How yoga can help with Scoliosis, curvature of the spine
One of my students has a condition known as Scoliosis where the spine isn’t straight and instead forms an ‘S’ curve, the rib cage is twisted and the sides of the back are uneven. This can cause back pain and other problems due to too much compression on the spine in certain areas. Although it cannot be cured by yoga, a good yoga plan can help correct the issue.
Causes:
Structural: unequal growth of the vertebrae
Functional: Scoliosis can develop as a result of one leg being shorter than the other or poor lifestyle (e.g. desk work, bad posture, carrying weight on one shoulder all the time, using one hand repetitively for a task over a long period of time).
Diagnosis:
Scoliosis can be identified visibly by seeing if one shoulder is higher than the other when standing straight or checking the pelvis is straight. You can run the fingers down the spine when the person is bent over and if the spine does not follow in a straight line this would indicate scoliosis.
Ways of Healing the spine:
The muscles around the back need to be trained to hold the body better, the spine needs to be lengthened and decompressed where it curves. Treatment is more effective the younger the patient.
Yoga poses that can help:
Strengthening – Building strength in the muscles around the spine, abdominals and legs helps support the spine correctly
Alignment – correcting alignment throughout a yoga practice improves posture
Forward bends – lengthen before folding forward and lift the lower side slightly more to push the vertebrae into the centre
Twists – lengthen before twisting and twist more to the side where the shoulder is higher. This counters the scoliosis twist
Inversions – pulls the discs of the spine in the opposite direction to the usual pull of gravity
Sitting postures where the knees are above the ground – ensures the sitting bones are on the ground
Eagle arms – keep lower arm on top
Cow face – bring lower arm on top
Breathing – breathing exercises such as spinal breathing encourages lengthening of the spine
Relaxation – helps with body awareness and trains relaxation of the muscles in the back which are often clenched to support the uneven spine.
Yoga poses to practice with caution:
Standing poses like Warrior and Triangle can create imbalance in the pelvis. Concentrate on trying to keep the pelvis aligned and do not sink the pelvis too much to the lower side. Extra support such as a pillar to hold onto could help with this. When folding in Triangle, concentrate on lengthening rather than bending too much into the concave part of the spine.
Continued yoga practice will promote an improved alignment in everyday life.
