EXPANDING LIGHT
What is
Ananda Yoga?
Ananda Yoga
Therapy
Classes &
Workshops
Teacher
Training

Teachers'
Association
Resources

Ananda Yoga > Ananda Yoga Teachers Association > AYSutra Archives > Upper Back Pain in Savasana

What's New in
Ananda Yoga?

What is
Ananda Yoga?

Ananda Yoga
Therapy

Yoga Classes
& Workshops

Yoga Teacher
Training Programs

Teachers
Association

Resources

Contact Us

 

Ananda Yoga brings hatha yoga back to its original spiritual essence.

 

Keywords: Upper Back Pain in Savasana (October 2002)

ORIGINAL QUESTION:

From Michelle Sherbinow, Milwaukee, WI, grad. 2002        

I have two female students who have pain in the area between their shoulder blades.  They both experience a lot of discomfort when lying in savasana. This pain is not from doing yoga rather they both have had it most of their adult lives.  I am wondering if there is some way to relieve this tension while lying in savasana.  I would also be curious if there is a specific asana that helps to relieve this tension.


ANSWERS:

From Gale Hiatt, Red Bluff, CA, C.A.Y.T.

Dear Michelle,

I am an August 2002 graduate of Ananda, in Nevada City, California. I am quite active teaching yoga now.  I would suggest three things to modify savasana for these women.  

  1. Try to fold the blanket from blanket tadasana to one more fold length wise. Then place it so they lie on it length wise down the center of their spine, and then prop both arms under the upper arms to relieve stress to the shoulders. Ask them if they need a pillow.  
  2. A single fold under the head and then the arms propped up too may be enough to help.
  3. Maybe they would be more comfortable lying on their side in the fetal position.  This is quite acceptable for savasana with a pillow or blanket for their head and neck, also place something between their knees to relieve stress on the lower back. Be sure to ask them if it is comfortable for them and how to best adjust it for them.

From Marcia Framsted, AYTA 1989

Dear Michelle,  

Try a blanket, folded or rolled under the upper back, neck, and head.

My students love supported fish pose with a rolled blanket under the shoulder blades--it is very relaxing for 3 or 4 minutes.  They stretch their arms out to their sides and breath slowly and fully into their upper lungs.  Try having your students do supported fish just before they enter Savasana.  Give it several trys over a few weeks and see if it helps release some of that upper back tension.  I also tell my students that if they are uncomfortable in Savasana they can roll onto their sides or bring their feet flat and knock their knees together, so they can relax, unburdened by physical discomfort


From Patty McCarley, Assistantship - Spring 2002

I have suffered from similar back pain and find elevated legs up the wall is much more comfortable than savasana when my back is hurting.  Place two single fold blankets parallel to the wall and one at a 90' angle to those.  Rest with your legs up the wall, hips lying on the two stacked blankets and your spine along the single blanket.

Stretch the arms out perpendicular from the shoulders.  The small elevation allows the chest to open comfortably without strain.  

In my experience, people who experience this back pain often work at a desk.  It's difficult to fight the tendency to round the chest and close off the heart after a long day at the computer.  They seem to find it very helpful to simply stretch in the opposite direction.

Garudasana is especially helpful to teach the body to keep the chest open while the arms are in front of the body.  Some students find the twisting of the arms difficult and are reluctant to practice this pose.  The simpler variation of hands on opposite shoulders is less intimidating.


From Beth Howard, Cheyenne, WY, bethbrohoward@aol.com

Hi Michelle,

A great resource book for your students with upper back pain is Relax & Renew by Judith Lasater.  On page 33, she says, "Many of us sit for much of the day with the spine rounded and the arms forward of the torso.  As a result, tension accumulates in the muscles of the upper back and shoulders.  In response, most of us have the urge to stretch our arms upward and bend backward."

The pose recommended and pictured on the same page is simple supported backbend.  Though she suggests using a bolster, I use a firmly rolled Mexican blanket with my students.  Some students now choose to do savasana over a rolled blanket regularly.  Others request this pose in class.  For some, even a fully rolled blanket may be too high and they may need to decrease the size of the roll.

I have a series I teach my students using the rolled blanket in simple supported backbend.  If you would be interested in further information, please, e-mail me.

Blessings, Beth


From Susan Hayes, Auburn, CA, AYTT grad 1999, susan@mountaintopyoga.com.

Although the e-mail about pain between the shoulder blades wasn't specifically about scoliosis, somebody replied to it by writing about scoliosis.

I just wanted everyone out there to know that I have a good 12-page article (with photos) on yoga for scoliosis from a 1989 issue of Yoga Journal.  Let me know if you want me to send it to you (give me your name and mailing address).

A good way to check to see if your students might have scoliosis (curvature of the spine):  when they're lying on the floor in savasana, go down to their feet and see if one foot is shorter than the other.  If so, it could be caused by one side of their spine/ribcage being scrunched up (hence, the leg is shorter).


From Genevieve Ryder, Cape Cod, MA, AYTT grad Feb. 2000

Dear Michelle,

I wonder if these students have any spinal misalignments. When they are standing in tadasana, do you notice any difference between shoulder height? When viewed from the side, is one shoulder forward of the other? Have they ever been evaluated for scoliosis? Do they have excess forward rounding of the upper back?

I think that working with poses to align the hips would be the most helpful over the long run as most pain comes from structures beneath the area exhibiting the pain (Structural Yoga Therapy by Mukunda Stiles). Encourage standing poses especially and watch for good alignment in parsvottanasana and virabhdrasana I.