Rolling of the spine

Yoga Discussion Structural Yoga Therapy
#1

Dear teacher and friend of yoga,

Once again, thank you. Each time I read the q and a I am awed at the depth of your insight and your willingness to share your knowledge and experience in an accessible, generous fashion.

I am wondering if you could help me and my yoga colleagues understand the benefits and risks of a specific type of movement: the rolling down and up of the spine as in your Wall Hang. I have heard so many different and contradictory views on this movement. In the Pilates Body Control method as well as one of the Kripalu sun salutations the spine is rolled down and up, knees bent, free standing. My own yoga teachers used to roll up from Pada hasta (legs often straight) and were told by so many physical therapist students that this was dangerous due to pressure on the disks (especially lumbar) that they stopped. Now they and others I encounter only drop and lift the upper body with a straight back.

My own personal back enjoys the sensations of the Wall Hang as well as the freestanding roll down and up. (the lifting of the straight back is mildly uncomfortable for me – maybe my scoliosis and thus “uncentered” back causes this)? As a teacher I am wondering if it is appropriate to offer the roll down and up in a group situation. Does the weight displaced to the wall in the Wall Hang make the motion safe for the spine and disks? I am also wondering if bending the knees significantly in the freestanding exercise lowers any risk to the disks.
Thank you.
Be well, D

#2

This motion is safe for all those whose spines are healthy. It is actually therapeutic for some unusual spinal conditions but not for the most common injuries to spinal disc. Normally spinal discs displace posterior and to the right at L4-5 (80%) here. For this common situation Wall Hang is contraindicated. There fore if you have someone in class with herniated disc then don’t teach this motion. Otherwise, I feel that students benefit from doing it as a method of learning to tone the antagonist muscles of the abdominis rectus and release more fully tension from the upper body. For this purpose I use it. For persons being treated by Physical Therapists this is not wise.