I am a Voice teacher and I have spent most of my working life training actors. I also have scoliosis (curvature of the spine). I have tried not to let this limit what I do. However, as I got older, I found that I could no longer run or jump. When I tried Yoga to correct this I ended up with lower back pain and sciatica. This was extremely frustrating as I have a background in Laban movement and I took the ability to move for granted yet here I was waking up with headaches and popping ibroprofen to numb the pain. I feared that this was my new normal.
However, I discovered Gravity Yoga (long hold flexibility training) and an extraordinary reversal began. My sciatica went, my headaches have ceased to be daily and I can now run and jump again. I have also been able to practice Vinyasa yoga and it no longer gives me twingeing lower back pain. Long hold flexibility poses changed my life in a way that no other movement practice has. My clients range from people who find that as their age increases their flexibility diminishes to clients who have felt confined to a chair fearing that their osteoarthritis meant they were on a one way journey to being housebound. Through the practice of long hold poses suited to their level, I have seen time turn back for them and seen their physical confidence increase as they see a way forward. I cannot and would not want to promise a miracle but with regular practice there is a chance for everyone to regain what they thought was lost for ever.