For more than half a dozen years I have started each day with a morning puja, to greet the morning with thanks and to ease my back and body into wakefulness. This involves stretching, some yoga, and normally 45-50 sit-ups. My back requires this attention, but so does my mind. It is my one chance to be still, to focus on a specific part of my body, and to engage in activities that help me stay healthy. Sometimes the lower back wants to play a joke, and let me tell you, it is not funny. This is one of those times, so I decided to pay tribute to the lower back.