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Yoga for Bone Spur

Okay, first things first.

The other day well actually, it was like a couple months ago this software engineer guy came over and we talked all about Yoga right up to Shavasana. With an engineer, this can take a long time as they tend to get chatty. But since I have plenty of opportunities for silent, solitary practice, I dont mind the chatter on Yoga related subjects.

First of all, we have the injury report: about what hurts, where exactly it hurts, what one might have done to make it hurt, which asanas hurt it most, and the relative benefits of various pain relief treatments.

Then we have Yoga gossip: what our Yoga friends are up to, their injury reports (one is having appendix surgery soon, one had a (minor) stomach tumor removed couple weeks ago), insights gleaned from said Yoga pals.

Thirdly, what to eat and why: discussion of different foods, their effects on ones practice, how to balance eating with practice, cooking tips and techniques.

After that, it was pretty much a free-for-all pin wheeling across such topics as politics, books, and whether ones junior high age child should be allowed to have a YourSpace page.

Surprisingly we managed to have a lovely practice session notwithstanding the chatter it must have distracted me from the internal chatter which is usually more of an obstacle.

My back had been seizing up as I went from Halasana into Sethu Bandhasana, but I discovered that if I put a micro-bend in my elbows as I lower myself forward, my back feels fine. I also discovered that Marichyasana C is a wonderful release for the spasmed muscles along my spine IF I relax and breathe into it rather than ratcheting up the tension to torque myself into the pose.

By the way, bone spurs, we learned, are nothing but smooth structures that form over a prolonged period of time, often causing back pain. Many people are told that they have "bone spurs" in their back or neck, with the implication that the bone spurs are the cause of their back pain. However, bone spurs in and of themselves are simply an indication that there is degeneration of the spine,. They are not necessarily the actual cause of the patient's back pain.

The term bone spurs is really a bit of bullshit, as spurs implies that these bony growths poke some part of the spinal column and causing pain. Dontbelieve a word; its not at all true. Bone spurs are in fact smooth structures that form over a prolonged period of time.

Talking led us to reading and surfing the net. Then we made a couple calls to the Yoga studio. All this revealed to us what causes bone spurs: Congenital or heredity, Nutrition, Life-style, including poor posture, Traumatic forces, especially sports related injuries and motor vehicle accidents We were also given some healthy solutions.

Yogasanas and a healthy weight are key ingredients to managing the pain associated with bone spurs.

The following may help.

Asanas

Viparita Karani, Sarvangasana and all backward bending poses, standing and lying prostate.

Pranamayas

Dirga Pranayama, Kapalabhatti and Anuloma-Viloma

Body Cleansing

Kriyas like Vaman Dhauti and Shanka Prakshalana are known to help immensely

Believe it or not, they work. Like wonders, man!

As always, to help avoid or minimize back pain it is generally advisable to stay well conditioned (both in terms of Yogasanas and strength) and to maintain good posture throughout ones life.

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