The PAIN FREE BACK | Understanding the Spine – Strength and Fluidity

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The PAIN FREE BACK | Understanding the Spine – Strength and Fluidity

Learn about causes of back pain, how to prevent it, and how to work with it through an intelligent yoga practice. You will ultimately find freedom in your spinal movements for life, on and off the mat!

This 3-part series is open to all yoga and movement practitioners, offered by Senior yoga teacher and self-confessed anatomy nerd, Julie Martin of Brahmani Yoga.

Back pain is one of the most common complaints in the modern world. Sometimes we think it’s our daily postural habits. Other times, we think it must be some kind of strain or perpetual stiffness. But the truth is that it is often a misunderstanding of how your body wants to move and how to activate support for it.

There are a multitude of reasons why you might have back pain or experience stiffness, resistance or immobility in not just your practice, but daily life. Our spine is both the central support structure and the main conduit of movement and vitality in the body. In this experiential 3-part series, we’ll explore how to cultivate both strength and fluidity through an intelligent yoga and movement practice.

Each 4-hour session blends theory, anatomy, embodied exploration, and guided practice, offering a balance of anatomical understanding, somatic inquiry, and practical tools you can apply in your personal practice or teaching. Expect movement, reflection, and plenty of tangible takeaways for building resilience and ease in your spine.

SESSION 1 | Activating Support for the Spine and Pelvis

We begin by exploring the deep stabilising systems of the spine and pelvis — the foundation for all movement. Through a mix of gentle mobility, core integration, and embodied awareness practices, we’ll look at how to create dynamic support for the lumbar spine and sacrum. You’ll learn to sense and strengthen the structures that protect your back and create steadiness from the centre outwards.

The urge to stretch the spine forward is often a signal that you have lost activation in the back of the body. This session will teach you the value of the posterior chain and how we need to change up what we think are ‘good stretches’ and replace them with engagement work to find stability.

SESSION 2 | Range of Motion for the Spine

Your spine is designed to move in a million different ways and we often get frightened of certain movements because we’ve listened to the ‘rules’. The truth is that when we introduce the natural ranges of motion and understand connection and stability (from session 1), we can feel into our own range of motion. An extra in-depth look at the upper back and relationship with shoulder movement that so many people feel limited in, is at the core of this session.

This session focuses on freeing up spinal movement while maintaining stability and integrity. We’ll explore the natural range of motion of the spine — flexion, extension, lateral movement, rotation, spirals and more. Feel through the connection of the shoulders into the Upper Back, which aids our structure when sitting at keyboards. How to approach some of the classic poses with more awareness to create more stability and prevent injury. Through mindful movement, we’ll uncover habitual patterns and rediscover the spine’s innate fluidity and adaptability.

SESSION 3 | Exploring Backbends and Injury Prevention

The final class brings everything together in a practical exploration of safe and sustainable backbends. We’ll learn how to prepare, activate, and support the spine in extension, with an emphasis on balanced strength and openness. You’ll gain tools for preventing and managing common back issues and learn how to adapt backbends for your body and needs — empowering you to practice with confidence and care.

WHAT YOU'LL WALK AWAY WITH
A better understanding of how to stay pain-free in your back
How to adjust your asana practice and your daily postural habits to prevent back injury and pain.
How to move freely with a more intelligent approach to your practice and beyond

Each session is 4 hours (with a short break) and includes:
• Lecture and discussion on key anatomical and functional principles
• Guided movement exploration and exercises, plus a short practice
• Time for integration, questions, and reflection

OPEN TO all yoga and movement practitioners — teachers, trainees, and curious movers welcome.

PRICE
€52,- per session
€145,- for all 3 sessions

REFUND POLICY
Full refund up to 14 days prior.
Studio credit up to 2 days prior.
For cancellations within 48 hours, no credit or refund is issued.


ABOUT JULIE MARTIN
I'm here to invite you into a practice that embraces your individuality and curiosity. An Embodied Yoga based on a sensory experience. Learn to move with the body, not against it.

Raised as a Vedantist, I grew up immersed in the philosophy of yoga. In my 20s, I began practising asana and researching different ways of moving while studying the history of yoga. The resulting discovery is that yoga is evolving and always has been, so we have permission to explore these practices, challenge the myths, and move forward with knowledge and awareness.

After 35 years of my own personal practice and 30 years of teaching and training teachers throughout Europe, the Middle East, India and the US, my mission is to empower students. To help find your own pace, fluidity, and strength in a structure that is an invitation, not a rule. Tap into your curiosity and trust your experience to take charge of your practice on and off the mat.

My commitment to understanding the body and mind led me to extensive research in anatomy, natural movement, range of motion, and integrated stability. Working with the understanding of the Nervous System and how it is the driver of how we move, I am passionate about sharing this knowledge with yogis and movement practitioners so that the result is longevity in the practice, ease in the mind, coming home to the
body and soul.

"I love Julie's ability to guide you deep, deep inside. With such simplicity and such love that you just let yourself go. And the energy beyond the skin gets accessible... Oh, how grateful I am for that. Simply and effective." - Sarah, UK