How To Safely Bend Forward In Yoga To Avoid Injury to the Spine

 



Sometimes health care professionals tell people to avoid doing yoga, or at least doing forward bends or forward flexions of the spine. But there are ways how to safely bend forward in yoga to avoid injury to the spine and not risk further degeneration of an already fragile spine.  Indeed in some cases, yoga is the best and only safe way to overcome fragility and build strength and regain lost mobility and more functionality of the spine.   This can be achieved with care, awareness and consistent practice. 

 

Function of the Spine

 The spine is a series of interconnected bones that run from the base of your skull to the tips of your toes. It is desgined to move your body in all directions, forward bends, backward motion, twists and turns.  The spine supports your head, neck, and back. When you lengthen your spine, it gives you more flexibility and range of motion in your joints.

 Let's first ask, What is the natural health of a spine? How does it move? When we think of the natural design and functionality of the spine we can see that it includes forward bends and twists.  Are there many ways we can use our spine to do forward bend in day to day life?  The answer, overwhemingly is Yes! 
 

Forward Bends in Day to Day Activities

 Think about your day to day activities.  Notice that you are doing forward bending many times throughout your day. You’re bending down to pick up something from the floor, you’re leaning over a table. You’re reaching for something, or taking something out of your car. You’re going to the toilet. You’re vacuuming your house.  Your pulling on your socks. There are many, many movements during your day where you will be doing a forward bend.  And these are needed. You need to be doing a forward bend to stay active and mobile! 

 

When approaching Forward Bends in Yoga

Forward bends can be safely practiced in yoga as long as the student is aware of the state of their spine, and follows safe practice. Forward bends can be done safely even if you have back pain, neck pain, yet,  always practice caution when moving your spine in any way; and instead of bending forward from the waist, think more of the pelvic structure and how the freedom in your hips and pelvis will give you freedom in the spine. 

Also when thinking about twisting or turning the spine, the safest way to do that is to introduce a forward bend into the turn. 

And use props.  Don't think you have to be unaided to do a forward bend. Using a chair or a bolster, this will be far kinder to your spine and alows a gentle approach to any tightness or tension in the back before proceeding any further. 



Why Yoga is Effective for Forward Bends 

In yoga, a forward bend will help you create a deeper connection to that regularly and naturally occurring forward movement in itself. Yoga means "to join" therefore any forward bend will help you join to the natural, spontaneous and organic movement in your spine, yoga helps you to make that movement full of awareness and aliveness. 
 
Of course you do not want to push or move your spine with force or pressure. Make sure any movements you make avoid any aggressive or hard actions.   
 
You do however want to gently play with any movement there is, move with kindness and awareness allowing the breath to inform the movement.   If you stop breathing chances are you are scared, stuck or have gone too far!  Sometimes, you’ll find the restrictions and move with them kindly, sometimes you’ll find the moments where the sensations are too strong to go any further, so you back off a little and gently stop there.




 

Why Yoga forward bends are banned in some circles

 
Unfortunately,  the yoga field is full of mis-information and often has a somewhat aggressive / fitness approach to do more.  Many yoga practioners and sadly, even yoga teachers are without a deep understanding that less movement and more awareness is better for health and well-being over time.  This fitness approach to yoga comes with a higher risk of  injuries, negative responses, and pain. 
 
And because of this people in other health professions - practioners who have seen yoga injuries will say - don’t do yoga. 

How to be effective with your forward bends

I invite you to join me and try some Joint Renewal (TM) Yoga, this system influenced by kaiut yoga and the Awakening of The Spine by Scaravelli,  is very, very different from other kinds of yoga you may have tried (or been scared to try because of back issues). 
 
We live in the medically advanced age, but still we actually don’t know how to treat the spine. Sadly, surgeries on the spine do not work in a remarkably large number of cases. The spine is a complex system of interlocking bones.  It's hard to fix by simply freezing or fusing movement in one area, the knock on effect is going to move either up or down from that area to create another problem later on.  The most important thing to remember is that the health of the spine comes from keeping it mobile. And that is the one consistent message you will hear from an otherwise conflicting noise of opinions and ideas about spine health. 
 
Therefore,  try Joint Renewal yoga to keep your spine  moving mindfully, with care, with kindness and keep breathing lightness and healing into each and every vertebra. 

For more information about the  Joint Renewal Sytem(TM) please go to www.kathywhiteyoga.com Enter your details to get free access to Kathy White Yoga membership where you can download my FREE GUIDE to joint renewal and watch some free videos where I share more about this remarkable method of restoration for the joints and spine. 




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