1. One student has an exaggerated sway back. This condition seems to bring on lower back pain. Besides avoiding poses that aggravate the pre-condition, what can I recommend to be pro-active for a sway back, beyond tucking the tailbone and avoiding certain poses?

2. Another student has been doing a lot of driving lately. I think this is causing sciatic nerve inflammation. It's hard to say what poses seem to aggravate it- when she stretches and raises her legs in Salabhasana, for instance, this seemed to aggravate it.

3. There are a couple of men who cannot sit in vajrasana because their feet will not extend. What to do?

Thanks for your help.

ANSWERS (Swayback)

From Lisa Powers

#1 – With exaggerated “swayback” a student would want to do their asanas in ways that would balance the imbalance. Provided their is no other condition in the lumbar spine, this would be a student who would want to allow the lumbar to straighten and relax into a gentle flexed position during forward bends. This reverses the usual imbalance. She also needs to pay attention and observe that if, in the next 24 hours she experiences an increase in discomfort, this may not be the solution for her. Also, in doing backward bends – use restraint and don’t “go all the way.” Being aware of maintaining good posture, especially not locking the knees and holding the upper body lifted upward when walking and standing can help. By the way, have you checked to see if she has scoliosis?

From Doug Andrews

I would recommend working to relax and lengthen the hip flexors to relieve lower back pain from an exaggerated sway back; standing backward bends, high lunges, kneeling lunges( w/ arms uplifted) and pigeon pose all are good examples of ilio-psoas extenders. Be sure to make use of the reciprocal relaxation of the opposing muscle groups as well with standing forward bends, down-dogs, posterior stretches and piriformis/hamstring stretches to the wall or on the open floor). Exaggerated, very slow pelvic tilts are also nice between the various floor exercises. Hold the poses a little longer than perhaps is customary....accentuate the exhaled breath by counting twice as long as the inhalation....use affirmations for calmness, relaxation and safety.

From Valerie Wint, AYTT 2001

Re swayback: You might try having the person lie on their back, knees bent as per Bridge pose, arms along their sides. On an inhale they press the small of the back into the floor, tipping the tailbone slight up (pelvic tilt). On an exhale they let the tailbone touch as the small of the back GENTLY arches away from the floor. This is like doing cat stretch with the floor for support, and it gently stretches and strengthens both the lower back muscles and the abdominals. I have some lower back issues myself, and have found this works for me.

Valerie

ANSWERS (Tight Ankles)

From Lisa Powers

Remember on the very first day of YTT (easily forgotten in the next 27 days!) when we worked with all of the props for Vajrasana? A low rolled blanket under the ankles, with the extra unrolled portion of the blanket under the shins help the foot maintain a more flexed position.

From Doug Andrews

I think the simplest approach is to use small bolsters between the front of the ankle and the floor and larger props between the heel and buttock. I keep some kneeling benches available for those students who cannot enter vajrasana/virasana without support: the benches are sometimes easier to manipulate in a class setting if vajrasana comes up more than once.

From Genevieve Ryder (AYTT 1/00)

Dear Deborah,

Sitting in vajrasana. Have them try rolling a small towel and placing it under to support the ankle. Eventually, they may be able to extend the feet, but it can take a long time. Doing foot warm-ups (plantar and dorsiflexion, inversion and eversion, and ankle circles) will be helpful. My ankle extension was/is limited to an old fracture and after 3-4 years, it began to open up – it still needs warm-ups at times.

ANSWERS (Sciatica)

From Lisa Powers

Is the student complaining of sciatic pain? The way you’ve worded the question makes it sound like you’re diagnosing a problem. Beware, if this is the case. The Sciatic nerve is easily aggravated by activities that stress the lower back, and sitting is one of the main ones. Compression of the lumbar spine during extension is going to aggravate an already inflamed sciatic nerve. A nice stretch for the sciatic is the “Figure 4.” Also, the tightening of muscles around the nerve, such as in the buttocks in Salabhasana, can put pressure on the nerve.

From Gyandev

I agree with Lisa’s caution. Has the problem been diagnosed by a health professional, or is it just a guess? Does pain radiate down the leg, or is it isolated in a particular small area? For example, some people with pain in the gluteal area simply have “yoga butt”: inflammation of the hamstring attachment at the sit bone, due to overeager stretching of the hamstring. Driving a car can worsen that discomfort, but it’s still not sciatica. Big difference between that and sciatica. I recommend finding out more before proceeding.

From Doug Andrews

It is helpful to identify the source of the sciatic irritation: higher at the spine or lower as the nerve passes through the hips. This might be done by way of experimentation but it is nice if there is some higher tech diagnostics available. Special car seats can be a lot of help as can modification of driving habits if possible. If you do experiment, go very easy because it is easy to exacerbate the condition in your efforts to help. Gentle, steady stretches to the piriformis muscle may relieve some pressure to the nerve; sustained Childs pose is another.....sometimes I use a very large exercise ball to create very relaxed forward and backward bends without strain.

From Susan Brochin, AYT Summer '00

There are a lot of reasons for sciatica . I suffered for three years, and with an Xray was to determine the cause. Some people have difficulty with forward bends, others have trouble with poses like Salabhasana and ustrasana where the lumbar spine area can be challenged. Usually, the cause of the problem is more than driving. Since it can be so hard to pinpoint the cause, a chiropractor would be a good place to start. Once the cause is determined then some kind of yoga therapeutic program would be recommended. There is a good book called The Sciatica Handbook which covers most aspects of the condition.