What does Yoga with Fusions mean?
Spinal fusion is a surgery to connect two or more bones in the spine, and this connection prevents movement between those bones. In my case, I had 11 vertebrae fused.
It's important for all of us to remain active throughout our lives with walking and other activities in order to keep our bones healthy. However, the fused portion of the spine isn't moving (think of flexion, extension, or twisting), and what results is that the adjacent unfused vertebrae above and below the fusion end up moving even more. These unfused areas around the fusion are more stressed over time and at risk of degeneration.
Yoga with Fusion is about taking your entire spine into consideration, and learning how to work with a neutral spine to build strength and stability. The location and length of a fusion will determine which poses are beneficial or not for an individual.
What does Yoga with Scoliosis even mean?
That's a great question, and one that took me a while to figure out. It's much more than knowing a few pose modifications.
Scoliosis is a deviation from a straight spine, but also has a rotational component. However, the ripple effect of scoliosis doesn't stop there, because it's also reflected in the pelvis, shoulders, arms, head, legs, etc. After all, we are an interconnected body, so scoliosis isn't an isolated condition to the spine.
Yoga with Scoliosis is about learning YOUR curve pattern, and how to practice in a way that doesn't encourage more asymmetry, but works toward creating balance, retrains your proprioceptors, and helps with pain. We want to open the compressed areas, and draw the curves toward the midline, instead of further into our scoliotic pattern. Just as water follows the path of least resistance, our body will follow the posture of least resistance, so it may feel good to further stretch an over-stretched area that should actually be contracted. Conversely, it may feel less satisfying to open a compressed area where we lack sensation.
In Yoga with Scoliosis, we focus on breath awareness, and poses that encourage maintaining the natural curves of your spine, spinal elongation, strengthening limbs and muscles that support the spine, and building body awareness.
I commonly see students with scoliosis, and maybe with a fusion, who don't know much about their back. I was one of them! However, anyone can tell you that "you are right-thoracic and left-lumbar," but it takes time to internalize that information into your own being. It's okay! We all get confused, it takes time, so ask questions and give yourself some grace.
Our shoulders
Every time I'd get a massage, I'd tell the masseuse that my upper shoulders were tense. I thought this area being tense was unique to me until one time I was told that it was common. If you feel like your upper shoulders are tense, and your pectoral muscles are short, then you'll love Back Health class. We incorporate self massage and mobility work to feel this area in a new way.
Those of us with scoliosis, and a curve in the thoracic spine, may have uneven shoulders, a shoulder blade that wings out, or pain. Working on moving our shoulder blades on our ribcage can help with pain and keeping the shoulders healthy.