Yoga for Scoliosis

Most people have some degree of scoliosis, characterized by a slight sideways curvature of the spine, which is barely noticeable. When scoliosis advances to a stronger curvature of the spine, however, it can become a debilitating condition.

Can yoga help? In this course, Dr. Loren Fishman and Ellen Saltonstall will draw on Dr. Fishman’s groundbreaking research on the effects of yoga for scoliosis and look at the evidence that yoga can bring significant improvement to scoliosis sufferers. They will discuss how to spot scoliosis in your students – and your own body - and go into details needed for performing yoga poses, particularly Vasisthasana, correctly to counteract scoliosis.

In particular, they will present a different perspective on the biomechanical factors involved in scoliosis, leading to promising new approaches to reducing or halting scoliotic curvatures of the spine.

• The different types of scoliosis and how to distinguish between them
• Best ways to determine whether scoliosis is functional or structural
• How the concept of tensegrity applies to the spine and why it has significant implications for the treatment of scoliosis
• A step-by-step breakdown of Dr. Fishman’s approach to treating different types of scoliosis
• A specific focus on how and why Vasisthasana can be particularly helpful in the treatment of scoliosis, specifics of how to practice it to achieve the desired benefits, and how to adapt it to the needs of different population
• Additional postures that may be useful and how to modify treatment according to the different types of curvatures present.

This Course Also Includes These Bonuses!

• Yoga Practice Video for Scoliosis: Enjoy a 30-minute yoga practice video with Ellen Saltonstall with a yoga practice for scoliosis in which she presents a guide to understanding your curvature (or that of your clients) and a stepwise progression of pose modifications to help you or your students build up to a full Vasishtasana over time.
• Recordings of Both Sessions: Yours to keep. It’s generally acknowledged that many people only retain 10-20 percent of what they learn in a workshop. You will get the recordings of both sessions (MP3 & MP4), enabling you to go back and listen to the workshop as many times as you like.
• Transcripts of Both Sessions: Ever wanted to refer to a certain part of a course? Even the best note takers miss a point every so often. With the transcripts of the sessions, you can go back and refer to particularly important passages or clarify sections you were in doubt about.

Loren Fishman, MD

After graduating from Christ Church, Oxford, spending the year 1973 with Mr. Iyengar in Pune, attending every class, public and private, and taking daily instruction, Loren M. Fishman, M.D., was told “You can teach my yoga.” Dr. Fishman then went to medical school, and at Rush, in a Tufts-Harvard Residency program, and as Chief Resident at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, did indeed teach patients, health professionals, and also learned more about yoga and medicine himself. He has been practicing yoga daily since the year he spent with Mr. Iyengar, has written and edited more than 65 academic articles, chapters and books in the philosophy of science, and Rehabilitation Medicine, his field. His work has been reviewed in articles by Jane Brody, Spine, and a number of international periodicals. He is past President of the New York Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, currently Associate Editor of Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, on the staff at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Treasurer of the Manhattan Institute for Cancer Research, and has a private practice on Park Avenue in Manhattan.

Loren has published two books: Yoga for Osteoporosis with Ellen Saltonstall (for W.W. Norton) and Yoga and Multiple Sclerosiswith Eric Small. For more information about Loren, visit: www.sciatica.org
 

Ellen Saltonstall 

Ellen Saltonstall (E-RYT 500) is a yoga instructor and body therapist based in New York with extensive training in the Iyengar and Anusara methods. She has been a practitioner of yoga and meditation for over 40 years. She teaches Bodymind Ballwork, a method of self-massage using rubber balls which she developed, and she co-authored Yoga for Arthritis, 2008, and Yoga for Osteoporosis, 2010 with Dr. Loren Fishman. Her book Anatomy & Yoga: A Guide for Teachers and Students will be released in December 2016. She offers yoga therapy webinars through YogaOnlineU.com, and she teaches nationally and internationally with a specialty in anatomy and therapeutics. She is known for her clarity and depth of knowledge, and her enthusiasm in encouraging students of all levels to find freedom and joy through yoga. Please visit her website at www.ellensaltonstall.com.