Yoga and How It Straightened My Spine

I have always struggled with a hunchback/kyphotic spine since I was young. People around me (especially my parents) would comment on my hunched back issue and how it would worsen with age and lead to back pain, stiffness, and muscle fatigue.

I have tried wearing a back straightening brace (which felt very uncomfortable and thus unsustainable), and custom-made orthotics by a podiatrist (shoe inserts to correct for my flat feet), but I could never permanently “solve” the issue. It was a challenge for me to straighten my spine intuitively or walk around with a straight spine naturally. The moment I stopped consciously focusing my thoughts on maintaining a straight spine, I would naturally revert to a hunched back.

After starting the Yoga TTC, I struggled on the 1st day with a lot of bending poses that requires a straight spine, such as Uttanasana, Ardha Uttanasana, Paschimottanasana, etc. I could not straighten my spine and my poses would look misaligned. The instructors told me that I had a kyphotic spine and I needed to do a lot of back straightening exercises to lengthen and straighten my spine naturally.

Following their advice and diligently doing the spine straightening stretches they recommended and trying to do the yoga poses with a straight spine as much as possible, after just 1 week, I saw drastic improvements in the straightness of my spine. My family members have all commented on how straight my back is now (even when I am not consciously trying to straighten it). Many of my fellow TTC coursemates have also expressed astonishment at how my back straightened so much in just 1 week. Even my instructor pointed out that my spine is no longer kyphotic.

I am very happy with the drastic improvement in my posture as it was one of the reasons why I wanted to do yoga. I am pleasantly surprised at the rapid speed of improvement and am further convinced (not that it was disputed to begin with) of the health benefits of yoga after my own personal experience. I look forward to learning a lot more, and eventually help others overcome their back problems with the help of yoga, just like how I overcame my hunchback problem thanks to yoga (and my instructors!).