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yoga
December 2007 
Mind Over Matter
Posted on Sep 5th, 2006
by 
Stu
Stu
I always had chronic back pain but...
In October 1989 I was at a Smog inspection station standing at the pay window. An old man gunned his Mercedes 450SL ran into a guard rail that snapped and slugged me on the spine with the force of a well juiced major league hitter. He then ran into my car totaling it. I fell to the ground. It would be two week before I was able to stand without aid.
The orthopedic surgeons diagnosed my condition as a grade 3 spondylolisthesis (L5/S1). He wanted to perform surgery to fuse the spine a prevent further disk degeneration. Fortunately, I had been practicing yoga some years before, but now it was time to get serious. I spent the next year surveying the various forms of yoga taught around Los Angeles. I found an excellent yoga therapist who worked with me to help me recover.
After a year of practicing asanas for about 90 minutes a day, I went from a grade 3 to a grade 1. Surgery was no longer indicated. This screwed up my lawsuit quite a bit. What jury was going to award me for a healthy spine?
The x-ray photos above show how the spinal alignment is much better. Also notice the disc (space between the bones) are healthier. That is not supposed to happen.
During the early 90's I went to various yoga classes around the Los Angeles area. I sampled Bikram, Power Yoga, Astanga, Kundalini, Iyengar method and the various mutts in between. It was clear that many of the schools do not adequately train their teachers for students with injuries or medical needs. I often saw students hurting themselves with a no pain no gain mentality. Iyengar method has rigourous teacher training. They do not take a one size fits all approach to teaching asanas.
Since then I have been practicing regularly. I occasionally have flair-ups. I sit too long or do some gardening. For the most part the pain is not dramatic and I can recover quickly.
In October 1989 I was at a Smog inspection station standing at the pay window. An old man gunned his Mercedes 450SL ran into a guard rail that snapped and slugged me on the spine with the force of a well juiced major league hitter. He then ran into my car totaling it. I fell to the ground. It would be two week before I was able to stand without aid.
The orthopedic surgeons diagnosed my condition as a grade 3 spondylolisthesis (L5/S1). He wanted to perform surgery to fuse the spine a prevent further disk degeneration. Fortunately, I had been practicing yoga some years before, but now it was time to get serious. I spent the next year surveying the various forms of yoga taught around Los Angeles. I found an excellent yoga therapist who worked with me to help me recover.
After a year of practicing asanas for about 90 minutes a day, I went from a grade 3 to a grade 1. Surgery was no longer indicated. This screwed up my lawsuit quite a bit. What jury was going to award me for a healthy spine?
The x-ray photos above show how the spinal alignment is much better. Also notice the disc (space between the bones) are healthier. That is not supposed to happen.
During the early 90's I went to various yoga classes around the Los Angeles area. I sampled Bikram, Power Yoga, Astanga, Kundalini, Iyengar method and the various mutts in between. It was clear that many of the schools do not adequately train their teachers for students with injuries or medical needs. I often saw students hurting themselves with a no pain no gain mentality. Iyengar method has rigourous teacher training. They do not take a one size fits all approach to teaching asanas.
Since then I have been practicing regularly. I occasionally have flair-ups. I sit too long or do some gardening. For the most part the pain is not dramatic and I can recover quickly.
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