New to yoga, looking to correct a crooked spine

[shabanga]

i am new to yoga, it was suggested to me by an acquiantence i met over the winter. it seem as though i have a twist in my lower back, which gives my hips a slight twist to the left. my friend suggested yoga as a method of regaining the alignment in my spine, strengthening my back, and loosening my lower back and hips. now, i haven’t taken any formal classes yet, but i’ve been following a sort of morning routine watching yoga zone, and living yoga with padma for a week or so now. not sure if anyone here is into these shows or not, but i find i really connect to padma and her method. it all seems very relaxing so far. there are only a few minor problems i wish to ask for some advice on.

a. i find due to the ‘kink’ in my lower back that holding some poses and bends causes some pain in my side. i’m only just starting to loosen up a little, and i find my lower back, just above the tailbone to be very tight. so i was curious if anyone could recommend some lighter stretches or poses to help relax my back, and realign my back before getting into heavier stretches and more intense poses?

b. i’m also finding i have very little flexibility in my hips. they had a whole episode on loosening the hips on flow yoga this morning, but i also seem to find the routines they do on this show a little overwhelming yet. pretty intense stuff for me yet, and a little too fast paced to keep up with. which poses are good for creating flexibility in this area?

c. ok, i don’t know if this is normal or what, but i find downward facing dog to be a little difficult. well, not really difficult, but due to that tight lower back, it seems like i just can’t get much of a bend at the waist to lean over. what sort of variation can i do as a beginner to ease myself into a better form for this pose?

thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give me. i’m going to look into taking a live class or two sometime soon, but until then, i was hoping i could find a lil advice online. have a good one…

[InnerAthlete]

If you’ve got some sort of curvature of the spine (you refer to as twist) that is not in the norm relative to how the spine is designed to bear weight as a biped (standing on two legs) then the work to correct such a thing takes time and meticulous effort and direction.

Flow classes are not for correcting such issues. What you would be seeking would be therapeutic. Not that you can’t do whatever sort of yoga practice you like. But for that kink or twist or curvature remedy you want specifics.

a- Which poses please? I can’t give you one modification for five poses. I need to give five for five so I must know which poses you are doing now. Generally speaking the anatomical point you refer to is your sacrum, a fusion of vertebrae inferior (or base) to the top of the pelvis, just above the tailbone. This is an important player in your yoga practice ( and wellness). Again not knowing your poses I can’t give “lighter” ones. If you are doing seated forward bends you may place a folded blanket under your rear end in an effort to slightly tip the pelvis forward. This will relieve so difficulty in seated forward bends.

Honestly, the tapes you are watching are not watching you and therefore the poses you’re doing may or may not be advised for your particular physiology. Translation: go to a teacher please.

b - Again, I can’t tell you specific poses for opeing the hips without knowing more about your issue and which poses you are doing. Otherwise I’m just belching out poses and you’re not really getting the proper foundational teaching critical to healthy yoga practice.

C- Ahh variation for Down Dog. Okay. There are a couple. One is to do the pose with the knees bent and the heels lifted off the floor, focusing on the line of your spine, it’s length, and the lift in the sitting bones. You might fatigue more quickly but that’s okay. Remedy with rest.
You can also do the pose with the heels on the wall. Toes stay on the floor and you can gently press the heels into the wall in the pose.
You may also try a folded blanket iunder the heels. The idea in keeping your knees bent is to find the curve of your low back. When you are able to find this in the pose the lower belly drops toward the top of the thighs. Again these are just modifications for the area you mentioned. There’s much more to the pose and we’re skipping over some essential elements.

One more. You can do modification of the pose with your hands at the wall, shoulder width, walking the heels away from the base of the wall until the hips rest over the ankles - the body here is at a right angle. Also bending your legs a bit in this mod might ease your discomfort.