Yoga for Scoliosis 2

U. has a left thoraco-lumbar scoliosis which means the major curve is to the left in the thoracic and lumbar region. See pic above.

For the first 6 months I had her mainly stretch backwards because forward bends wouldn’t access the scoliosis. In fact the bulge on her left side would even become more predominant. Gradually forward stretches were integrated into her yoga practice.

Strengthening her arms with down dogs helped her to access symmetrically both sides of her torso. She finally had the strength to push and lengthen equally both sides of her back. In the second picture you can see how the bulge (created by ribs spreading apart)  eased off.

For U. it was difficult to access the short and concave side in her lower back to the right. She had difficulty bringing awareness into this ‘collapsed’ region. By pulling her right leg we were able to bring awareness into this area of her lower back. She began to feel the stretch locally and eventually was able to hold it by herself for a few seconds.