Hi all I’m a new member. I’ve done yoga on and off for a few years, and consistently for the past few months. I have a curve in my lower lumber spine that has been slowly getting worse as I get older. I’ve raced motorcycles for 21 yrs and my spine is very compressed and tight and my hips as well for holding on so tight. It feels my lumbar is caving in on me and certain yoga stretches seem to cave it in more. I work out everyday, eat good, and have been trying to “tuck the tail” and keep my core tight as much as possible. Please tell me what yoga poses to do for straightening out my lower spine, posture strengthening, and any other valuable tips that would help cure my condition. Thanks a lot.
Hi there.
Welcome to the forum.
From what I understand you are saying that your lumbar spine feels like it easily collapses forward, into a deeper curvature. This is actually quite common, but when not addressed sufficiently can create discomfort as the vertebrae deepen their tilts in relation to one another and can end up pinching the disc(s) in between them.
Your case is obviously particular to you and it would be good to see a physiotherapist or other knowledgeable practitioner in person, but a few tips may help you out significantly.
You spoke of tucking the tailbone forward. This would be helpful, as long as the deep lumbar curve in your lower back is being caused primarily by a tilting forward of the pelvis. (The curve can also be caused by a tilting back of the rib cage - that case, you would want to actively bring the rib cage back into alignment.
In either case, it is the abdominal muscles - mainly the transversus abdominus - that act to correct the alignment for you. Learning to activate these deep muscles are key to strengthening this area and protecting the lower back.
If you are interested in learning, it would be great if you could go to a beginner pilates class. The foundation of pilates is in proper core activation.
If you are interested in learning online, I have a series of instructional videos on my website that take you through the process, step by step (Part 1 to Part 8), of learning how to activate and strengthen this very important muscle group.
You can find it here:
http://doyogawithme.com/yoga_anatomy
Let me know how it goes!
Sincerely,
David
GreenTea,
There is one very obvious and yet quite profound yogic principle that applies in these sorts of cases. And that is that very little will work to remedy that which has not been stopped at its source. If you are continuing to ride and sit then you may be putting energy into the continuation of this issue (obviously some choice in one’s living has taken us all to where we are today).
The human body is amazing and quite complex. And that is a bit magnified as we try to apply non-yogic thought to yoga practice. Asana is not anatomy. Anatomy will likely not catch up with asana, just as kinesiology will not. They are of different dimensions. But they are helpful when properly used.
To oversimplify your situation…either the muscles in the front of your pelvis are not lifting it enough or the muscles in the back of your pelvis are lifting it too much. And this is where I depart from David’s very sound reply above. If the muscles which attach the back of your pelvis to the spine are chronically tight and in spasm then to only work to strengthen the muscles in the front is actually fighting. And there is no fighting in yoga just as there’s no crying in baseball.
So for this it really is not a matter of “what poses” but a matter of what actions in ALL relevant poses and a balance in the other realms of the practice - lifestly, nutrition, meditation, pranayama, applied philosophy. Each of these I have subtly touched on in reply here.
If you are serious about turning this around, serious about making a change which you seem to already know is in your best interest, AND you want to make that change holistically through or with the support of Yoga, then please find a way to spend time with a well qualified yoga teacher who’s trained in therapeutics, continues that training, has at least 500 hours of teacher training, and teaches in an alignment-based lineage.
Welcome aboard.
gordon
Wow! Thank you David and Gordon for such detailed and indepth responses. For you to take time out of YOUR lives to help me is greatly appreciated. David I will practice with the videos on your website and thank you so much for your detailed and thoughtful response. Gordon, thank you for your honest and helpful reply. I am 100% dedicated to fixing this issue by holistic means and will seek the advice of a professional teacher. I live in Las Vegas. Can any of you recommend or know of a good alignment-based yoga teacher here? Also one thing I forgot to mention…I do deadlifts, squats, and other power lifting techniques to retain some muscle mass. I burn many calories and it’s very hard to keep on any weight so I lift heavy when I do weights. Is this hurting my situation? I do yoga when I get home from gym to stretch out the tightness. I see yogis like Rodney Yee who have a muscular physique and he seems to be doing fine. Thank you so much for your time and a recommended yoga teacher or where to find one will be quite helpful. Thank you all again very much. God bless you all.
Wow. Brilliant reply, Gordon. Nothing more needs to be said.
I particularly enjoyed how you so cleverly slipped in a reference to baseball.
Absolute genious!