Yoga Anatomy: Cervical Spine
Learn How to Protect the Seven Vertebrae of Your Neck At All Times.
The delicate vertebrae of the neck can be injured during shoulder-stands and other yoga poses. How to avoid injury on and off the mat.
Maintaining a safe yoga practice and a healthy spine relies on a yoga student’s ability to observe the Yama Ahimsa within his or her own practice. Often, in order to accomplish this, many students need to have a greater understanding of the mechanics within their own anatomy.
The Cervical Spine
Comprised of the uppermost vertebrae beginning at the base of the skull with C1 and meeting the Thoracic spine beneath C7, the cervical segment of spine is the most flexible of the three portions.
The cervical curve of the spine is referred to as a “secondary” curve; because it is the second curve an infant’s body takes on. (The first or “primary” curve is that of the C-shaped spinal flexion found in the fetus.) The cervical curve begins within the first several months of life, as a child learns to support the weight of his head on his own.
Cervical Vertebrae
- C1 - The first cervical vertebra is also referred to as the “Atlas” vertebra because it supports the globe of the skull. Its structure is unique because the body of the vertebrae has fused with the one below it – C2 – and because it does not have a spinous process (see diagram below). These differences in shape cause the atlas to appear ring-shaped.
- C2 – The second cervical vertebra is called the axis, because it forms the pivot point upon which the atlas – C1 – rotates.
- C3, C4, C5 and C6 – the central four cervical vertebrae are basically alike in structure, size and form (see diagram) They are regularly shaped and sized, with smaller spinous processes and flat bodies.
- C7 – differs from the other cervical vertebrae because of its long and prominent spinous process. The process is thick and sticks out almost horizontally from the back of the neck. This process makes the C7 vertebra appear to be structured more like the upper Thoracic vertebrae, but the spinous processes on the lower spinal column point down, not out.
Protecting your Cervical Spine during Yoga
Though many yoga poses help students stretch and release hard-to-reach muscles in the jaw and inner neck, serious injury can result from improper care and form.
While in Bridge Pose, yoga instructors often remind students to avoid turning their heads from left to right. This is to avoid injuring the C7 vertebra and the supporting ligaments and tendons.
The prominent process on C7 is at the most risk in shoulder-stands, Halasana (Plow Pose), and Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose), which is why it is important to use blankets and other props to avoid grinding the cervical vertebrae into the floor.
The long, bony process is not meant to bear body weight, and the gradual grinding down of this bone can lead to the generation of osteophytes and may eventually lead to cervical spondylosis.
