The back, the dark side of our body

Try to see your body mentally turning a blind eye. Or take a sheet of paper and try to design it. Almost certainly in both cases have represented an image that corresponds to how you see your body with open eyes, lowering her gaze or look in a mirror. Knowledge and representation of their body rarely coincide. 
The first is a cognitive ability, intellectual, and the second indicates the instrument by which the conscience plays an object, external or internal, is an elaboration of Mental everything that is associated 
the body, perceptions, feelings, knowledge, emotions, memories, relationships, movements. That is, involves a sensory and emotional dimensions as well as cognitive. 
We know that we inhabit a three-dimensional body (with a top and a sub, a front and a back, a right side and one left), but rarely match the interior, mostly unconscious, with which the  into the details of the theories made by those who are employed to study the body image (or "body schema" is defined as in psychology and neuroscience) 
we can, through experience, realize how it tends to be two-dimensional, 
more or less like a photo: in front of rich details, and return empty. 

Yoga has, for centuries, in a symbolic way express the same concept: the front of the body is associated with the East  location of Europe stretching), a place of light where the sun rises, the visible and conscious ourselves, and back East to associate  location of stretching the West), a place of darkness where the sun sets, not visible and linked . The representation of the body is a process generally is completed in the child towards the pubertal age, however, remains a dynamic phenomenon, not static, constantly changing and evolving. We can 
then act to enrich, not only learning to know, but to be aware of our property back and can therefore represent. 

The Legs 

In postures of extension (from prone positions such as Cobra or Locust) we can understand the action of the back muscles involved in actively improving 
not only the strength but also the awareness of this region. When we raise torso, pelvis and legs from the ground (see drawing p. 81). Enter into action several  muscles, located on the back of the body. The elevation of the legs is achieved by muscle (semi-membranous, semi-tendon and femoral biceps), located in the back of the thigh, and buttocks. Lifting from the ground of the basin and the upper torso is due to the square of the loins (often muscle and fibrous carpets the lumbar region and after connecting the upper part of the basin with  rib cage), which action is adds that the large backbone that connects the arm to the lumbar region. 

The Trunk 

The total extent of the spine is ensured by the action of the muscles deeper than the back (more inside), the neck and head, the ileum-ribs, the spinal and the back and head. These are muscles which have listings on each vertebrae. Therefore have a short lever arm, moving the vertebrae adjacent to those. Their action in raising the trunk extension in the prone position is limited, mainly designed to assure the accuracy of movement of individual vertebrae. The elevation and extension of the neck and head are produced mainly by  of the head and neck, deeper, and the trapeze. 

Strong and elastic 

Almost all the muscles in the back of the trunk and legs were a predominantly static: that is, ensure the maintenance of the upright. Urge a dynamic, performing voluntary movements and postures, it  tone and strength without compromising flexibility. Often without realizing it confuse strength with strength and flexibility and softness. In contrast, a generally strong muscles 
is elastic, while the weakness is often associated with rigidity. 
Thus keeping the back muscles strong and flexible, we will improve significantly 
our body schema and, not least, the attitude we have towards the world around us. Even in popular language call someone devoid of character as an "invertebrate", a "shellfish", of spine, figured representation of a spine  not by muscles. 

Special attention 

Arms and shoulders deserve a separate. The position of upper limbs, in fact, allows you to ask different muscle groups in a more selective. His arms stretched behind his back toward the pelvis (see drawing page. 81), in particular connected with the hands, especially the call rhomboid (muscles  the blades to the spine).  your hands behind your head, or stretching your arms over your head, will be encouraged especially the  (the muscle that covers the area behind the neck and shoulders) and (muscle on the outside of the shoulder injury that the rounded shape).