How to start cultivating symmetry awareness from the feet up

This week I shared on social media a trilogy of steps to start cultivating symmetry. This is nowhere near complete. And in a scoliosis class there is attention to other small steps in between and more explanation of the need and benefits of symmetry for scoliosis. Or back pain in general.

Side step: also notice thoughts about the word ‘symmetry’. For myself, I noticed that it can be hard to deal with because of the association of scoliosis and not being ‘straight’. In my eyes it is not about finding straight, but about finding symmetry and balance in the entire body to improve its function. What narrative do you have?

Symmetry at the feet

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1/3☝️ posture awareness starts at the feet. 👣 To me it made so much sense when in #yogaforscoliosis classes we started at the feet. What else is carrying our back the entire day? Our body is a machine that cannot me seen as loose parts individually doing their thing. Everything works together. Therefore, it just makes sense to be aware of the symmetry of the feet. Where to put your weight and find grounding. I use the line on my mat and a block to help me find alignment. How aware are you of your feet placement? 🤔 #scoliosis #scoliose #scoliosisprobs #scolifam #scoliyogi #scoliosiswarrior #scoliosisstrong #scoliosissupport #scoliosisawareness #scoliosisyogi #scoliosisyoga #alignmentyoga #yoganl #yogaamsterdam #yogaathome #yogafam

A post shared by Jana Spierings (@janaspierings) on Dec 12, 2017 at 9:27am PST

Symmetry at the knees

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2/3 ✌️ After the feet, another big focus point are the knees. 👉 My knees tend to overstretch. This is ‘comfortable’ to me. But of course in the long time this is hurting me. For instance when sitting, I try to place my knees above my ankles and in line with my hips. A block helps to gain awareness of this placement. But the block mostly helps me with finding my inner thigh muscles and lower abdomen muscles. But more about that tomorrow 🙏💛 #scoliosis #scoliose #scoliosisprobs #scolifam #scoliyogi #scoliosiswarrior #scoliosisstrong #scoliosissupport #scoliosisawareness #scoliosisyogi #scoliosisyoga #alignmentyoga #yoganl #yogaamsterdam #yogaathome #yogafam #bentnotbroken #alignmentyoga

A post shared by Jana Spierings (@janaspierings) on Dec 13, 2017 at 5:14am PST

Symmetry at the thighs and abdomen

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3/3 🤟 I promised you more about the inner thigh muscles today. 🙏 In my case ( and I believe in most cases of scoliosis ) there is hyper mobility in the hips. This makes me compensate to find stability in my joints and when done for a long amount of time this results in tightening of muscles and trapping a pain pattern. In my case usually resulting in lower back pain. With the block between my inner thighs, I remind myself to activate the right muscles also in my abdomen. Then I can learn myself to use my joint in a proper manner again and move out of my scoliotic pattern 🤓🙏✨ #scoliosis #scoliose #scoliosisprobs #scolifam #scoliyogi #scoliosiswarrior #scoliosisstrong #scoliosissupport #scoliosisawareness #scoliosisyogi #scoliosisyoga #alignmentyoga #yoganl #yogaamsterdam #yogaathome #yogafam #bentnotbroken #alignmentyoga #yogateacher #scoliosisstrong #symmetry

A post shared by Jana Spierings (@janaspierings) on Dec 14, 2017 at 9:03am PST

Finding balance

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True 🙌 There was a time that I believed the perfect balance existed. And that a lot of people had figured it out except for me. 🙇‍♀️ As I can be determined and focussed about solving problems, I tried to do just that. Until I noticed that the solution might just not be finding the perfect balance, but in something else. Maybe more about becoming the observer of my life and seeing the bigger picture. Now I believe that the only way to find some form of balance is to not force it but to gain awareness and space to move myself back in alignment. Both mentally or physically 🙏 #studentoflife #liveandlearn #balance #balancelife #awareness #awarenessiskey #outofbalance #alignment #thekeytohappiness #qotd #

A post shared by Jana Spierings (@janaspierings) on Dec 17, 2017 at 2:43am PST