Driving Wheel Stretches for Scoliosis & TMJ

I get some of my best stretches right behind the wheel during my long commutes to and fro. Some people might say, wait, should you be stretching while driving? I say, for me, why not? I don't think there's an Oprah pledge for this one...
 

Steering Wheel Stretch #1: Open Shoulder Stretch

I have left curving scoliosis so I try and find way to passively lengthen my spine as often as I can.

Put your left elbow on the window sill and hook your thumb in the armpit (axilla, anyone?), sort of like you're about to do the chicken dance. Not cute but very practical. :/ Anyway, put your right arm up and back against the passenger seat, sort of like people do when they are backing up. Using the knees, slightly brace yourself against the base of the steering wheel. This gives you a strong base of support and also ensures that you can't move your knees when / if you decide to take the stretch to the next level (engaging and slightly lifting the lower abdominals!).

Having both shoulders open and stretching out the tight pectoral muscles from my forward head posture feels great. The chest muscles are tightened in forward head posture (check out this picture of forward head posture which I have). This passive exercise is a good way to loosen these muscles up and help release the tightness that is pulling the shoulders forward. 

Take some really deep breaths in this Open Shoulder Stretch to give yourself a slightly deeper stretch. Really try to make sure that the with the "in" breath, your belly pokes out like you just had Thanksgiving dinner. This makes sure that you are using the diaphragm and that you are allowing air into the belly evenly on both sides. For me, it's hard to expand the lower right quadrant (part) of my abdomen because of my scoliosis induced tightness. Happily, when I expand it, I usually feel a nice spinal release.

Steering Wheel Stretch #2: Wheel Arch 

This one is one of my favorites to do at a stop light. I usually hold the pose for the length of the red light for a series and deep breaths and then release it when the light turns green.

Put your  hands on the wheel at 10 and 4 o'clock. (Check out my post titled the same about why this might be a good idea for you if you have back problems.) With your hands on the wheel, lean forward at the waist to keep your spine really really really straight. Bend your elbows and staying in your leaning forward position, arch your back all the way up to the top of your head. Try to point your sternum (breastbone) toward the middle of the wheel. Your eyes should be gazing straight out onto the horizon if you are doing this right. If you are looking up to the sky, then your arch is way too big and you are at risk for hurting your neck.

If you have some serious tightness in your back from scoliosis (like I do), this arch should take a little effort but it should be worth it. Nothing too crazy, but it's a little harder than if you had no deep muscular torso tightness.

To make the Wheel Arch a little more challenging, at the end of the above described pose, raise the elbows up and outward. Take some deep breaths in this position and you should feel something pretty nice.

Don't forget to make this arch a SLIGHT arch (check out my posting on this topic). You don't want to overdo-the-do and hurt your back. I think sometimes these smaller movements are harder to do because you really have to engage each muscle individually instead of relying on momentum or the like.

Here's a great photo of a Wheel Arch. This woman has her hands on her side; I prefer to use the wheel to stabilize my core. 

My scoliosis and endless hours of driving have inevitably forced my steering wheel and I to become one unit during my commute. Use this to your advantage to think of creative ways to stretch your upper body where so many of us carry stress and tension.

Peace and love.

Bedtime Yoga Sequence: TMJ and Scoliosis Exercise

I've always wanted an easy bedtime yoga routine to do right before getting into bed. Last night, I decided to create one and my back more than thanked me for it.

I was inspired by this photo of a pigeon pose on the bed from Pinterest...

Source: fitsugar.com via Vicki on Pinterest

Bedtime Yoga Sequence:

1) Start in a table top position on all fours on the floor next to your bed. Give yourself an easy cat / cow pose from this all four position.

(Photo courtesy of this page.) 

I like to spend 2 breaths in each position - 2 breaths with a neutral pelvis; 2 breaths with an arched back in cat pose; and lastly, 2 breaths with a curved / hunched back in cow pose.

Really remember to physically move your belly with your 2 in-and-out breaths. It will really help to get the most out of the spinal mobilization that you will feel as a result of this movement. I know it's not sexy, but that's not the point of this yoga exercise. No one is watching other than your God.

Don't forget that your head is included in your spine and should therefore also move with your back as you do cat / cow, especially for scoliosis sufferers. 

2) After you finish your cat / cow pose, return to a neutral pelvis and flat back position. From here, I like to push my booty backward and upward to the sky while keeping my hands in the position they were in in the all fours. This is a variant of child's pose.


-or-
 

This position gives me a great lower back stretch and a great stretch through the shoulder blades and back of the neck. 

Spend about 4 breaths in this position because it is really easy and it feels really good. :) Try to picture pushing your breastbone to the floor to get a deep yet easy arch to the mid-upper back.

3) Next, ever-so-slowly, roll your spine up one vertebrae at a time to an upright seated position. Don't forget your head should be the last to roll upward and arch the crown of your head slightly back.

Notice how this yogi has a nice, slight arch to her back. 

You can either have your toes curled under your booty (like in this photo), or with your toes straightened (as pictured in the two poses above). I prefer to sit with my toes straightened.

For fun and an extra stretch, give yourself a seated cat cow yoga stretch in this seated position.

4) Return to all fours. Repeat cat / cow pose for 2 breaths in each pose. Now, go into an easy down dog with soft, bent knees.

Bent knees helps you to get deeper into a down dog pose for a better upper back and neck stretch. 

5) From this bent-knee down dog position, lift one leg and get into a 3-legged dog. See my posting on how to best get into this position for maximum pain relief: http://migrainesnomore.blogspot.com/2012/08/down-dog-yoga-pose-for-tmj-spasm.html .

Put your leg back onto the ground and go back into a bent-knee down dog pose. From here, pick up your other leg and perform the 3-legged dog pose again on the other side.

6) Return to a bent-knee down dog, then back to all fours. Give yourself a nice back stretch again (see Steps 2 & 3) and end up sitting on your heels.

7) Now, position yourself on the floor facing right next to the bed on your knees. Using your hands for assistance, place your heel on the bed in front of you with your knee bent and the hip open.

Bed-assisted pigeon pose 

You can either push up on the ball of your floor-foot (as pictured here), or you can remain on your knee. Or (like I do), try a on the ball of the foot followed by on the knee. The knee gives an incredibly deep stretch, yet the softness of the mattress prevents you from overdoing it.

Try your best to keep your hips squared (keep your nipples in a parallel line to the bed) to give your lower back and hips the best stretch possible. 

Try tilting the hips upward in this bed-assisted pigeon pose. You will have to use your deep abdominals to pull your booty inward and tilt your hips upward. It's harder than it looks! This offers and even better lower back stretch once you are already in this bed-assisted pigeon pose.

Repeat the bed-assisted pigeon pose on the other leg, of course.

7) To end the sequence, I give myself a nice, deep shoulder stretch, using the edge of the bed for leverage.

Source: yogajournal.com via Vicki on Pinterest

Now time for bed. You will sleep like a baby after this easy yoga sequence.

Namaste!

House Gym Part 1 - Sofa Squats: Home Scoliosis & TMJ Exercises

Incorporating scoliosis exercises into your daily routine is the quickest way to see results. I try to create a new way to use pieces of furniture around my house in a way that gives me a nice spinal stretch.

Sofa Squats for Scoliosis

When I go to a group exercise class at the gym and the time comes to perform squats, I always cringe. Squats should be performed in a manner that looks like you are literally about to sit up nice and tall in a chair. Unfortunately, most people at the gym look like they are about to pop a nice squat appropriate for primitive camping only, if you catch my drift. You do not want to have your shoulders leaning way forward; right before you reach the base of your squat, you should look at though are perfectly upright in an invisible chair. If this is not even a little bit hard, then you probably are not doing it right. :/

 

(Photo courtesy of this website.) 

So, where does the sofa come into play? Well, instead of just assuming that you are that person at the gym doing squats properly, try them on the sofa.

How to Perform Sofa Squats

From a seated position, push straight up with your thighs to a standing position. Don't use your hands! Can you do it? This was just your self test; adjust your difficulty level by leaning your shoulders every-so-slightly forward to give yourself the momentum to stand. You goal is to have your spine as straight up and down as possible while you stand from the sofa. 

This drawing nicely illustrates the upright shoulder position you should aim for when squatting. 

(Drawing courtesy of this page.) 

Great video demonstration of an easy couch squat

You will feel an amazing stretch in your lower lumbar spine, especially on the tight, scoliosis side, not to mention your booty will begin to look nice and toned.

Now, pop a squat!

Beyonce! Dancing for Scoliosis and TMJ Pain

Beyonce back bends her way through most of her music videos, which is great for us scoliosis sufferers! I decided to start gathering some of my favorite back bends from her videos to work on my spinal mobility while improving my booty-popping ability.

Music Video # 1: The The "Uh-Oh" Dance, Beyonce - Crazy In Love

You know you're as guilty as I am: we've all attempted the "uh-oh" booty dance from Beyonce's Crazy In Love video at some point.

(This is a clickable YouTube video link!)

Perfect instructional section on booty-popping @ 1:08.

Performing this "pop" mobilizes the lumbar spine right above the booty and below the ribs.

Music Video # 2: Beyonce - Green Light

This video opens with an easy visual of an easy spinal mobilization + scapular stabilization. To me, it almost seems as if all 3 ladies are almost stationary from the hips upward and they are only slightly moving their hips to achieve the complete body movement.

Screen shot of Beyonce's video Green Light 

(This is a clickable YouTube video link!)

You can see from this intro shot that spinal mobilization and also changes to the spine result from very subtle movements of the hips. A great representation of how easy it is to throw the hips and spine out of / into their natural position.

Music Video # 3: Beyonce - Kitty Kat

This video is apparently the extended intro to the above Green Light video. In this video, Beyonce acts and moves like a human kitty kat. To me, she appears to be employing an extended cat / cow without the cow part.

The video is only :58 seconds long, FYI.

Cat / cow yoga pose is wonderful for mobilizing every vertebra in the spinal column. An extended cat while moving the entire body dancing is an easy, fun, and sensual way to help your scoliosis.

Also, check out my posting on how to properly do a spinal stretch for scoliosis for some extra guidance regarding getting the most out of your extended cat pose!

May the bootyliciousness be with you.

Fun Spinal Twist for Scoliosis & TMJ

I've been working a spinal twist into my daily routines as often as possible. All of the therapists that I've visited on my journey have commented that I have a severe amount of stiffness in my upper back.

I coulda told you that. :)

So, in an effort to mobilize my thoracic spine, here's an easy exercise that I do while sitting at my desk, driving in the car, or hanging out at home.

Spinal Twist with Arms in the Air

1) Put both arms in the air at 90 degree angles with the palms facing outward. You should sort of look like you are about to start a workout on one of these butterfly workout machines:

2) Now, for the fun. First try the exercise while seated. This will help to ensure that you are evenly working both sides of your torso without the advantage of using the legs to shift your weight.

With both of your arms in the air, similar to the lovely lady in red above, begin to make circles with your arms while at the same allowing your torso and ribs to move in response.

To help visualize this exercise, picture a clock directly above your head. While trying to keep the elbows out to your side, move both hands in circles to point to 12:00, 3:00; 6:00, and 9:00, and finally back on 12:00. Then, try it in reverse to get an even stretch on both sides: point to 9:00, 6:00, 3:00, and back to 12:00.

It should look a little something like this:

3) Give the movement a go in the opposite direction, using the clock visualization to keep you moving in the right direction.

I feel a fantastic spinal twist through my torso, especially on my tighter, right TMJ and scoliosis side.

Once you have mastered this simple exercise, turn on some music, stand up, and perform the exercise in a standing position. This time, add your hips and move your arms in bigger clock-circles.

This exercise is fun and gives me an easy way to perform minor spinal adjustments on myself with an easy spinal twist.

Cool pose for a mild spinal twist that feels amazing for scoliosis sufferers. Try it with your curve-side leg on the top (> for right scoliosis curve and right TMJ sufferers, put the left leg below the right).

Have fun! And please, turn up the bass.

Sexy Basic Instinct Exercise for Scoliosis

Channel your inner Sharon Stone!

***Note: This posting is not for children or the faint of heart.

A fun and sexy way to stretch my lower back and work on my scoliosis is to place both of my feet flat on the floor, cross my right ankle over the left, and open the knees a la Basic Instinct. If you do this movement slowly and sensually (really channeling your inner Sharon!), you feel a nice stretch through the right and left obliques. Don't cross the legs like Sharon does in this video. Keep both feet planted on the floor and just move the knees. 

I like to do this exercise at my desk or while driving. It's easy and a little fun because of the naughty undertones. 

Sharon Stone - Basic Instinct

If you give yourself an easy spinal arch with the knees open showing off your lady parts, you will really feel the stretch!

Don't be afraid to be sensual in the privacy of your own home... :)

Outdoor Therapy for Scoliosis & TMJ Part 2

If you can't make it camping, then you can still participate in any outdoor activity of your choosing to help with the TMJ and scoliosis pain.

Think back to when you were a kid and couldn't wait to go outside and do [insert favorite outdoor activity here].

If this memory made you smile, then get out there and re-create that childhood happiness.

If you are at a loss for happy childhood activity memories, here are some of my own that you are welcome to try: swinging at the park, dancing like no one is watching, twirling clasped-hand with a friend, swimming, bike riding, rock climbing, etc.

Several acute TMJ pain treatment websites that I came across recommended to do some type of aerobic activity for the pain. In the throes of my TMJ spam pain, the last thing I wanted to do was go to a step aerobics class.

In hindsight, now fresh with my camping insight, participating in some sort of aerobic activity makes sense.

Aerobic activity:

1) Gets the blood flowing to your entire body (including your painful spasming jaw)
2) Makes you focus on something other than the pain as a type of distraction therapy
3) Causes a rush of feel-good endorphins (which are many times stronger than any opiate pain medication you could take).

What childhood memory will you channel?

(Photo courtesy of this blog).

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Skinnier In Seconds! Scoliosis & Migraine Exercise

We all know we should have better posture. In treating my migraines, I discovered that my posture was the main culprit. After about 3 months of working on my posture, I have stopped having to live with always having to take an Excedrin and Tylenol cocktail just to get through the day.

So, to the point at hand: everyone wants to look skinnier, myself included. An easy to do spinal straightening exercise makes you look longer through the belly (universally loathed body part) which results in looking skinnier and "snatched"through the middle.

Additionally, this spinal elongation stretch is very simple and will improve your posture to combat migraines and scoliosis.

Look Skinnier Spinal Stretch:

1) Lay on the ground or any flat surface on your back.
(After you've gotten the feel of the exercise on the ground, then practice STANDING TO LOOK SKINNIER or seated.)

2) Place your right hand on your right hip bone (even if you can't feel it!).
Palm should be facing down (prone) on the belly. Be sure the entire palm is on the belly.

3) Put the left hand on the left ribcage, palm prone.

4) Push the left side of your ribcage to your right using the pressure from your left palm to move your body.
At the same time, use the right palm against the right hip bone to push your hips to the left.
You should be pushing your left ribcage and right hip toward the midline of your body.

For additional benefit, see if you can practice deep breathing while in this position with the goal of pushing out your lower right abdomen to move your hand with your breath.

Now try this exercise standing up trying to put your body into the same position you were in while on the floor. Check yourself out in a mirror, you sexy, skinnier thang.

Christina Henfricks à la Joan working a sexy spinal stretch. 

Outdoor Therapy for Scoliosis & TMJ

When my TMJ flared up horrendously a few weeks ago, I was at a loss about what to do for the 10/10 pain.
Google, my Ayurvedic self healing book, and various yoga positions provided a little relief, but the pain kept coming back with a vengeance.

A common theme that I discovered about all the sources that I read: being outdoors helps to relieve stress.
I took it upon myself to find a way to incorporate all of the suggestions that I'd gathered thus far: I decided to go camping.

Turns out it was a fantastic decision. Within hours of being at the campsite, my 10/10 TMJ pain that had prevented me from getting a full night's sleep for 7 days was most at a 2/10 at it's worst.

I attribute the pain relief to several factors:

1) Fresh air

Taking a deep breath of fresh, pollutant free air is a wonderful way to easily clear the mind and begin the path to relaxation.

2) Yoga

Being outside with few electronic gadgets makes it easier to do something other than watching TV.
My activity of choice when I'm in pain is yoga. I don't go overboard with any particular pose. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite camping yoga exercises is simply relaxing in my hammock. Easy as pie - it takes a ZERO effort and helps me to relax both my body and mind.
I think of camping as my very low cost alternative to one of those expensive yoga retreats. Cost is about $20 a night.
Completely worth the cash.

3) Setting Up Camp

Setting up a good campsite takes a little skill - both mental and physical. You have to work pretty hard to put up a tent, mosquito-proof your campsite, and stay hydrated in the August Texas heat.
This probably doesn't really sound fun because it isn't. However, that isn't the point of the activity.
Using my mind and body to set up a nice campsite all by myself provides me with the ultimate DISTRACTION THERAPY. Think about it: you are.(desperately) trying to pitch your tent before you lose the sunlight and are forced to sleep in your car.

In this moment, these hours, the LAST thing you are thinking about is the nagging pain in your jaw or back.

Distraction therapy, meet yoga.

Turns out they were friends in a former life. :) Their souls get along splendidly; your body thanks you by releasing any tension or pain you may have.

No more pain. Life is good.

Happy camping, campers. :)



Happy campers...

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Arching the Back for TMJ & Scoliosis

I often employ a very slight arch to my spine when I do my scoliosis oriented exercises.

The key word here is SLIGHT! It is important not to exacerbate my back problem, so I try my best to make all of my movements incremental and slight. That way, the risk of further injuring my back is reduced.

When I arch my back, I always always always arch when my lower abdominals are engaged. When I say "engaged" I don't mean any crazy crunching antics. I mean that I start at my spinal "root", employing the same idea/action from this movement using the foam roller to engage my low, deep abdominals.

It helps for me to picture engaging these lower abdominal muscles on a long IN breath for a count of 4. With each count, I raise my lower hips ever so slightly. The end position that I aim for is almost as though I have raised my lower booty off of the ground or chair that I'm in. This movement should be TINY. You should feel the bulk of the movement going on INSIDE your body. If someone across the room can see that you've done this lower abdominal engagement, then you're movement is way too big. The point of this exercise is to work weak muscles that you rarely use. So, slow your roll! And take a nice slow IN breath for a count of 4, engaging the lower abs while you do it.

Once you have engaged the lower abs, it's time to begin to SLIGHTLY arch the spine. Remember to maintain your hip position that you worked so hard for in the step above!

Stabilize the shoulders on a flat surface like a chair or a wall. Put your hands either on the floor next to each hip or each knee. Now to begin the arch. Start by slowly giving yourself a double chin. Use the base of the back of your head where your hairline begins as your guide. Remember to keep your awesome hip position from above!

Once you have your double chin AND your lower abdominals are completely still, then comes the last part of the arch: pick an imaginary spot on the wall in front of you at nose level. Using the tip of your nose as a guide, draw a 1 inch going up the wall from the imaginary spot you chose. You should feel a GREAT stretch throughout the back and up through the thoracic spinal region.

Remember, keep your hips and lower abdominals 100% stable! If you don't, you risk further damage to your lower back. Bad news.

You may not be able to execute this SLIGHT back arch quite yet. But the point in that it took you years to get where you are, so it's going to take more than reading this blog one time to fix your problems. Take your time and your body will thank you. I am already feeling wonderful benefits from the exercises that I have started to practice.

Tiny movements! Namaste.