scoliosis

topic posted Mon, February 11, 2008 - 9:00 AM by  bizilly
qand body have any ideas of how to help folks with this problem
posted by:
bizilly
SF Bay Area
  • Re: scoliosis

    Mon, February 11, 2008 - 9:55 AM
    Depends a lot on the person's individual body/degree of curvature in the spine, but I have a good friend with scoliosis who has had a lot of luck with a combination of yoga and body work (ROLFing, specifically).
    • Re: scoliosis

      Tue, March 4, 2008 - 3:31 AM
      hey i am curious about your friend - i have slight scoliosis, which made me vulnerable to a hip injury that has not healed for 5 years - i read a bit about yoga for scolios in yoga journal, but i am not sure of the objective - are you trying to straighten the spine, or work with the fact that you have a crooked spine?
  • Re: scoliosis

    Mon, February 11, 2008 - 11:22 AM
    Since scoliosis is a problem with alignment of the spine, it seems the most logical thing would be to send them to a good Iyengar teacher who's been trained to focus on alignment & maybe, in addition, has some experience or focus on the spine in what they teach.
  • Re: scoliosis

    Wed, February 27, 2008 - 7:58 AM
    I can not speak for anyone else on this subject.
    I am developing scoliosis. At this point my right and left sides do not look like they are from the same body.
    I try to think about what may be causing this. Maybe it is how I sleep, so I try to change that. Also in my yoga practice, that I do every day, I work on bringing my right and left side in balance. I think it helps me to look at my scoliosis every day and practice making my right and left sides become the same. This can be applied in most yoga asana. I can only speak about me and my scoliosis and I do not know much about that.
    • Re: scoliosis

      Wed, February 27, 2008 - 8:12 AM
      I would see a physical therapist, one who specializes in spinal issues if possible.
      • Re: scoliosis

        Wed, February 27, 2008 - 9:49 AM
        Kimberlee,
        I think you are right and plan to bring that up with my doctor when I see him next month.
        • Re: scoliosis

          Wed, February 27, 2008 - 4:50 PM
          how exactly do you work to bring your left and right side in balance
          • Re: scoliosis

            Tue, March 4, 2008 - 10:39 AM
            To answer that question, you have to ask yourself, "how exactly did you get your left & right side out of balance?" It's a long process to reverse something that you've been doing probably since the day you were born.

            I was once at a Q&A session with Gita Iyengar and I'll never forget how significant the first question was (I'm paraphrasing below):

            Q: "When I'm in headstand my teacher always adusts me to one side and says I'm out of alignment. I can't tell myself when I'm in alignment & reached that point of equalibrium. How do I cultivate the sense of equilibrium?"

            A: She took a long pause, which suddenly made the question seem much more important than the person reading it had thought. "When you habitually put a body in a position that is out of equilibrium, it will eventually feel like that out-of-balance position is in perfect equilibrium. When your teacher adjusts and realigns you body into the correct point of equilibrium, your body will feel like it's out of balance. This means it will take time for your body to recognize this position as the correct point of equilibrium and even longer for you to be able to find that point on your own."
  • Re: scoliosis

    Sat, March 1, 2008 - 7:07 AM
    Sometimes emotional problems can cause an imbalance in the spine. If family members are fighting, and you're caught in the middle, it's like your spine is being pulled in different directions.

    What I recommend is side stretches,doing excersises to strengthen your abs and lower back.
    www.iscoliosis.com/articles...cise.html
  • Re: scoliosis

    Sat, March 1, 2008 - 1:15 PM
    Hi B:

    This is such a huge topic. I have many students with scoliosis. The answer depends on the person, the degree, their tempermant, their devotion to working on it. I'd suggest finding a local teacher with a good background in therapeutics and learning from them.
  • Re: scoliosis

    Sat, March 22, 2008 - 1:43 PM
    To echo what others have said: explain to the folks that it took them a long time to get into the problem, so (logically) getting out of it can only be accomplished gradually, with mild, reasonable corrective efforts over the long-term. Steady, slow, regular practice focusing on steadiness. If they are prone to overdo everything, tell them to go easy on their body! I always quote Patanjali's definition of "Asana" to my students: steady, comfortable position. Like with everything Patanjali said, every word is full of meaning. When you think about it, most positions we spend our lives in are either steady or comfortable but very few are both. Depending on the severity of the pre-existing condition, practice correctly under a good teacher and over time the problem will at least be mitigated, and quality of life improved, if not cured entirely.

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