Exercises for Chair Yoga Student with intense sciatica pain
I continue on my journey of teaching chair yoga since 2016 and receiving my certification from Yoga Vista Academy and loving it.
One of my students came to me in great distress last week asking me for exercises she can do for her intense sciatica pain. Do you have any resources for that? I am finding a lot of information on regular yoga poses for sciatica, but not chair yoga.
Thank you very much,
Camille
Answer from Sherry
Yes, sciatica is such a tough condition to deal with. Mostly because it can be caused by two main reasons (true sciatica or piriformis syndrome). If your student has not had a formal diagnosis, we never know which issue is causing the pain. But, the pain is usually similar in that it is a shooting pain through the butt and down the leg.
Here is a good video from Justine who offers a few Chair Yoga stretches for Sciatica… and talks about the anatomical issues involved with that condition.
As a side note, I got sciatica when I went on a 19-day road trip with my husband this summer. I am sure it was caused by all the sitting! It only lasted for 2 days because I nipped it in the butt (pun intended!) by doing deep squats which stretches the entire low back to make room for the sciatic nerve so that it is not compressed and pinched. Here is a video of a few forms of squats you can have your student try if she is able:
Lastly, here is Justine’s Online Workshop on Sciatica/Piriformis Syndrome should you want to explore it further:
I hope these help! Keep me posted. And thanks for being such a dedicated teacher!!!
Much love to you and those you serve!
Sherry
