Body · Reading
Spine problems
Common changes in the spine's curves, and disc bulges and herniations. Education, not prescription.
Awaiting subject reviewWritten from our source material and not yet checked by a teacher of this practice. Read it as reference, and learn the practice from someone who teaches it.
Structural anatomy
A healthy spine has gentle curves. Some common variations change them.
Lordosis is a deepened inward curve, usually in the low back. Kyphosis is a deepened outward curve, usually in the upper back. A flat back has lost much of its curves; a round back curves forward through its whole length. A sideways curve of the spine is called scoliosis.
The discs between the vertebrae can bulge, or herniate, when their soft centre pushes through the outer ring, sometimes pressing on a nerve.
These descriptions are for understanding. Anyone with back pain should see a doctor before practising, and tell their teacher. The poses linked from the spine card can be practised in gentler versions with a teacher's guidance.
Diagram
Ideas behind it
Practices
Sources and tradition
- YOG Union App Content Map, 2 November 2026, pp. 11–12, anatomy cards