Scoliosis

Look for the direction of the curves in the spine. You will have to observe the patient when
he/ she is doing the poses. She needs to be told which side to be stretched / extended
more looking at the spine.

I am giving the detailed instructions for each pose, as the patient has to be consciously
working on the musculoskeletal body. You can try these poses on yourself first.

1. Tadasana : stand evenly on both feet. Inner heels and the inner toe mounds pressed
down firmly, and lift the inner ankle up, creating the arch in the foot.
Contract the knees, work the thighs, lift from perineum to sternum,
shoulders rolled back, Trapezius down, shoulder blades going in,
Tuck the tailbone under ( not to throw the buttock back), and
extend the spine from the sacrum to the neck, neck extended up,
Look forward, maintaining the head level. Keep the eyes open.

The patient can do this pose standing against the wall. In that case,
the back of the heels will be at the wall, sacrum at the wall,
shoulder blades at the wall and outer edges of shoulders almost
touching the wall. Shoulders moving away from the ears.

2. Urdhvahastasana: Keep standing in Tadasana (at the wall or away) Press the feet
down. Extend the arms forward and up. The action in the arms
is important. The extension will come from the legs. Then
Extend from the hips to the armpits , from armpits to the
elbows, elbows to the wrists, wrists to the fingertips. As you do
the extensions, simultaneously, pull the upper arm into its
socket. Legs working as in tadasana. Normal breathing
throughout the pose.

3. Ardha Uttanasana at the wall: ( Table Pose) Stand in front of the wall. Bend forward,
and bring the palms on the wall flat. Stand in such a way that the feet will be exactly below
the hips. The patient can start with hands up above the hip level. Push the

palms in the wall and legs in tadasana action, sending the thighs back, and feet firmly on
the floor. The back has to be absolutely straight. Gradually he/ she can bring the hands to
the hip level, but back has to straight. You will have to observe the straightness in the
back, and depending on what you see on the spine ask them to stretch a particular side
more. The tendency is to send the floating ribs out of the body towards the floor. They
have to extend the abdominal muscles towards the sternum, so that the ribs stay in.

In this pose, it is very important to have a support for the hands and keeping the back
straight. You can in fact stand behind the person and pull the hips away from the shoulders
as the patient continues to push into the wall with hands. Legs absolutely straight.

4. Utthita Trikonasana: Stand with legs apart. Take a wide stance. Turn the Right leg out
90 degrees, the knee should face the side. Turn the left foot in slightly. The left knee looks
forward. Hands on the hips. Legs
straight. Right buttock forward, left
thigh back.Legs as in tadasana. From
the hips extend the torso up. Extend
the right arm along side the right ear
(as in Urdhvahastasana). Keeping the
hips firm, bend to the right side from
the hip. Legs straight. Hand need not
touch the floor, it can be rested on the
leg, or the chair as shown in the
picture, as per the flexibility. The aim is
to keep the right foot, right knee and
right buttock in line from the back.
Using the hand against the leg, turn the
torso from the right to the left. Turn the
chest so as to face it forward. Keep
looking forward, extending the neck away from the shoulders. Then turn the head to look
up towards the ceiling. The left hand can stay on the left hip.

You have to observe what happens to the curve in the spine as the patient moves into the
pose. Depending on the curve, the rib cage can be thrown out of the place. It should not
be protruding out. You will have to instruct individually to bring it back in place.

5. Eka paad Raj kapotasana (modified version):

In this pose the back leg has to extended back,
making it straight. Both the buttocks have to be even.
Normally people tend to sit on the buttock of the front
leg. One can take a support- folded blanket or a block
under the buttock to sit on. The action is to extend the
spine from the root gradually and smoothly. Hands
can help get the desired extension. The figure shows
back upright, it may not be possible, depending on
the flexibility. Have the hands forward to start with
and gradually move them towards the hips extending
the spine. You have to observe the evenness in the
buttocks.
6. Bhujangasana: The elbows can be bent, but the shoulders should be rolled back away
from the ears. Same as in Tadasana action.
the pelvis has to be touching the floor all
the time.legs are extended back. and
thighs remain on the floor. Extension in
the spine comes from extension from the
pelvis to the naval to the sternum to the
neck. Chest has to be lifted and that lift
comes from the shoulders, and shoulder
blades moving in. Lumbar spine extended,
not compressed, thoracic spine going into
the chest and extended. Head need not
be thrown back if neck is not effectively
extended.

7. Shalabhasana: In this pose, the pelvis, and the abdomen stayed grounded. The
extension in the upper body and the lower body comes from the anchored hips. Legs
straight. Thighs off the floor, Chest lifted up as in Bhujangasana. Palms facing the ceiling.
Normal breathing.

If this pose is not done correctly,

one can have a pain in the
lower back. The key is to keep
the hips grounded through the
pelvis and extending from the
root of the spine. Extension will
happen through the stretched
legs. The pelvis will be
grounded only if the legs are working.

8. Adhomukha shwanasana

Stand in the front of the chair. Have the chair at the wall. Bring the hands on the chair seat
and walk the feet back. Lift the heels up, bend the knees and move the spine in using the
hands against the chair seat. Send the hips away from the shoulders, and buttocks
towards the ceiling. Keeping the extension in the spine, slowly straighten the legs, without
moving the buttocks from their height. Maintaining the straight spine and the height of the
buttocks, bring the heels down towards the floor.

You can adjust the pose for the curve in the back as shown in the picture. But the legs
have to be absolutely straight arms firmly supporting the body.

9. Shavasana

Finish with shavasana. This is where you will look for the imbalance. You may observe
uneven hips or feet or shoulders or neck. Use blanket to correct the posture, till you feel
satisfied with the posture as a doctor. When you add support the patient will feel weird or
not in a balance. But that is ok.