The Mirror Check
I walked into the bathroom and turned on the bright lights. I looked in the mirror and did a double-take. Usually, in the mornings, I looked crumpled. My shoulders were usually hunched up by my ears, a defensive posture against the pain. Today, my shoulders were sloping down, relaxed. My neck looked longer. I stood sideways to the mirror. My stomach, usually pushed out because of my swayback (lordosis), looked flatter.
The floor had forced my spine into a neutral alignment for seven hours. It was like wearing a back brace all night, but one that used gravity instead of velcro straps. I ran my hand down my lower back. The muscles there, usually rock-hard knots of tension, felt pliable. I actually laughed out loud. My wife knocked on the door. “Are you okay in there?” she asked. “I’m better than okay,” I replied. “I think I just grew an inch.”