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[gregor]

Dear Bernie,

it is very interesting to study the forum with all the links concerning lower back issues.
right now i would love to drop my chair-to make a beginning i'm lying in seal position and write.
i study yoga since many years, musician, 30 and feel great with it.
you helped me once amazingly with the meniscus issue and i learned so much from it.
i intend to become a yoga teacher too but after done some intensive practice with teachers (Inyengar, Vinyasa, Bikram) i'm on my own especially since two years, first going to the knee surgery phase and now being in Ramallah to teach music. i come back this summer to live in Berlin and to do "window-shopping" in the yoga world-to look around, since i have the feeling there is so much to learn before intending a teacher training course.
since i study a lot on my own, there are sometimes moments when i reach limits. since i don't know enough.
when i was younger i had lower back pain, cause of a bit hollow back, a light scoliosis and tight hamstrings.
nower days i have very flexible harm strings and no hollow back.
i enjoy forward bends but lately when i stand during my job-the lower back doesn't take so much-
so i will do more back bending and the lower back strengthening poses (i did this regularly some weeks ago, but then dropped it-thats why i think it became worse again.
but when i read about the forward bends i'm insecure.
i never have pain doing them and the hamstrings don't form any obstacles, but last week after doing a nice forward flow (butterfly, half butterfly, caterpillar) my lower back felt two hours later bit vulnerable while standing. usually i relax the knees and let the lower back lengthen, vary standing, move with the music of my students. but it was still a bit sensitive.
i guess that the backbends will form a good balance.
in that case a question about the saddle pose:
it is great pose and i love to do it-
anything to be careful with since it provides a strong curve to the lower spine-could it bring the natural structure of the discs in disbalance?
about split, it is not necessary, but very tempting to get there slowly:
i guess it is the ultimate hamstring stretch and i have the feeling it also gives a light lower back bend. but in terms of benefits and contra-indications-any advise?
all the best!
gregor

[Bernie]

Hi Gregor ... It is hard to advise you remotely. The sensitivity in your lower back may have been caused by your yoga practice or it could have been related to other things that you have been doing. The key is to go slowly and not so deep or so long.

We can do too much of anything - Yin Yoga is no exception. People tend to do what they love and not what they need. If you feel that too many forward bends may have been causing the problem, then absolutely, listen to your intuition and back off. Do some milder back bends for a while and see how you do.

Saddle pose is not the deepest back bend: it is somewhere between Sphinx and Seal pose. However, if you feel Saddle is too much right now, stick to Sphinx. Remember, in the Yin Yoga practice, time is more important than intensity. You don't have to be really deep into a pose to get the full benefits. Remember the Goldilocks' position.

Cheers
Bernie

[gregor]

Thank you Bernie,
after i did the old program of backbends and strengthening including salabhasana this morning the lower back was almost completely fine, just after one session.
probably my body needed it urgently...
I remember reading from Paul Griley, that sometimes poses that feel great can turn into not so good for the body in a certain period. he was mentioning his experiences with snail pose.

best regards,
gregor