Practising yoga with scoliosis – a balancing act

Do you have a scoliosis or know someone who has? Have you thought about starting yoga or do you already have an established practice? These are my tips for you to practising yoga with scoliosis.

I’ve recently been reminded by my body that I sometimes have to slow down. That I have to practice mindfully and that I have a chronic condition which will affect me for the rest of my life. I’m talking about scoliosis. I’m talking about an abnormal curvature in my spine.

If you are reading this chances are that either you or someone know have a scoliosis so you will know what I’m talking about. You will know that there are different types, different degrees (classified as scoliosis if it’s over 10 degrees), different causes, different treatments.

This post is not to educate anyone about scoliosis. I’m not a doctor. I’m a yoga teacher but most importantly I have a scoliosis myself. It’s a relatively mild one with a primary curve of 23 per cent but enough to be visible and most importantly enough to cause me pain and discomfort.

Yoga has been the only thing that has made a big difference to how I feel and it’s helped me to deal with back pain myself. I know how to strengthen my back and I know how to release tension in areas of my body that have been overworked.

Yoga has been a part of my life for the last 12 years and today I want to share a few tips with you on how I practise yoga with scoliosis and what you can do to ease your discomfort.

So assuming that you have spoken to your doctor and he or she says it’s ok for you to practise yoga then there is no reason why you couldn’t attend a group class. But for your personal home practise (which is so important) keep the following in mind:

It all about balance. It is for everyone who does yoga of course but it’s even more important if you have a scoliosis. Think about how you do poses, which side is easier, which foot you put more weight on, which side is stronger or more flexible and you will find lots of answers

Practice twists. the curvature of the spine will also twist the spine. Think of bending a hose pipe… it will also twist when you bend it. Twisting both ways and a little bit longer on the side that seems to be more difficult can be very beneficial

Practice seated poses. when we are sitting we are taking any imbalances of the legs or feet out of the equation. The spine is closest to the ground. Experiment with hero pose, or simple cross legged positions

Take a few private lessons. It’s good to get someone else to look at some of the yoga postured that you do often either at home or in your group classes. Just a few private classes with a teacher who knows how to work with scoliosis can really help.

Practice restorative yoga. I know Ashtanga or Vinyasa Flow will make you feel amazing and strong BUT chances are that you are strengthening the muscles that are already strong and neglecting the ones that you need in order not to increase the curvature. Consider practising restorative yoga for a while. Think of it as resetting the body before you build up strength in the right muscles.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can or cannot do something. There are lots of opinions on what you should and shouldn’t do. Ultimately it’s your body and your responsibility. You know it best. Scoliosis is very complicated and even if you have a very experienced yoga teacher, they don’t know what is going on in your body.

Be careful with headstands but don’t rule them out. This comes back to the previous point. Be mindful and think about where your primary curve is. If it’s in the lower spine and the upper spine is straight(er) you might it very beneficial. If you have a big curve in the thoracic spine then headstands might not be such a good idea unless you can find a way to distribute your weight on the head evenly. Use a prop like FeetUp to give you more support and protect your neck.

If hope you find these tips useful but don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions!

Do you have a scoliosis and practise yoga? What are your tips? Let me know what you think of the above!