I have a student who has and extra lumbar vertebra. Recently, we were doing bridge pose and he suffered from cramping in his feet. Do you think that’s a pose he should avoid? Or how could it be modified for him? In general, do you think he should avoid or go easy in back bending poses? Doing the swan dive in the sun salute also seems to irritate his back. Thanks so much. H
I would recommend he turn his feet out in bridge and keep them farther away from hips when going into the pose. This will strengthen his external hip rotators and that is most beneficial for having 6 lumbar. Backbends are good as long as he is shown how to extend (elongate) the spine before, during and after backbending. In the Sun salute it sounds like he is compressing, he needs to learn to lift chest upward not arch backward. In this way go towards the ceiling rather than towards the wall or floor with the chest.