Rolling up from standing forward fold – is it worth it?

If you have been following me on Instagram or Facebook you would know that I joined these wonderful yoga practice intensives taught by the highly skilled and just plain wonderful Julie Smeardon at Shri Yoga in Brisbane. I am learning so very much in these workshops and am sad to say that I only have one more left. One thing that has really stood out for me in the last workshop was learning how our spine works, particularly when we are in forward fold.

A very common instruction in a yoga class is to move from a forward bend into a standing up position by rolling up your spine – I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “roll up to standing one vertebra at a time”. But I have learned that this can create problems in your spinal disc. One of the biggest advantages of having a yoga teacher like Julie, who has such a good knowledge of anatomy is that she understands why you should move your body in a particular way and can instruct you to move correctly.

So, let me explain how this works:

Human Spine.

Here is your spine. Your lumbar spine curves in to accommodate for the weight above it  – the rest of your spine (cervical and thoracic), your rib cage and head and their organs like brain and lungs etc.

Between each vertebral you have spinal discs. These discs act as a shock absorber, absorbing the impact of your movements and keeping the two vertebra’s separated. I imagine a disc like a jelly donut – you have the dough on the outside and the jelly center – so it can move with your body movements and keep protecting your vertebra.  Imagine how they work when you are jumping on a trampoline, or bungee jumping!

This is what happened when you are moving around, or in a yoga class. That movement is good for them because as they get slightly squeezed from different angles it keeps them nourished and healthy.

Disc positions when moving around, or in a yoga class

The problems arise when we put too much pressure on the disc.  Let’s now look at our forward bend. The degree of the forward tilt of your pelvis will depend on the condition of your hamstrings.

Standing forward bend

When the hamstrings are tight (especially if you insist on keeping the legs straight) they will prevent the pelvis from

Disc when rolling up

tilting forward, which means that the bend will come from the lumbar/thoracic spine. In the neutral position your lumbar spine curves inward, but in in forward bend it is bulging outward. That means that the discs will be squeezed at the front. This means that your disc is bulging on to your spinal cord n- they call this “anterior disc compression”.

That is why a good yoga teacher will tell you to bend your knew if your hamstrings are tight so that your pelvis can tilt further forward.

Now imagine rolling up from this position. You are asking your lumbar discs to bear the weight of your head, the rest of your spine, rib cage, brain and organs! Because of your body’s position in relation to gravity your core musculature cannot help much. So now your lumbar discs are being squished by the vertebrae at the front of the donut and the jelly center is being pushed back.

The reality is that this might not bother you after one yoga class, or even 10 – but it can create problems in the future. Why risk it?

So how should you come up form a standing forward fold?

You are best to lead with your chest and strengthening your lower back muscles. You can start by leading with your chest, moving your upper body up until you return into the neutral lumbar curve – you are likely to be parallel to the ground. Continue to move up with your upper body and your pelvis moving as a unit now to maintain that neutral curve in your lower back. Coming up in this way will strengthen your back.  I do it with my hands on my hips to minimise the load on my back.