Lately, I sometimes notice a dull ache in my left lower back.
Usually after sitting for a long time,
I suddenly think,
“Oh… my left lower back hurts again.”
When that happens,
instead of immediately thinking about how to get rid of the pain,
I first want to observe what my body is doing.
Part of that may be because I’m a physical therapist.
But I also think I’ve always liked quietly observing my own body.
When I look at the way I’m sitting,
I often notice that my pelvis isn’t fully upright.
The right side of my pelvis tilts backward slightly,
and rotates a little to the right.
Then, almost as compensation,
my rib cage opens up,
and my chest lifts to create balance.
My center of gravity also shifts—
not directly over my pelvis,
but slightly forward and to the right.
It feels as if my weight is resting
on top of my right hip.
And even though my torso is rotated slightly to the right,
my shoulders are still trying to face straight ahead.
So compared to my shoulder blades,
my rib cage alone feels rotated to the right.
…At least, that’s how I describe it in my head.
But honestly,
more than all those technical explanations,
it feels more like,
“Ah… my body just isn’t stacking together smoothly right now.”
Like uneven wooden blocks.
So first,
I try gently adjusting the imbalance in my pelvis.
I look for the feeling of my hips naturally returning
toward the center.
After that,
I slowly unwind the twist in my rib cage.
One thing I often use as a reference
is the position of the tops of my chest.
Is the right side pulling backward too much?
When I look at myself from the side in the mirror,
is the center between my back and chest drifting too far forward compared to my pelvis?
As I make small adjustments,
there’s a point where my rib cage settles directly over my pelvis.
It feels as if the upper and lower halves of my torso
are finally facing each other properly.
Like looking at the body as cross-sections that line up.
Once I find that position,
I imagine gently lifting the spine behind my solar plexus from underneath.
Almost like hooking it upward
with the index finger of a clenched fist.
When that happens,
my compressed lower back begins to feel long again.
As if small spaces are returning
between each vertebra.
And naturally,
my abdomen begins to tighten from deep inside.
Not because I’m forcing it,
but because it feels as though
a natural corset that already existed in my body
has quietly wrapped itself around me.
That’s the feeling I think of as
“my core switching on.”
From there,
I slowly rotate my rib cage around the spine behind my solar plexus.
Especially toward the left side,
which is harder for me.
I imagine a single skewer—
like a yakitori stick—
running through the center of my body,
while my rib cage rotates around it.
Keeping the right side of my rib cage lifted,
I turn slowly.
And then,
the place that felt painful begins to change.
Not exactly “pain.”
More like
“painfully relieving.”
As if blood is finally flowing again
through a place that had become stiff and frozen.
Like a blocked road reopening.
Thinking about things this way
makes me realize how fascinating the body is.
Living in this hundred-year era,
I think I see my body less as a tool
and more as a companion.
So I don’t really want to control it strictly
just to prevent it from breaking down.
If possible,
I want a body that naturally stays balanced
through everyday life,
without constant effort.
So today again,
I quietly observe my body,
little by little.