Back Pain + Healthy Spines

My journey of finding the best movement for my spine was not a quick one at all. Actually, more like a decade long journey of piecing together information and seeing what worked and what didn’t.

I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was 16 years old, and I could barely pronounce the word, let alone know what it meant. I knew that my back hurt, and that it probably shouldn’t, and that was about it.

Three things were recommended to me:

1) Physiotherapy

2) Massage therapy

3) Yoga

I started going to physio once per week, and this isn’t a bash on physiotherapy, but it was not what I wanted. I spent 30 minutes lifting weights, and 30 minutes strapped to a tenz machine. I didn’t like lifting weights, I can appreciate now (at 30 years old) what they wanted me to do (build strength to take pressure off my back) but I was 16, and weight lifting was not in my top 5 things that I wanted to do. The tenz machine felt great, so I bought my own and stopped going to physio.

I love Massage Therapy and I find it highly beneficial, it’s something that I still regularly attend to relieve muscle tension.

Last but certainly not least, obviously yoga has had a huge impact on my life as well. And although it can’t be credited to taking away my back pain completely, it is certainly a tool that I have added to my toolbox. And I hope this helps you add it to yours.

So, what have I learned since being that 16 year old who didn’t know what was happening with her spine…I have learned how to move my spine to keep the pain at bay. There are four core movements for the spine (shown above) flexion, extension, lateral flexion, and rotation. Moving the spine in all four ways, every day if you can, will make a huge impact on your spine health and pain reduction.

The poses above are just examples of how to incorporate this movement into your yoga asana practice, there are so many more poses you could explore.

Next time you’re moving through a class, try to pay attention to how you are moving the spine. Can you categorize each pose as one of these 4 spinal movements? How can you adapt a pose to include one of these movements?

The knowledge I have gained in the past 15 years is what inspired our Alleviate class, live on Thursday mornings at 10am. We incorporate breath work, and gently moving the body with a focus on those 4 key spinal movements.

Check out our full schedule of classes here.