too much lumbar curve - will 8 steps help? | Gokhale Method Institute

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January 5, 2010 - 11:41pm | 4 posts

#1

sonia

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01/05/2010 - 11:32pm

too much lumbar curve - will 8 steps help?

Hi,

I'm considering purchasing the 8-steps book, but I'm not sure if the method will address my particular issue. Everything I've read on the site seems to be focused on fixing problems related to not having enough of a lumbar curve, but I have the opposite problem. My lower back arches forward too much - something like what is shown in the right hand diagram here:

http://www.health-spy.com/spine.jpg

So my abdomen and chest stick out too much in front, and my butt sticks out too much in back. In addition to back pain, the only kind of dress that fits me is one that is like an oversized sack.

Will the 8-steps approach help with my goal of decreasing the curvature in my lower back?

thanks
Sonia

January 6, 2010 - 6:06pm | 1 post

#2

Maya

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09/16/2008 - 4:29pm

The Gokhale Method actually does not involve accentuating a lumbar curve - quite the opposite! Most people in the US have too much lumbar curvature, and many of the techniques of the method (which are all in the book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back) focus on lengthening the lumbar spine and reducing the curvature there. The two photos in the link you have in your post are both too curved in the lumbar spine - I don't know what the source is, but even the one that is marked as correct needs to flatten out the lumbar area.

I think you will love the 8 Steps book - it will definitely help you work out your sway and address your pain (and will help you fit into dresses better!)

Maya
Instructor, Esther Gokhale Wellness Center

January 6, 2010 - 6:11pm | 1 post

#3

Maya

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09/16/2008 - 4:29pm

One more note - we do teach having the bottom angled back (with the pelvis tipped forward slightly as opposed to being tucked under), but from way down low in the spine. But in the upper lumbar area (the L1-L5 vertebrae), we want the back to be pretty flat. I think this is why you were a bit confused - it is confusing at first to many people. The book explains the difference very clearly.

Maya
Instructor, Esther Gokhale Wellness Center

January 8, 2010 - 10:51pm | 1 post

#4

sonia

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01/05/2010 - 11:32pm

Thanks for the clarification, Maya. Great to hear that 8 steps is geared toward helping my issue - I'm off to purchase the book now!

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