I contort spine awkwardly for self-examination (13)
I believe the answer is:
introspection
'self-examination' is the definition.
('introspection' can be a synonym of 'self-examination')
'i contort spine awkwardly' is the wordplay.
'awkwardly' indicates anagramming the letters.
'contort'+'spine'='contortspine'
'contortspine' is an anagram of 'ntrospection'.
'i'+'ntrospection'='INTROSPECTION'
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for introspection that I've seen before include "Self-analysis" , "Examination of one's inner feelings" , "Examination of one's own thoughts or feelings" .)