What is Scoliosis?
Scoliosis is described as having an excess of 30 degrees lateral curvature of the spine.
About 3% of adults have scoliosis and, as it turns out, I am one of those people. I have lived with chronic pain my entire life & have managed it, and healed from it, in large part, thanks to Iyengar Yoga for Scoliosis.
When I first started yoga practice, I was frustrated by my Scoliosis.
First, a little background on yours truly. Years ago, I remember being diagnosed with scoliosis in grade school. I didn’t think much of it then, but as I began to practice yoga consistently, my body seemed unwilling or unable to do basic things others could do. I was thwarted by injury, time and again, but didn’t understand why. Over time, I was blessed to meet my first mentor, and Iyengar Yoga teacher, Karin Stephan.
Karin, a loving pure human, who expertly shed a great deal of light on my body and it’s asymmetrical uniqueness, portraying clearly the manner in which I would need to practice Iyengar Yoga.
I have learned to do work with my body’s limitations though yoga props and pose modifications.
Fast forward to present day, with now 20 years of constant practice of asanas (physical postures), and I have developed a keen sense of knowing where my body is in space. This is the gift of the Iyengar Yoga method, a systematic approach to understanding & directly teaching the body how to move toward a central center line, via asanas.
Anyone, at any age, or with any condition, can practice Iyengar Yoga.
The use of props to assist lifting the spine, creating space, learning how to work with the curvature and how to tailor a daily practice just for you, has become one of my specialties. Even for those who do not suffer from the progressive disease that is scoliosis, a trained eye can see small curvatures in almost all spines. Couple that, with sitting all day at a desk job, and the recipe for degeneration of the spine is apparent. Iyengar Yoga is a slow but sure way to train the body to attain healthy movement patterns.
Continued study has brought continuous improvement.
I continue to train, learn, and grow from studying with some of the best teachers in the world in Iyengar Yoga & in movement, neuromuscular massage, chiropractic, and more. And many thanks are in order to my Senior Teacher, David Meloni for all his lessons in bringing this stubborn body forward. The way out of pain is into it. We are our own healers when we open up to exploring and the process of being with our bodies.
Availabilities include group classes, private sessions via Zoom, in-studio sessions, and in-home sessions. Contact me to book now.