One of my regular students has a narrowing of the disc space between C5 and C6; His doctor called it bilateral exit foraminal narrowing at C5/C6. He also has some straightening of the normal cervical curve. He is fairly tuned into his body and is in reasonable good health. My common sense tells me to avoid any kind of potential compression to the cervical spine. So in all his asanas I emphasize that he maintain normal cervical curve as much as possible. Can you give some advice for him?
Your thinking about this is aligned with mine. In general I do not treat this situation any different from a normal student unless there is current pain or nerve reactions down the arm. Main work I recommend is to strengthen the shoulders by doing Down Facing Dog pushups, handstand and pushups. By building up the deltoids, upper trapezius and maintaining normal flexibility of all the natural motions of the shoulder girdle the situation can remain as a situation and not progress to a problem. In degeneration or compression I always recommend increasing water intake to 1-2 quarts of water (not juices or beverages) per day. This often makes a difference in a few weeks.