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| Hi, I am hoping someone will point me in the right direction. I live in a very small town and there is no yoga classes available in our area. I have been told that yoga helps ease back pain. I have scoliosis and my back aches quite a bit. I work alot and I don't like taking pain pills, so I was looking to this as an alternative. What sites would you recommend for more information?
Thanks in advance |
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| Welcome to the forums, Bridget!
This is a difficult question. Although yoga might be helpful to fight scoliosis you need special attendence from a qualified teacher. I wouldn't suggest trying it on your own. There's lots of mistakes to be made and risk of serious injuries.
Yoga is very fashionable these days and you can find qualified teachers in the smallest of towns. Are you living in the middle of nowhere? Have you really researched thoroughly if there isn't any studio, gym or teacher around your neck of the woods? Ask your therapist or orthopedic doctor.
In the meantime you can begin with keeping your back straight, stretch after getting up and breathe consciously, using the full volume of your lungs. Most illnesses come from a lack of air in your body's cells. I cannot stress enough the importance of proper breathing (pranayama, which is also a form of yoga)!!!
Sorry, this is all the advice I can give you. Maybe one of the wiser yogis in this forum can help you better.
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| bridgetnay:
It is no good to know that you work a lot. When your back is no good, you should not work a lot. If you have time for yoga, use that time to rest. Yoga will be NO good if you do not take rest. I mean Rest is all clear.
neel kulkarni
www.authenticyoga.org |
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| Hey, me again!
I've just googled "scoliosis yoga" and found an awful lot of links regarding your problem. Have you had a looksy there already?
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| A very good book is "Back Care Basics" by Mary Pullig Shatz. Do look around for a teacher, though. Sometimes they are around - it just takes a bit of looking. |
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| thanks for the replies I will check these things out. I know this can't fix my problem but I just want some relief. I appreciate the help... |
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| Have you heard of Cat and Cow Positions?
Basicaly start out on your hands & knees, hand placement should be in line with shoulders and your knees should be in line with your hips with a flat back, relaxed neck, jaw and face. Then you curve your back up towards the ceiling this is cow position and return to neutral and then you curve you back in the opposite direction or toward the floor, this is cat position. Be sure to pay attention to your breath and play around with the inhaling while going into cat and exhale into cow, let the movements follow your breath. You should get a good stretch from this, but keep researching it online and you'll find something (hopefully a class with a good instructor). |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | I always thought cat was when your back was rounding up to the ceiling and cow was when you are curving back to the floor?? Not that this asana and the breathing is confusing enough as it is?? I always vision a Spooked Black Halloween cat while doing this  |
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| I know it as the "dynamic cat". But we also take the head back and try to stare at the ceiling in the inhaling part (tummy down). Also we let the tummy really hang down so we can get more air into the lungs. And during exhale (spine upwards) we tuck the tummy inwards (try to reach the spine) to get rid of all the lungs volume.
Oh, Bridget, when you do this, please inhale and exhale through the nostrils only, don't breathe through the mouth. Every stroke of breath should take as long as the movement, then keep your breath for a few seconds while you're in the posture. After a while it becomes quite naturally synchronized. Spine up - exhale, spine down - inhale. It's an excellent stretch and easy to do!
From there on you can bring in some modifications to the pose:
During exhale lift your knee and try hard to reach your nose, during inhale stretch your leg out straight behind you. And when I say stretch I mean really stretch. Don't be a slouch! Do this movement 4 to 7 times, then change legs.
Next modification: Keep head and spine straight, lift one arm and the opposite leg in the air, horizontally to the ground and - streeeeetch. During this pose keep breathing steadily. In each exhale try to grow and elongate arm and leg. Try to keep this pose up for a minute or so. Then change over, use the other arm and leg and repeat.
Should you feel adventurous and playful, you can try to do this using the same side arm and leg. This is a brilliant practice for your balance ... and always good for some giggles. Should you hear a BUMP don't worry. It was only you crashing down.
Voila, expert pose! 
Edited by afroyogi 2005-11-10 5:45 PM
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| Cyndi - 2005-11-10 3:05 PM
I always thought cat was when your back was rounding up to the ceiling and cow was when you are curving back to the floor?? Not that this asana and the breathing is confusing enough as it is?? I always vision a Spooked Black Halloween cat while doing this
Yes, you're right. I just got them confused when I was typing
Edited by Jenn 2005-11-11 5:57 PM
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| How funny....I was just reading about this cat posture earlier on this board today and thought it sounded cool....and then we did this pose for the first time in my class. It's a good pose! |
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