Is there certain poses recommended for mild kyphosis? This condition is causing me pain almost daily now. Also is there certain poses I should totally avoid with this condition? Thanks for your help. Kifaru
Cobra pose practiced therapeutically is an excellent posture to assist in developing the upper back muscles and to open the chest wall, countering the rounded shoulders and slunched back associated with mild kyphosis. Instruction in practicing Cobra this way is best done with the guidance of a proficient instructor or yoga therapist who can assist you to unwind the muscular use pattern associated with kyphosis. Essentially, you would limit the movement of the pose to the upper back, pulling the elbows back and down (toward the waist) to engage the lower trapezius and squeezing the shoulder blades together. Together these actions will strengthen the muscles along the spine and between the shoulder blades. This is a different approach than the “high” cobra seen in many photographs which is primarily a hyperextension of the lower back.
Namaste,
Chandra
My son is 14 and has been diagnosed with kyphosis 49% curvature he is still growing and before the spine fuses and he needs a metal rod inserted i am trying to find a qualified yoga therapist to help my son. I truly believe the yoga can help reverse this , I just can’t find anyone
Hello Regina,
What is possible for the body within Yoga therapy, and before a spinal fusion, is much different than what is possible after a surgical intervention that includes spinal fusion and implants. My recommendation would be to explore all potential therapeutic options before committing to surgery and an implant; that is if I am understanding correctly that you are looking to suspend surgery for the possibility of your son’s healing within a Yoga therapy program.
I would like to share with you that I do see a potential challenge here because your son’s age of 14. It is unusual to have developed enough discipline at this young age to do the committed and deeper work of Yoga that allows for real and sustained change, both in the physical body, but also in the subtle koshas. Of course this is only a generalization of teenagers. Your son is an individual and may be an exception to this, especially if he also feels as you do: that Yoga therapy can help him to reverse his kyphotic curvature and the underlying causes of it.
Fred Wasserman III, M.D., M.B.A. is located in St. Petersburg, Florida, and is also a certified Structural Yoga Therapist (SYT). I do not know Dr. Wasserman personally, but he and I share the same teacher, Mukunda Stiles; and our Structural Yoga Therapy training is substantial and a personal daily sadhana is expected of us as SYTs. You can get an idea of Dr. Wasserman’s voice and his approach to therapy via his case study found here: Structural Yoga Therapy Case Studies. Scroll to approximately mid-page to see his work.
I wish you and your son all the very best in your search for care. May you both blessed with radiant health and wellness; and may you also be blessed in the healing partnerships that you make, whether it is with a Yoga therapist or doctor or both.
Your own,
Nichole
Thank you for the information. I have left a message for Dr. Wasseman.
I think my son will do well since his bones are still yet soft and I too have been in attendance to a yoga class that I truly enjoy
It’s a good idea to begin with sphinx pose, since it provides more support and allows you to lengthen the lower back more easily. Emphasize lengthening the spine gradually, so that the vertebrae don’t compress the discs. It takes time to move toward a different pattern in the body, particularly in the spine, so be patient. Change will come in baby steps.
It’s also a good idea to begin with slight adjustments to your posture, to slowly move out of the ‘flat backed’ position, and into a more natural curve for the lower back. Avoid slouching and try to sit upright, but not rigid, so that the muscles around the low back begin strengthen to be able so support it.
Lastly, some very light strengthen exercises would be great, such as moving in and out of cobra, with support at first, just to begin engaging the muscles. Again, length is very important.
Thank you so much. I am worried , I can’t find a yoga therapist in my area. I called Dr. Wasserman but never heard back. I have been going to a yoga instructor at her home and on several occasions i am left for 3 to 4 days feeling so sore in the rotor cuff area I can barely move and my neck also feels a great deal of pain. I am unsure what the poses were, but i did read however that it’s important not to overextend the neck and my son said his back was hurting so I decided not to return to her lessons. Can I do the sphinx and cobra with him? I don’t want to hurt him in any way
Hello Regina.
I have a slightly different view to offer and hope it will not cloud already murky waters.
I prefer to first work with passive backbending which obviously originates from the supine position. I find the prone pushing poses to be too forceful for therapeutic work and they tend to lead to aggressive work unless they are watched very carefully, constantly and are executed with just the right mindset on the part of the student.
The closest person I know to you is Anastasia Kokotis in Melbourne and Ross Berkwich in Boca. Both are trained in the Purna Yoga lineage and can be found here.
Regina I just stumbled across this page and thought of you , hope you and your son are are finding help and that this may help further .
Thank you both so much . I will look into both. But here is a question I was doing these poses with my son as I had mentioned and I came home extremely sore in my shoulders and my neck for its about 2 weeks now and finally I went to the Dr. and it is the roto cuff , it is clicking and he still wants me to continue with the yoga but I am finding it extremely difficult to make circles with my arms and to raise my arms above my head. I am so disappointed by all of this. I felt as though I had overextended my neck. What can I do on the light side, without adding anymore injury ??? I want to continue
thanks so much
Regina
Hi Regina,
the rotator cuff is a term used to refer to a group of five muscles that surround/support the shoulder joint. For your edification they are; supra spinatus, infra spinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis. They are, in most people, fairly fragile muscles AND are more fragile in those unaccustomed to weight-bearing activity using the upper extremities (read: arms).
Without knowing exactly what you were doing it is tough to tell you exactly what to do. The two poses you mention should be “okay” for the shoulder however one can never be sure unless there is contact with the student so that the doing can be observed and corrected when necessary.
As for the neck, many students see photos and attempt to replicate those photos without an understanding of what is going on. In backbends (like Bhujangasana aka “cobra”) the neck should arc in integrity with the rest of the spine. When the student cannot bring the spine into the frontal body then the head should not be tossed back. In that instances the neck folds it does not curve. So in this pose based on what you’ve share I would orient the head so you are looking forward rather than up.
Additionally, if the student (in these poses) cannot move the shoulder blades toward the sitting bones there is very little chance of release in the muscles around the neck. I prefer students learn the movement of the shoulder blades in their practice then incorporate that movement in the two poses you mention.
Hope this is helpful.
gordon
Thank you for such a quick response I will try to figure what these poses were and get back to you, and thanks so much
I have kyphosis of the spine and started practicing yoga because at the time they thought I had ankylosing spondylitis. I can only say from experience that I find doing all of my yoga helps my conditions (I got more than one lucky me). Not being an expert it seems that all of the yoga poses/exercises flow together to help me overall which includes my kyphosis which is steadily improving. My pain is diminished by at least 80%. I don’t think just doing exercises for the back alone would be as beneficial…at least that is what I have found.
If your son had a class that had young people in it, he might enjoy and participate than if he were with older people.