comes to movement, yoga, and our energetic system. But have you ever thought why the sacrum is called that? I certainly hadn't until I heard someone the other day refer to it as our sacred bone. Wow, of course! – sacrum, sacred. Is this a true connection, or just a coincidence? Why would the sacrum be sacred??

A very brief Wikipedia search shows that the name "sacrum" originates from the Latin os sacrum, a translation of the Greek hieron (osteon), meaning sacred or strong bone. So it does come from the word sacred...

In this paper researching this history of the term (yes there's even a paper on the subject!), Oscar Sugar found that in European/Middle-Eastern tradition the sacrum is associated with resurrection, identifying it as the "almond" or luz of the Hebrews and the ajb of the Arabs. The idea goes that the sacrum is the last bone in the body to disintegrate after death (it's one of the hardest bones in the body) and is therefore necessary for resurrection – it seems there are a few mentions of this in the Bible, for example in Psalms 34, 21 it says "He watches over all the bones; one of them shall not be broken". He concludes that the word ultimately derives its conceptual meaning from the ancient Egyptians who associated it with Osiris, the god of the afterlife, the underworld, and the dead.

Interestingly, according to this paper, some Mesoamerican Indian languages also named this bone using words referring to sacredness and deity, meaning that they must have independently come up with this concept. So it's not just the Europeans!

Another reason given in a few studies why it's called 'sacred' is that it's located next to the reproductive organs, which are obviously historically, culturally and symbolically highly significant! It looks like their proximity has led to people thinking that they share similar life-giving or spiritual qualities. Several cultures around the world (including the ancient Egyptians and some Indian cultures) have even believed that the sacrum channels seminal fluid through the spinal column to the penis (apparently because spinal fluid and semen are very similar in form). The great Leonardo da Vinci looks like he might've made a similar wrong assumption when he drew a seminal duct leading from the sacrum at the bottom of the spinal cord to the penis in his drawing of a man (I can't find the actual drawing on the internet though).

On a purely physical level, the sacrum bone forms the centre of support for the human bodily structure, and as such is well designed to take great physical stress. Unfortunately, if we put too much stress on it or move badly this area can be the source of much lower back pain. One of the things we work on in our yoga practice is the opening and stabilising the hips, sacrum and the SI-joint so that we can sit comfortably. This stability allows us to sit still for long periods of time, as we do in meditation.

In Indian spiritual practices, the area around the sacrum is seen as the seat of Kundalini. The word kundalini comes from the Sanskrit word 'kundal' meaning coiled up. It is seen as the primordial dormant energy present at the base of the spine in the sacrum – often visualised as a coiled snake. According to the texts, Kundalini is associated with the Divine Mother (Shakti, or the earth). One of the primary goals of traditional yoga practice is the uncoiling (release) of this feminine energy at the base of the spine, which can then travel up the central energy channel (susumna) to unite with the masculine energy of Divine Father (Shiva/Shakta, or the universe) in the seventh (crown) Chakra. This union of opposites is the essential meaning of yoga (to unite or yoke, bring together), and is a powerful symbol in pretty much all cultures.

"The word Kundalini is derived from a Sanskrit word 'Kundal' meaning coiled up. It is the primordial dormant energy present in three-and-a-half, coils at the base of the spine in a triangular bone called the Sacrum - See more at: http://www.adishakti.org/subtle_system/kundalini.htm#sthash.XV2FJOBC.dpuf"The word Kundalini is derived from a Sanskrit word 'Kundal' meaning coiled up. It is the primordial dormant energy present in three-and-a-half, coils at the base of the spine in a triangular bone called the Sacrum

"The word Kundalini is derived from a Sanskrit word 'Kundal' meaning coiled up. It is the primordial dormant energy present in three-and-a-half, coils at the base of the spine in a triangular bone called the Sacrum - See more at: http://www.adishakti.org/subtle_system/kundalini.htm#sthash.XV2FJOBC.dpufjjjjjjjjjjjj

In East Asian practices, the sacral area is associated with the lower Tan Tien (or Dan Tian; Chinese, Tanden; Japanese) literally translated as "field of elixir", and your 'hara'. They use the word 'elixir' to refer to the same kundalini energy. In practices such as Qigong, Taoist yoga, and Zen, instead of awakening that energy and just allowing it to rise up the spine, they practice balancing both the rising and descending energies (yin and yang) by learning how to move it up the back and down the front of the body in a complete circle (the snake swallows its tail). This is known as the microcosmic orbit.

So there we have it. In all our modern scientific medicalisation of our bodies we have, in our name for the sacrum, a persisting shadow of our past beliefs and spiritual practices. Our sacred bone: made of 5 fused vertebrae, the physical centre of support for our body and often the source of lower back pain when we move/lift/strain badly, necessary for resurrection, and the seat of our feminine kundalini or elixir energy.

I teach Zen yoga and mindfulness at the ZenYoga studio in Camberwell, London. See my website for my class schedule and more details.

I'd love to hear from you

Got another take on the sacrum bone and why it's called that? I'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below, join the discussion. 

Pass it on

Enjoyed this post? Then please tweet it, share it on Facebook or send it to friends via e-mail using the buttons below.

Workshop on the 8 Silk Brocades of Qigong

On Saturday I went to a workshop at the ZenYoga studio led by long-time martial arts practitioner and teacher Keith Alker on the 8 silk brocades of Qigong (Chinese: Ba Duan Jin, Japanese: Hachi Danken). It was great - we learned just 8 very simple moves in 6 hours! Simple on the outside maybe, but certainly not simple on the inside... 

So what is Qigong? Qi (sometimes spelled 'chi', Jap: ki) is the universal energy, life force, or vital energy. Literally translated it means breath or air. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts including T'ai Chi, and is also part of Zen practice. The idea is we're born with a certain amount in us, and then we take in more via food/air and directly from the universe, and use it to move and live. 

Qi flows around the body through meridians or energy channels. There are 12 main meridians associated with each of the different organs (heart, lungs, kidneys, etc), and 8 subsidiary meridians which include the belt meridian around your waist and the governing/conception meridian going up the spine, over the head, and down the front. 

Acupuncture/acupressure or any kind of Anma practice works on energising or unblocking these meridian lines and the points along them. A few of the most important points that Keith mentioned include Bai Hui on the crown of the head, Hui Yin on the pelvic floor, Lao Gong on the palm, Yong Quan on the sole of the foot, Ming Men on the small of the back, and the three Dan Tien's (energy centres) in the belly, chest and head. 

What is the difference between Qigong and T'ai Chi?  

Tai Chi is a Taoist moving meditation practice based on the interplay of the two complimentary forces - yin and yang. Tai Chi consists of four types of practice (the 'Four Pillars'): Qigong, Form, Pushing Hands and Application. When you see people practicing in the park they're most likely doing the Form. This is an aesthetically beautiful flowing sequence of movements designed to develop physical and mental skill and health, and varies in emphasis and complexity between different schools. Qigong (the first pillar) is the foundation of Tai Chi, and comprises a set of exercises to get your qi moving: both around and into/out of the body. 

Does the 'qi' or 'chi' in the two names refer to the same thing? It's pronounced the same...

I didn't know this before asking Keith, and apparently no it doesn't. The confusion arises from the different ways of romanising certain Chinese symbols. T'ai chi is the spelling using the Wade-Giles system and is the one most commonly known, whereas Taiji is the spelling according to the Pinyin system. The 'qi' in qigong refers to the energy that moves along the meridians, whereas the 'chi' in Tai Chi doesn't (hence Taiji is a better spelling). Taiji means the "great pole", or the "Supreme Ultimate".

At the beginning of the workshop Keith introuduced us to a few main concepts or principles.

One of these was that in all martial arts, qigong and meditation, we aim to regulate (1) the body – through alignment, movements, and the balance between tension and relaxation; (2) the breath (and hence our qi) – through breathing exercises, focusing on the tanden, breath sounds, etc.; and (3) the mind – through concentration, mindfulness, awareness, etc. 

He also talked about how finding the balance between yang/yin is so important. Taking our arm as an example, he showed how if you tense your arm, both the bicep and the tricep are working as if almost fighting each other. He called this double yang, and, he said, corresponds mentally to a state of active distraction. The opposite is a weak and limp arm which is obviously double yin, and corresponds to a kind of mental fog. Finding that balance (tension only where needed) is the key to correct practice in any of these arts. 

He also emphasised the concept of 'peng', meaning expansion – through the head, feet, hands, and ultimately through the energy body as well. It's very difficult to describe, but incredible to experience in a well practised teacher like Keith. It was literally explosive, and when he sent it in my direction I actually felt a physical push backwards!

So, what about the movements, the 8 silk brocades? Keith taught us the standard issue version from the Chinese Health Qigong Association and recommended by the Chinese government to maintain health and wellbeing after much research. 

The 8 exercises are:

• Holding the hands high with palms up to regulate the internal organs
• Posing as an archer shooting both left and right handed
• Holding one arm aloft to regulate the functions of the spleen and stomach
• Looking back to prevent sickness and strain
• Swinging the head and lowering the body to relieve stress
• Moving both hands down the back and legs and touching the feet to strengthen the kidneys
• Thrusting fists and making the eyes glare to enhance strength
• Raising and lowering the heels to cure diseases 

Now I need to go and practice them...  

Watch the full set of movements:

The Energetic Basis of Zen Yoga

This week I'd like to review a workshop I went to last weekend (12th Oct) led by our Zen master, Daizan on "The Energetic Basis of Zen Yoga". The workshop was designed to look a little below the surface of our Zen yoga and meditation practice - to look, as it were, at the underlying operating system, what the practice is built on.

This workshop formed part of the continuing professional development (CPD) days Daizan runs for his yoga and meditation teachers.

We started off looking at the Japanese word for yoga: do-in - literally translated as guiding and pulling! Sounds strange until you think of it in terms of energy. We guide and direct our energy around the body using movements and stretches in order to unblock or work on certain channels. That really set the scene for what this day was about. (For the energy sceptics out there, see this article.)

The workshop was centred around the teachings of the first monk to bring Zen to Japan, Myōan Eisai (b. 1141). After originally studying Tendai Buddhism, he spent 4 years in China learning Zen (or Chan), before coming back to Japan and establishing the first zen temple in remote Kyūshū (the third largest island of Japan to the southwest). Among his notable disciples was Dōgen, founder of the famous Sōtō Zen school. Eisai is also credited as the first person to bring green tea into Japan from China.

It seemed Eisai was pretty successful (read politically skilled) at bringing Zen into the Japanese mainstream, and in 1202 he founded the famous Kennin-ji temple in Kyoto (still very beautiful and worth a visit today). The Shogun (military governor) at this time, Minmoto no Sanetomo, was a complete alcoholic, and Eisai took on the responsibility of trying to get him to sober up an live a more healthy life. Eisai thought that he could get him to drink tea instead of alcohol... Jolly good plan I say ;-)

Drink Tea and Prolong Life

In the process of trying to convince the shogun it's not all about going out on continuous benders, and that being an alcoholic is actually very bad for the body, he wrote in 1211 a book called the Kissayojoki - literally translated as "Drink Tea and Prolong Life". In it he says "tea is the most wonderful medicine for nourishing one’s health; it is the secret of long life." More on that later.

As you might imagine, it actually contained more than just a plea to drink tea. It was a manual for healthy living, in fact describing very much what we would call Zen yoga. The Kissayojoki is part of the tradition of Yangsheng (Chinese) or Yojo (Japanese) referring to a broad array of practices aimed at nourishing and prolonging life through breathing exercises, dietetics (especially abstention from grains), sexual practices, meditation and visualization exercises, pharmaceutical prescriptions, and methods of "guiding and pulling" (Japanese: Do-in, Chinese: Dao yin). Why you'd want to prolong your life will be the subject of a future article.

One of the central ideas that's been around in traditional Chinese medicine for at least 4000 years is that of the energy meridians. These are energy pathways through the body that make up a circuit or web that delivers our life force, (Chinese: qi, Jap.: ki) to the organs and tissues of the body. There are 12 major meridian channels, each correlating to the organs in the body in a reciprocal relationship. For example a healthy liver allows energy to flow easily along the liver meridian, and unblocking the liver meridian can help the liver function better. The idea is that when meridians are blocked, or the flow is too great or too little, problems result.

Qi/ki is stored in three main centres in the body, known as Tan Tien (or Dan Tian; Chinese) or Tanden (Japanese) literally translated as 'field of elixir'. They are the East Asian equivalent to the Indian Chakras. The main tanden is in your belly, known in Japanese as your hara.

Japanese monks have been involved in accupuncture at least from 1227, which implies a good understanding of the energy meridians (Japanese: myaku). In the Kissayojoki, Eisai goes into some detail about the meridians and their relationship with the organs (see picture).

So why tea?

In the meridian system, each organ and organ meridian is associated with a different quality - season, colour, taste, element, direction, emotion. Here are the organ associations for the 5 tastes:

Heart – Bitter
Liver – Sour
Spleen – Sweet
Lung – Spicy
Kidney – Salty

The heart is seen as being the chief among the organs, but the problem was that at that time (and probably still nowadays) very few bitter foods were eaten - particularly by this drunken shogun. Nowadays those that are bitter, we tend to liberally sweeten.

So, as a way of balancing our diet and restoring health to our chief organ, the heart, Eisai suggested drinking tea. If you've ever had green tea, you'll know how bitter it is! These days other bitter foods include coffee, beer (bitter), cocoa/dark chocolate, olives, and citrus peel.

Prolonging life further

Of course, balancing the diet and promoting the health of our inner community of organs is just the start. We can't do anything if our physical body is out of whack, undernourished, weak, unbalanced. Once we've got that under control though, we can start working on boosting our health and wellbeing higher and higher - and this is how we really prolong our lives.

With this in mind, the physical yoga practice during the workshop focussed on stretching and opening up all our main meridians. Not only is it important to open/unblock these channels, but it's also important to get the energy flowing down them, and for that we did some practices using the sound 'mu'.

Mindfulness and meditation are also an essential part of this unblocking process. If you're interested I run regular courses in mindfulness in Camberwell, London.