There are often many questions about Yin Yoga and specific spinal conditions. Feel free to ask your question here, or check out other posts or contribute input from your own experience.
Hi there! Hoping someone has some input on yin poses that are helpful for a male in his 50s that is experiencing degradation in the cervical 5,6,7 region. I wonder if yoga can help to slow down the process of this.
Thank you for any insight!
That is a tricky area. My first question would be - what does his doctor say? "Degradation" can mean so many things: arthritis, stenosis, reduced disc height, etc. In general, gentle mobilization should be helpful, but I don't know of anything that will regenerate a deteriorating disc. Strengthening the neck, without over-stressing it would be great, but it is easy to do too much there and make matters worse. So, again, what is the doctor/specialist recommending? What movements/positions should he be avoiding.
Certainly, I would caution your student to avoid headstands and shoulder stands. Traction for the neck positions, like Down Dog, may be good. Gentle extensions (think low Sphinx) may be okay, depending on where the degeneration is occurring.
As always, we are not doctors and we don't know what is really going on with this student. He will have to take charge of his own health and ask (firmly if necessary) his health care team for specific advice, including details about what degeneration really means in his case. If they are unwilling or unable to give him the necessary information, then he will need to find a different team.