ashtanga yoga Orthotics

[Guest guest]

I have used orthotics for about ten years. They were initially prescribed

because I had painful feet but they also helped the knees greatly over time.

I have been using yoga to realign myself as well as a brilliant book called

'Walk Yourself Well' by Sherry Brourman. However, it is a slow process (I'm

54) though progress is constant. I would not give up the orthotics yet. Best

of luck.

Ambrose

-

"primafacie" <primafacie

ashtanga yoga

Wednesday, May 28, 2003 12:08 PM

ashtanga yoga Orthotics

 

> Hi everyone, practice going well since starting in Jan.....

>

> Today, during a visit to see my massage therapist to ease a dull

> upper-hamstring ache I was confronted with a shocking analysis of my

pelvis:

> "your righ pelvis is way higher than your left." In fact he was extremely

> keen to check my back and pelvis alignment even before I hit the bench

> (despite my adamant attitude to concentrate on the hams).

>

> I say "shocking".....well, I wasn't completely thrown by what he said.

This

> is because I have almost finished a full 6 month chiropractic programme to

> try and rectify a twisted pelvis. My chiropractor has managed to get rid

of

> the pelvis pain completely but after a new check with my massage therapist

I

> saw for myself that, yes indeed, I am WAY WAY out of alignment. "This," he

> says "is also causing your frequent lower back pain and will be

interfering

> with your sciatic nerve which runs extremely close to your painful

> hamstring."

>

> All the surrounding mucles (lower back, hamstrings) are working overtime

to

> compensate and, as a result, are straining and......pain. All pretty basic

> stuff that we've heard before. It seems that my chiropracter has managed

to

> eliminate the pelvis pain (and, to some degree, brought my pelvis somewhat

> closer to proper alignment) but he hasn't brought perfect alignment by any

> 'stretch' (heh).

>

> NOW - He was almost evangelical about the success rate in the use of

> ORTHOTICS to rectify pelvis mis-alignments, and suggested a highly

respected

> podiatrist in my area. Slipping an orthotic in-sole under my left foot

would

> supposedly bring my 'high' right pelvis lower down and correct the

> alignment, thus allowing the over-working muscles to go about their normal

> business and heal. He mentioned that it would initially be very painful

> (first 2-3 months) but would eventually sort my missalignment out.

>

> This kinda has some sort of parrallel with ashtanga in that, to some

extent,

> we are working on re-aligning the body and rectifying muscular and

> structural imbalance. Practioners often go on about 'working through' the

> pain in ashtanga (NOT working through injury though!) as something is

> moving, something is re-connecting, something is moving back into its

proper

> position.

>

> My question is: Orthotics or NOT-thotics? I'm guessing that a programme of

> orthotics combined with a strong ashtange practice may well be the best

way.

> My reasons are obvious:

>

> 1. I don't want to quit my practice and completely rely on orthotics.

> 2. I also don't want to keep up my practice without some other kind of

> external bodywork/mechanical adjustment alongside it.

>

> With respect to my second point, I feel my mis-alignment too great to rely

> soley on ashtanga to rectify - it may well be too painful and I may do

more

> harm and injury to those afore-mentioned points of soreness/pain. We're

> talking about a general right-to-left misalignment which is concentrated

at

> a vital body-area, and not some minor misalignment which ashtanga would

> normally rectify. Sure, ashtanga may well cure my mis-alignment but it may

> take 10 years of pain and endurance. Don't get me wrong, I'm in this for

the

> long haul (ashtanga is definately no quick-fix routine) and understand

some

> kind of discomfort is part and parcel of the routine. But maybe I need

some

> kind help here?

>

> I dug up some info from yoga texts on this and found an inspring comment

> from BB Birch when discussing the application of orthotics and long-term

> solutions to postural imbalance and mis-alignment:

>

> "Ideally, astanga yoga would be prescribed along with every set of

> orthotics, slowly taking over the process of long-term restructuring begun

> by the orthotics."

>

> Any thoughts, experiences with orthotics?

>

> Sorry for long post,

> prima

>

>

>

>

>

> ashtanga yoga

>

>

>

> Your use of is subject to

>

>