What’s “Living in the Spine”?

Living in the spine primarily means living at your own center and not so much in the senses and on the periphery of your body.

The astral spine is located about an inch or so in (toward the center of the body) from the physical spine. It is a spine of energy, with its physical counterpart being the physical spine. It begins at the base of the physical spine and goes up the center of the body to the medulla oblongata, which is located at the base of the brain and skull.

To become more in touch with this spine of energy, you can practice withdrawing your energy from the periphery of your body in meditation. Feel or visualize it flowing back toward the astral spine of energy.

This process also happens naturally every time we go to sleep.

To experience this withdrawal of energy and what it feels like, try taking a conscious nap. You can do this by lying in Savasana (the corpse pose) and breathing naturally. As you begin relaxing more deeply into a semi-sleep state, be aware that your energy is naturally withdrawing from the periphery of your body. At this point, if someone were to enter the room, you might have the thought, “Don’t disturb me,” or “Be quiet,” but not want to express it.

This is a fun way to experience what this withdrawal of energy feels like. This is also something that happens naturally in meditation when you are more deeply concentrated.

Another aspect of living in the spine is that you begin to feel that your strength comes more from an awareness of this energy in the spine than from the muscles of your body.

This kind of awareness is good to cultivate, because through it we begin to understand that we are much more than simply a body and a personality.